Merlin + AiMesh advice

[rop]

Hi guys,

First of all, I LOVE my Asus router Ac5300 but the main reason I love my router so much is because of the Merlin FW. For me being able to add a VPN per device is my main reason of using Merlin, and it works flawlessly, thank you for this. I have a few dead spots in my home so I am planning of adding an AIMesh node to my setup.
Now my main question is the following, should I keep my AC5300 as my main router and add a couple Asus RT-AX92U nodes in AiMesh mode, OR use my 5300 as an AIMesh Node and buy a RT-AX88U as my main router. Will I benefit most by the improved CPU and 4 core or would my 5300 vs RT-AX88U perform similarly.

Thank you for any advice given.

 

[Stevens243]

Lots of variables to cover without enough info from what your setup needs to be. To start, the AX92U is not and may never be merlin supported. So, unless you have a burning desire or a specific need for WiFi 6 (AX), I'd just buy a couple of cheaper, legacy Asus routers (like AC68U's) or the like to fill my mesh gaps with.

Edit: Hmmm. Didn't have to go very far to find this: https://www.snbforums.com/threads/2-x-asus-rt-ac68u.57312/