Overclocking RT-AC56U

[RMerlin]

i noticed that the numbers get higher as you run it multiple times....not sure if it is due to caching or something...not sure if there is a way to set it to run continually.

Probably the cables getting warmer as more packets pass through them, making it easier for new packets to just slide along.

 

[octopus]

Probably the cables getting warmer as more packets pass through them, making it easier for new packets to just slide along.

Don't make me laugh

 

[speedingcheetah]

Probably the cables getting warmer as more packets pass through them, making it easier for new packets to just slide along.

lol....very funny....

was thinking of switching to bio-neural circuitry...as soon as StarFleet gets back to me on availability.

 

[Burning Daylight]

I'm now thinking of buying ASUS RT-AC56U for Encrypted VPN.
Could enyone please confirm reproducibility of 60 Mbit result by RMerlin? As I understand, two VPN clients may have ~60 Mbit VPN each (2 cores)?

 

[Sky1111]

I'm now thinking of buying ASUS RT-AC56U for Encrypted VPN.
Could enyone please confirm reproducibility of 60 Mbit result by RMerlin? As I understand, two VPN clients may have ~60 Mbit VPN each (2 cores)?

I suggest you to pay a bit extra and get AC68U instead - the same CPU/memory as AC56, but mucho better wifi

It is unlikely that you can run 2 VPN Clients at the same time - there is no CPU core affinity setting.

 

[RMerlin]

I suggest you to pay a bit extra and get AC68U instead - the same CPU/memory as AC56, but mucho better wifi

It is unlikely that you can run 2 VPN Clients at the same time - there is no CPU core affinity setting.

Are you sure about that?

#ifdef RTCONFIG_BCMARM
        if (cpu_num > 1)
                sprintf(&buffer[0], "taskset -c %d /etc/openvpn/vpnclient%d --cd /etc/openvpn/client%d --config config.ovpn", 
(clientNum == 2 ? 1 : 0), clientNum, clientNum);

        if (taskset_ret != 0)
#endif

I made sure that instances get run on different cores.

 

[Sky1111]

Are you sure about that?

#ifdef RTCONFIG_BCMARM
        if (cpu_num > 1)
                sprintf(&buffer[0], "taskset -c %d /etc/openvpn/vpnclient%d --cd /etc/openvpn/client%d --config config.ovpn", 
(clientNum == 2 ? 1 : 0), clientNum, clientNum);

        if (taskset_ret != 0)
#endif

I made sure that instances get run on different cores.

My apologies Merlin - I did not know.

that said my recommendation to get AC68U does not change - the same will apply there...

 

[Burning Daylight]

My apologies Merlin - I did not know.

that said my recommendation to get AC68U does not change - the same will apply there...

The thing is Wi-Fi performance is not important for me at all , but thank you for advice. VPN performance is crusial, though.

 

[Sky1111]

The thing is Wi-Fi performance is not important for me at all , but thank you for advice. VPN performance is crusial, though.

If I may suggest: whatever you decide to buy at the end, make sure the store has return policy.
Depending on specific device, you may or may not be able to overclock enough to see any gains (if you are planning to); or it may end up being a brick. Hence the importance of the return policy

 

[mov7805]

After my unsuccessful experience I can only say to those who still consider Overclocking to OC CPU first instead of doing both at the same. At least you will be able to report here which step exactly bricked your router.

Hi everyone. I had the same experience, but it was successful. It was the same situation: overclock on 1000\800, blue light on powerLED and unable to enter into recovery mode with holding reset button. But - when i power up router, hold WPS (!) button for 30 sec - success! Clear NVRam, successful boot...


ps And overclock on 1000\667 was successful

 

[Sky1111]

Hi everyone. I had the same experience, but it was successful. It was the same situation: overclock on 1000\800, blue light on powerLED and unable to enter into recovery mode with holding reset button. But - when i power up router, hold WPS (!) button for 30 sec - success! Clear NVRam, successful boot...


ps And overclock on 1000\667 was successful

Thanks for sharing the trick!
Please make sure you are keeping it cool under load.
and I suggest to keep the memory at 800MHz - as long as the router reliably boots and does not hang.

 

[speedingcheetah]

Maybe it is just my hardware....i did successfully have my AC56u overclocked to 1ghz and 800mhz ram....but did notice stability issues. Routing performance did not increase at all, in fact, it seem to get worse.....and webpages failed to load sometimes....set back to stock speeds and all was normal. Even setting just the ram to 667 or just the cpu to 1ghz seemed to make things slower.

I flashed back to stock firmware now (3.0.0.4.374_291)....and things seem much faster....I am seeing nearly 50MB's transfer speeds....best yet!

 

[Sky1111]

Maybe it is just my hardware....i did successfully have my AC56u overclocked to 1ghz and 800mhz ram....but did notice stability issues. Routing performance did not increase at all, in fact, it seem to get worse.....and webpages failed to load sometimes....set back to stock speeds and all was normal. Even setting just the ram to 667 or just the cpu to 1ghz seemed to make things slower.

I flashed back to stock firmware now (3.0.0.4.374_291)....and things seem much faster....I am seeing nearly 50MB's transfer speeds....best yet!

Do you have external cooling on the router (when you were doing overclocking)?
Did you ever check CPU temperatures?

I suggest you to do testing with only ONE clock changed. For example, set CPU to 1K, leave the memory at stock (533), and see how it works for you. DO CHECK CPU temperature!

if that is not stable, obviously the CPU either needs more voltage (cannot adjust), or maybe it the max safe clock is lower - try 900-933

If CPU at 1K and memory at 533 is rock solid, than you have an issue with memory.

BTW, you can overclock using ASUS firmware too - just a bit more awkward.

 

[speedingcheetah]

Do you have external cooling on the router (when you were doing overclocking)?
Did you ever check CPU temperatures?

I suggest you to do testing with only ONE clock changed. For example, set CPU to 1K, leave the memory at stock (533), and see how it works for you. DO CHECK CPU temperature!

if that is not stable, obviously the CPU either needs more voltage (cannot adjust), or maybe it the max safe clock is lower - try 900-933

If CPU at 1K and memory at 533 is rock solid, than you have an issue with memory.

BTW, you can overclock using ASUS firmware too - just a bit more awkward.

Yes...i still have a pci slot cooler stuck to the back of it(i posted a pic of it on some time back...)

Temps were fine...can't remember the numbers...but were only a few degrees above stock...

And I mentioned that I changed just one of the clocks (either cpu or memory), and it still seemed to degrade performance.

 

[Sky1111]

Any chance you can replace the router? still under warranty, right?

 

[speedingcheetah]

Any chance you can replace the router? still under warranty, right?

Why..works fine as it is at stock...and..from what I have read...others seem to have gotten some hardware that wont even boot at even a slight overclock setting...

If only Asus would get their act together....latest firmware they released for the AC56U has serious issues..wifi speed jump was nice...but torr kill router...no thanks...

 

[RMerlin]

BTW, 3.0.0.4.374_306 will now bump the AC56U DDR clock to 666 MHz when you do a factory default reset. Same it does with the AC68U, except the AC68U also required a bootloader update.

 

[nurv2600]

I've had the office AC68U overclocked on Merlin's firmware for a while now, under extended load, at 1200/800, so far temps have stayed around 80C. So far it's been 100% stable, and we use just about every feature on it with over 100 clients. If it's stable, under load, is 80C something I have to worry about?

EDIT: Also, on my new home AC68R (stock firmware 306), whenever I set the clocks via nvram set clkfreq=1200/800 && nvram commit && reboot, the router reboots and a nvram get clkfreq reports that the change didn't stick (800/533). Is it impossible to overclock on the stock FW? (Unfortunately I need the HFS support!)

 

[speedingcheetah]

BTW, 3.0.0.4.374_306 will now bump the AC56U DDR clock to 666 MHz when you do a factory default reset. Same it does with the AC68U, except the AC68U also required a bootloader update.

.219 is the newest firmware posted....and router locks up after a short usage, instantly if u launch a torrent.

the .306 firmware that was posted somewhere here(i assumed leaked) results in no WAN connection...PPPoE fails to authenticate.

I have tried doing a reset of the router while it was on .306....and starting fresh...and the setup wizard says: "The account name and password are not correct". I have tried waiting over an hour with both modem and router off....(to alleviate any timeout thing)and it still will not connect.

I have confirmed this on 2 separate AC56u routers and locations. Both on CenturyLink and the isp router set to bridge mode (mine a Actiontec C1000A and a clients Q1000). Of course ISP won't help troubleshoot when u use the bridge mode setup....and I also checked...my modem has the newest firmware.

Soon as I flash .134 build...connects instantly.

UPDATE: FW 3.0.0.4.374.339 solves my issues.

 

[bobyang]

I tried to change to 1G for CPU when the temp is 62C. always fail and then I need to do WPS 30/30/30 to get back to the router.

thanks