Impression on RT-AC88U as an ugrade over RT-AC56U

[bigeyes0x0]

So I managed to get my hands on the 88U.

Initial impression is it's big and still hot like my RT-AC56U.

I install 380.59 merlin firmware on it right away and it took me under an hour to set up all the stuffs including some custom scripts I wrote for ddns, entware, vlans for IPTV and such. Basically it's still the same platform as my 56U.

Performance wise it's indeed faster:
- For NAS, ext4 on WD Elements 2.5" 500GB goes from ~45MB to ~60MB with Reduce USB3 interference disabled.
- For WIFI ac, transfer from LAN to WIFI is also a little faster, on NAS from 22MB/s ish to around 25MB/s.

Otherwise my internet speed over WIFI ac/n still the same so it goes back to the store. For over 300% the price (88U is 300$ when you can get the 56U as the 56R version on Amazon for just 70$), with only 20 to 25% better performance does not justify it.

Not RMerlin's fault. Your firmware is always great .

P.S. More details at post #7 and #9.

 

[JSinglestein]

So I managed to get my hands on the 88U.

Initial impression is it's big and still hot like my RT-AC56U.

I install 380.59 merlin firmware on it right away and it took me under an hour to set up all the stuffs including some custom scripts I wrote for ddns, entware, vlans for IPTV and such. Basically it's still the same platform as my 56U.

Performance wise it's indeed faster:
- For NAS, ext4 on WD Elements 2.5" 500GB goes from ~45MB to ~60MB with Reduce USB3 interference disabled.
- For WIFI ac, transfer from LAN to WIFI is also a little faster, on NAS from 22MB/s ish to around 25MB/s.

Otherwise my internet speed over WIFI ac/n still the same so it goes back to the store. For over 300% the price (88U is 300$ when you can get the 56U as the 56R version on Amazon for just 70$), with only 20 to 25% better performance does not justify it.

Not RMerlin's fault. Your firmware is always great .

Did you notice any improvement in range?

 

[L&LD]

Your impressions are welcomed. But the lack of detail makes them less useful.

Care to fill in the details for us?

 

[bigeyes0x0]

Did you notice any improvement in range?

Well yes, but not by much again in the range of 20 to 30%, for my house which is around 1600 square feet with the router right at the middle, it doesn't matter which one I use.

Your impressions are welcomed. But the lack of detail makes them less useful.

Care to fill in the details for us?

Well it meant as my impression whether the RT-AC88U is worth it for me and not a review with details, anyway what kind of details do you want, maybe I can fill you in?

 

[ViRUS2k]

cool story bro......

i upgraded from DSL_68U to the RT_AC88U and have no regrets.

 

[L&LD]

Well yes, but not by much again in the range of 20 to 30%, for my house which is around 1600 square feet with the router right at the middle, it doesn't matter which one I use.

Well it meant as my impression whether the RT-AC88U is worth it for me and not a review with details, anyway what kind of details do you want, maybe I can fill you in?

The additional details in the quote above help.

How far the tested devices are (including what the tested devices are; phone/handheld, laptop or other), how many walls in-between or same room (line of sight) tests, or what channels were tested (and how) for throughput between a wired computer/NAS and a laptop (that is plugged in to the AC wall outlet), for example. Including if you performed reboots between testing the channels and/or any other configuration changes.

It is also important how you setup the router if you tested different firmware on it (sounds like you did).

http://www.snbforums.com/threads/no...l-and-manual-configuration.27115/#post-205573


While I do not doubt the conclusion you came to for your network environment, the details could help others with similar environments either better setup and/or test their current hardware or even avoid having to compare to a newer router at all.

Anything more you can offer is greatly appreciated.

 

[bigeyes0x0]

OK basically my config is like this. Both routers AC56U and AC88U on firmware: 380.59. I always factory reset after a new firmware upgrade and following is the changed settings:
- USB Application -> Network Place (Samba)... -> Enable Share, Change Workgroup Name, Enable Simpler Sharing, and set Permission as required in my config.
- Wireless -> General -> Set SSID and password for 2.4/5GHz bands
- Wireless -> Professional 2.4GHz -> Set Reducing USB 3.0 interference to disable
- LAN -> DHCP Server -> Set Hide DHCP/RA queries to Yes, Change IP Pool range, Enable DNSSEC support and set up some static IP binds
- LAN -> IPTV -> Select ISP Profile set to Manual Settings with Internet VLAN and IPTV VLAN on port 4 specified by my ISP, port 3 I leave blank
- WAN -> Internet Connection setup my PPPoE connection with MTU MRU as specified by my ISP
- WAN -> Setup my DDNS with custom script as I use cloudflare with my private domain
- Administration -> System -> Enable JFFS custom scripts and configs, set up my SSH keys and stuffs

I also setup VLAN through services-start script as described here http://www.snbforums.com/threads/iptv-vlan-and-igmp-snooping-problem.32951/ and have other scripts for ddns, firewall, entware but they're specific and not really relevant for performance.

Devices tested: laptop 1x1 802.11n 2.4GHz at 9feet through 1 wall, PC with Archer T4U 802.11ac 2x2 on 5GHz 6 feet through 2 walls (room wall and ceiling) and a OnePlus 2 with 1x1 802.11ac I go around the house with at most 3 walls and 30 feet from the router. For the USB hard drive on the router I use a WD Elements USB 3.0 500GB. Lastly I have another PC on Gigabit LAN.

For WIFI testing I tested:
- Internet connection FTTH 20Mbps both up and down, both work the same on both bands. I have no competing WIFI on 5GHz, for 2.4GHz I have around 5WIFI which I tried to use the least congested channel.
- For WIFI to NAS on router: I tested with the PC with Archer T4U: performance on the 88U is slightly better but nothing to write home about with 22MB/s average read on 56U and 25MB/s average on 88U for big file (in GBs).

For NAS beside the test above I tested with the PC connected through Gigabit LAN to the router and the speed goes from 45MB/s on 56U to 60MB/s on 88U.

All in all not worth it for me to upgrade considering feature set are the same for me, and the performance vs price just doesn't justify it. (my rule is you should gain at least around 50% like the 1070 I get over the 970 nvidia card I get recently)

Hope that's enough infos for you guys.

All in all with these performance and considering the features and price, 88U is not worth it. I hope we'll see better ac clients soon.

 

[L&LD]

Thank you for those details. Details make a difference.

Your conclusions are valid, of course. But some notes follow on why it isn't a big upgrade for you.

• The T4U does not seem to be the best WiFi adaptor to be testing something like an RT-AC56U, let alone the RT-AC88U (see link below).
• The WD Elements USB 3.0 500GB 'NAS' you use is also another limiting factor in your tests. Particularly when attached to the router (via USB). (P.S. This is not a 'NAS' at all. Nothing is when it is connected via USB instead of a LAN port to the router).
• Your ISP speeds are easily surpassed by any quality 'N' class router available. As you found, these AC class examples are far above that. I understand that you want to test/compare anyway, but what I noticed with a better (more powerful processors, dual) router is that the latency of the network was lower, even if the absolute speeds were the same. Did you see any difference in latency?
• Using a 'least congested' channel does not guarantee the highest throughput. The only way to test for that is to manually select each channel, reboot both the router and the test computers (one wired desktop w/fast drives and a plugged in (to the wall AC power) laptop). This is true for both the 2.4GHz and the 5GHz bands.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ac1200-usb-wifi-adapter-roundup,4241-7.html


I'm not sure what performance impact your customizations have either. But if we assume they were the same on both routers, the comparison should be 'fair', for your use.

Again, your additional info is appreciated and will be useful to many, I'm sure.

I hope the above notes may help you or others increase the performance of your current or future systems too. Or, at least give a hint of why the expected performance wasn't achieved.

 

[bigeyes0x0]

Thanks for your comments. Although I have switched professional I used to work as an Linux and network sysadmin for 6 years so I understand where you're coming from which is best optimize your upgrade with suitable environment. I on the other hand follow the bang for the buck value that provides me a stable, non-headache environment with not so much effort. Honestly I rather not work on network stuffs anymore .

Just like to add some comments on yours.

The T4U does not seem to be the best WiFi adaptor to be testing something like an RT-AC56U, let alone the RT-AC88U (see link below).

Maybe true for AC56U and definitely true for AC88U, but it's the bang for the buck at AC1200. People who get a AC1200 class router should go with this IMO. For the AC88U, like I said in my previous post, I hope more suitable clients pop up soon with good price/perf ratio.

The WD Elements USB 3.0 500GB 'NAS' you use is also another limiting factor in your tests. Particularly when attached to the router (via USB). (P.S. This is not a 'NAS' at all. Nothing is when it is connected via USB instead of a LAN port to the router).

Depending on how you define a NAS, basically for me it need to run some background services for me and have a shared storage through network. Heck I even used this board http://www.hardkernel.com/main/products/prdt_info.php?g_code=G143452239825 and built my own NAS on ArchLinux with various self configured daemons on it. It does work much better than the "NAS" in both these routers. The main reason I dumped it is because it causes a not justified power draw on my UPS that would cut the backup time when we have a power down here by half like with the managed switch I mentioned here http://www.snbforums.com/threads/iptv-vlan-and-igmp-snooping-problem.32951/. In the end I like simplicity of just the router and a USB HDD that ASUS routers manage to provide and it provides enough performance for me as in the house I'm the only one use it. Another case in point for this is 200$ (difference between AC56U and 88U) is enough for an entry level NAS with HDD that should provide ~100MB/s, if that's only what you want.

Your ISP speeds are easily surpassed by any quality 'N' class router available. As you found, these AC class examples are far above that. I understand that you want to test/compare anyway, but what I noticed with a better (more powerful processors, dual) router is that the latency of the network was lower, even if the absolute speeds were the same. Did you see any difference in latency?

I did notice it when I upgrade from a Draytek router to AC56U, for the AC56U to 88U, I don't notice any kind of latency difference (this is hard to benchmark correctly anyway). BTW there's no difference with "ping -t <router_ip>" on Windows with both bands as well.

Using a 'least congested' channel does not guarantee the highest throughput. The only way to test for that is to manually select each channel, reboot both the router and the test computers (one wired desktop w/fast drives and a plugged in (to the wall AC power) laptop). This is true for both the 2.4GHz and the 5GHz bands.

You might be right about this due to interference from other non-WIFI devices but on the same frequency. Then again I doubt it would be much and it's a thing that tends to change in the long run.

My conclusion from this last weekend fun is, unless I have a much better ISP, buy a faster HDD for the "NAS" on the router and have better WIFI clients without resorting to using an expensive router as client, there's no point to upgrade to the AC88U for now. Maybe in 2 years we'll see something definitely worth upgrading for my use case. thiggins and snb were right, it's likely not worth it for the majority as well. Router price is now kind of crazy for the performance benefit they provide without the expensive environment required for them to perform.

 

[pete y testing]

what i will question is did you read the reviews here on smallnetbuilder and other repositories , as most of your points are indeed correct but i would question why you would expect any more as its been explained many times that we have reached max eirp , eg max transmission power rates and so the coverage of all of these newer devices wont be massively different to the likes of the 1900ac class and the 1200ac class of the ac56u

also as explained the throughput is going to be limited by your wireless adapter and in your case the t4u is the same spec as the ac56u and thus 867M is as fast as the sync will ever be thus limited to about 30MB/s

i can tell you however that in testing with an rt-ac88u to a rt-ac5300 in media bridge mode at 10 meters with a nas connected to the 88u and test comp to 5300ac in media bridge mode im getting 117MB/s in both directions

replacing the media bridge with an asus pce-ac68 in the test comp im getting 117Mb/s read and 70MB/s write

both the pce-ac68 and rt-ac5300 in media bridge mode also have far greater reception at greater distances when compared to the tp link t4u which has internal antennas and is only 2 x 2

so the rt-ac88u is certainly capable of much faster throughput but not a great increase in coverage due to what i have explained above

i also dont think the 88u runs hot as such , it is warm but thats the nature of the heat sink and it dispersing any heat from the chipset surface to the outside air , in normal ambient conditions between zero and 40 deg c there should be no issue for the 88u

perhaps your expectations where just too high without considering the technology and capability of your existing equipment , after all the t4u is the bottleneck

if you need to use usb look at the dlink dwa-192 as its 3 x 3 and 1300M 5 gig

 

[bigeyes0x0]

Well the story is pretty simple: someone I know want a new WIFI router, the AC56U would be acceptable for them considering price and performance. I can borrow a AC88U free to test in as I know some ASUS reps in my country. So I think why not test it out and if it's worth it upgrade if not return it and get another AC56U for the one that needs a new router.

I just choose the latter options because I also don't see the needs for much more performance and I definitely don't want to upgrade other stuffs to accommodate the faster router now, just too expensive/performance wise.

Both these routers AC56U and AC88U are actually not available for sales in my country. They're already too expensive for people here mostly .

 

[pete y testing]

They're already too expensive for people here mostly .

its expensive because its the top of the line and aimed at the max power user , not the standard user , it has the performance and power needed for power users and they are willing to pay for it , its wise to understand the product and who its aimed at before buying any router

its 8 ports are great as i get to ditch my 8 port switch , speed for me is fine , link bonding for nas give almost 200MB/s available to my clients , wifi throughput and coverage are great as well as all the other features

i do agree as most of us do the average man in the street onlt needs the 1900ac class for now and quite some time to come , but if yoiu have the capability and capacity to fully utilise the bandwidth and throughput of the 88u its certainly worth looking at and to be honest its price point is pretty good compared to the 5300ac class routers