GT-AX6000 vs GT-AXE16000 question

[lilstone87]

Well I'm about 98% ready to order the GT-AX6000 tomorrow. Swapping out my AX86U, adding $80-$100 to get it.

Now the question is.. would any of you do this? Only $80-100 coming out of my pocket swapping my current AX86U to the AX6000. If I waited on the AXE16000, that $80-$100, would be around $450 out of pocket upgrade for me.

 

[L&LD]

Only testing will tell if it will be worth it.

Be sure to do some proper comparisons and keep good notes to share with us.

 

[lilstone87]

That`s all they could do with the Broadcom CPU available at the time (the BCM4908). The new BCM4912 has more bandwidth, which is why these newer models can offer two separate 2.5 Gbps ports.

I appreciate you commenting on this. Still it's very odd to me why they pushed this router out, at that price range, with hardware specs lesser than the AX6000. I'm guessing the AX6000 came out after the AXE11000.

Still when you see AX6000, and AXE11000. The AX6000 would appear as the little brother. But is it really though? I mean the AXE11000 has tri band, with 6E support. I much rather have the slightly faster CPU, with both a 2.5gbps WAN, and LAN port. Now you factor in the AX6000 is $200 less now. I honestly feel bad for anyone who owns a Asus AXE11000 router.

I actually like ASUS routers. However I'm honest when I see something I feel is just bad. Asus really F'd their AXE11000 router with the hardware they launched it with. Launching one of your top of the line routers, with average hardware specs is embarrassing. $550 for a router without at least a 2.5gbps WAN, and LAN port, in 2022 is unacceptable to me.

Anyways that's the last I will say about it here. I do feel it was worth mentioning after I looked over the hardware specs of these three Asus routers.

 

[lilstone87]

Not to beat this thread to hell everyday with posts. I partly blame my ADHD. After waking up this morning, I came across this bit of info on the GT-AXE16000. It is retailing at $650, and is launching in May. I think the 2% might win, in regards to me buying the AXE16000.

https://www.reddit.com/r/HomeNetworking/comments/ue7bif

I will buy a protection plan with it, and if this router somehow fails, and Merlin doesn't end up supporting it. I will just return it. I still have my RT-AC3100 as a backup, with my AX88U as well. Overall my network can survive without the AXE16000, if I had to return it due to issues.

As of me writing this, I will likely order this router as soon as it's available through a certain store I have store credit with. Which I expect them to sell it, within a week, or two, of it officially launching.

 

[L&LD]

Any manufacturer does what it can to make a profit not only for itself but (primarily) for its shareholders, first. With that in mind, model numbers aren't supposed to make sense, nor are new releases automatically better than anything already released previously.

And, more importantly, it's always, caveat emptor. I do not know any manufacturer that claims any specific product will work ideally for all customers.

The GT-AXE11000 is an older model. The GT-AX6000 is much newer. Don't forget the lead time to design, manufacture and release new products (it means they are much older 'tech' than their release date would indicate).

Right now, for me, the GT-AX6000 with RMerlin support is superior to the paper-spec 'better' GT-AXE16000.

Buying products on assumptions is never a promising idea. And buying a protection plan with it is also artificially increasing the price for no good reason for me (particularly in the sub $1K price point). Most products (particularly 'tech' products) either fail within the return period, or within the manufacturer's 1 (or 2, or 3, or 5) year warranty period. And 99.9% seem to last indefinitely afterward. A protection plan is simply free money for the reseller, with a handful of exceptions.

The hardware may be the pinnacle of what we want/is available today, but without the software/firmware side, it is an empty promise. Just like a MacBook Pro may be the superior hardware, vs. a PC laptop, the limiting o/s makes it far less than ideal for me too.

You're more willing to bet than I am with these devices, and you seem to have a bigger budget than me too!

I truly hope your assumptions pan out as you wish (it will be good for all of us).

 

[lilstone87]

I truly hope your assumptions pan out as you wish (it will be good for all of us).

Hey I hope you, or anyone else, don't think I'm just trying to be rude about the AXE11000. Overall just my opinion, just found the hardware specs on it odd, not something I would consider at that price point.

As for the AXE16000. I agree it's a lot of money, not something I normally do. However the hardware specs on it does look good, if ASUS can put it to good use with their software. As for the warranty, i agree it doesn't fit for most people, and a waste overall. Just trust me I'm doing it for good reason. This router will not become a $650 paper weight for me. If it turns out a dud. It will go back, and be replaced with something of equal value.

 

[RMerlin]

I appreciate you commenting on this. Still it's very odd to me why they pushed this router out, at that price range, with hardware specs lesser than the AX6000. I'm guessing the AX6000 came out after the AXE11000.

The GT-AXE11000 has three radios versus only two for the GT-AX6000, which significantly increases costs, and puts the product in a different market bracket (tri-band versus dual band). It probably also carries a pricing premium for supporting Wifi 6E, which is considered an high-end feature. And it was also released a year earlier than the GT-AX6000, so you can't directly compare their prices. When the GT-AXE11000 launched, it was the most powerful model on the market, and it was priced accordingly.

You are basically comparing two very different products, released one year apart from one another.

Launching one of your top of the line routers, with average hardware specs is embarrassing.

What other router on the market had higher end specs when it was launched in early 2021?

It was using the fastest CPU available from Broadcom at the time, with their fastest wifi SoC. These specs are not average, they were the fastest available on the market at the time.

 

[AnClar]

Since we’re being theoretical here, another good point to be aware of are the risks inherent in getting caught up in the never ending technology chase. Case in point, I’m in the middle of building a new gaming rig. I got an RTX3090 GPU because of a lucky coincidence, even though it’s overkill for my needs. But I knew that the RTX3090Ti was not far behind, and the 40 series behind that. I’m not unhappy about not waiting for the 3090Ti, or a 40 series. The system I’m building will be good for at least 3-5 years, and, as I do when I spec life-cycle products for paying clients, 3-5 years is where I normally go.

Same holds true for the networking side. I wasn’t ready to do the overhaul on my home network when the AXE11000 was released, and I had no 6E clients at the time either. Now that I’m ready to press go, I’ll have 6E on my new rig so I’ll at least be able to test that out. The 16000 is close enough to release for me to wait for it, plus I’m still acquiring the rest of the components for my computer. In this terrible supply chain and shipping climate I figure it’ll be at least another few weeks to a month before I have everything in hand so it works for me to wait and grab the 16000 as a test unit, if nothing else.

And without question the RTX40 series is coming, and the 50 series and the 60 series. ASUS will develop and release its suite of Wi-Fi 7 products eventually. At some point you just have to say, “Now is the time I need something, so I’ll get the best available at that moment and not look back or have second thoughts.” This approach has worked for me for years. I’m not going to change it out at this point.

 

[lilstone87]

What other router on the market had higher end specs when it was launched in early 2021?

It was using the fastest CPU available from Broadcom at the time, with their fastest wifi SoC. These specs are not average, they were the fastest available on the market at the time.

I again appreciate the info. I honestly wasn't aware it has been out already a year now. So your comments are all true, never doubt you to begin with. Seeing it was AXE, I just figured it was a newer release launched within the last 6 months.

I honestly was just looking at the AX6000, and the soon to release AXE16000. Noticed Asus had a AXE11000. I just expected it to have similar specs to the AXE16000. Was surprised when it didn't, wasn't aware it was around a year old already as well.

Do you know what it retailed at, at launch? Because if its current $550 price is about the same. I feel it should be maybe $500 at this point. Either way, as of today I wouldn't even lightly consider it for myself.

 

[lilstone87]

Since we’re being theoretical here, another good point to be aware of are the risks inherent in getting caught up in the never ending technology chase.

Oh trust me.. I know all about this. Hell with pc's you can buy something just released, and tomorrow comes, and it's already lagging behind something even newer.

As for the AXE16000, it will be a tad bit of overkill at the moment. But as long as no major issues, i see no reason it can't be my main router for at least the next 2-3 years.

As when it comes to routers, year to year. Most the time there isn't a big jump in terms of performance, with hardware upgrades.

For me, the AXE16000 2.5gbps WAN port would easily serve my internet needs for next 2-3 years. The two 10gbps ports would be plenty as well. I could always add a switch for more higher speed ports, if needed in the next 2-3 years. Then Wifi 6E is still rather new as well. I have a device, or three, that support it already. Overall I feel I could get a solid three years out of it as the main router at least.

 

[Clark Griswald]

I'm pleased with my GT-AX6000 purchase.
Looking forward to reviews & fw news, regarding the AXE16000.
Possibly acquiring, if RMerlin supported & price drops.
@John Fitzgerald Seems there is a deadline. How are you doing on my Go Fund Me Page?

 

[lilstone87]

I'm pleased with my GT-AX6000 purchase.
Looking forward to reviews & fw news, regarding the AXE16000.
Possibly acquiring, if RMerlin supported & price drops.

I'm happy you're liking your AX6000. I was very close to buying it. But I just feel I would get it, and quickly feel I should of just wait a week, or two, and got the AXE16000 instead.

I honestly didn't want to play musical chairs with routers. I would rather spend the money now, if it doesn't work out. I can still fallback to the AX6000. Overall I don't expect super smooth sailing with the AXE16000 at launch. I just hope there isn't any major firmware issues at launch. Worst case I have other routers I can use as backup if needed, for shorter term issues.

 

[L&LD]

Buying a laptop PC today, right now, is particularly painful.

Intel 12th Gen still not shipping in the model lines I prefer. The Ryzen 7000 series is so close too. And Intel 13th Gen, shipping before AMD ships theirs (possibly)!

Solution: buy the minimum needed right now and for 'up to' the next year. Buy again in 12 months +, if needed/warranted. If upgrading anything more than 2 or 3 generations ago, anything bought today is a substantial improvement.


I feel the routers are in the same boat too. If the GT-AXE16000 ships in a month, in quantity, worldwide, I'll be surprised (and I hope you get lucky and get it first). The GT-AX6000 is worth more than 10 birds in a bush, right now.

 

[lilstone87]

I feel the routers are in the same boat too. If the GT-AXE16000 ships in a month, in quantity, worldwide, I'll be surprised (and I hope you get lucky and get it first). The GT-AX6000 is worth more than 10 birds in a bush, right now.

Well I likely won't be first as I will be waiting for my retailer to put it up for sell. As I have a few $100 of credit unused with them. However as soon as they have it, I will get it ASAP.

Also I know plenty about getting newly released stuff. I managed to get two PS5's over a months time, right after it launched. Talk about hell vs bots. Manually trying to buy them online. The funny part is I managed both of them via walmart. Which was extreme hell vs bots at the time.

 

[RogerSC]

I'm a happy user of the GT-AX6000, even more so since Merlin released support for it, and I don't have to deal with the red, black, and white Asus "gaming" web admin GUI. It's providing just a scosh less throughput than the ZenWiFi AX mesh, even though it's a couple of walls and about 50' away from the room that I'm most concerned with. Very happy with that. The router and our living room are at opposite ends of our house, so I've had a couple of meshes in the past. Faster than the RT-AX86U that's been sitting on the shelf since I got the AX6000. I could wire the RT-AX86U as an AiMesh client via MoCA, except neither router is acceptable for the living room for my wife *smile*.

Not interested in wifi-6E at the moment, other than following the tech, have no clients. Nearly all the clients that I care about are wifi-6, and that's doing the job for us very well. Apple TV's, iPads and iPhones, laptop, etc. Even if I had wifi-6E clients, I don't know that I'd be chomping at the bit to spend $650 on a router...$400-ish is quite enough for me. I'll catch wifi-6E when the price curve takes a dip, if we find we actually need more bandwidth. Wifi-6 is great, loving it.

 

[AnClar]

I'm happy you're liking your AX6000. I was very close to buying it. But I just feel I would get it, and quickly feel I should of just wait a week, or two, and got the AXE16000 instead.

I honestly didn't want to play musical chairs with routers. I would rather spend the money now, if it doesn't work out. I can still fallback to the AX6000. Overall I don't expect super smooth sailing with the AXE16000 at launch. I just hope there isn't any major firmware issues at launch. Worst case I have other routers I can use as backup if needed, for shorter term issues.

Back in Feb. at least one individual on Reddit claimed to be a beta tester for Asus and commented, not surprisingly, that the fw was not ready for prime time back then. He didn't say much else because of NDA concerns other than that he and other testers had supplied the Asus engineers with a ton of logs and data related to the issues, and that he'd seen worse issues get fixed pretty quickly. I'm fully expecting some teething problems and growing pains in the first few months post-launch. I'm a beta tester for other hw so it won't upset me in the least. I'll always have a fallback position to keep the lights on. For all I know, the Redditor may also be a poster here. Wouldn't be at all surprising if he was. Same goes for whether or when RMerlin will support the unit. It'll for sure depend on the GPLs and his time. All good either way.

 

[RMerlin]

Do you know what it retailed at, at launch?

I don't know. I didn't pay attention to it as it wasn't available in Canada (we hadn't allowed the 6 GHz band yet at the time).

Because if its current $550 price is about the same. I feel it should be maybe $500 at this point.

A lot of things actually went up in price over the past 18 months due to component shortages, raw material costs increasing, etc...

The 2.5 Gbps switch I had been keeping an eye on for the past year went up by 10% over the past few weeks.

 

[RMerlin]

Intel 12th Gen still not shipping in the model lines I prefer. The Ryzen 7000 series is so close too. And Intel 13th Gen, shipping before AMD ships theirs (possibly)!

Intel 12th gen is expected to have a fairly short life cycle. Maybe not as short-lived as Cannonlake, but still I expect it to be replaced quite early with 13th gen, so they can keep up with the Zen 4 launch this autumn.

12th gen is also pretty much a first gen platform, with the new core and the new P+E core architecture (just like Ryzen 1000 series). I would expect 13th gen to try to address a lot of the issues encountered with 12th gen (hopefully better power management).

 

[Kingp1n]

@RMerlin Is it too early to predict if you'll support the AXE16000? I normally wouldnt ask this early but this is one I'm leaning into getting upon release but I never used the stock fw on my asus routers. I hope u don't take my question the wrong way.

 

[lilstone87]

I don't know that I'd be chomping at the bit to spend $650 on a router...$400-ish is quite enough for me.

Well for me my out of pocket cost will be around $450 for the GT-AXE16000. As I have some store credit with bestbuy. The only negative is it will likely be end of Q2 before bestbuy sells them. Overall not mad on waiting a bit. Saving a couple hundred out of my pocket is worth a small wait.

@RMerlin Is it too early to predict if you'll support the AXE16000? I normally wouldnt ask this early but this is one I'm leaning into getting upon release but I never used the stock fw on my asus routers. I hope u don't take my question the wrong way.

I can tell you he has nothing to share right now in regards to supporting this router. So don't buy one expecting him to support it with his builds. It's definitely possible he can/will support it. He just doesn't have anything to report regarding it currently. Hasn't officially launched yet, once it does, maybe we hear something after.