Routers that will support 5GB fiber

[David Williams]

Getting 5gb fiber installed this week at the house and based on my research it looks like only the BE96U, BE98U and AXE16000 have the WAN ports to support this. Is this correct? The difference between the BE line of routers and AXE line of routers is the support for WiFi 7? Does the BE line of routers support the Asus Mesh so that I can still use my existing Asus Mesh network?

Thanks

 

[bbunge]

Check the Asus web site for your answers about AiMesh...

Sure glad that you are planning to experiment with WIFI 7 so we don't have to... And 5 GB WAN? Do you really need it? Will you use even 20% of that on a regular basis?

 

[RMerlin]

The difference between the BE line of routers and AXE line of routers is the support for WiFi 7?

BE = 802.11be = Wifi 7
AXE = 802.11ax + 6 GHz support = Wifi 6e.

The BE routers also have a faster CPU.

Check closely the model specific specs, they all have different Ethernet ports configuration.

Does the BE line of routers support the Asus Mesh

They do support AiMesh, at least the currently available models do.

 

[David Williams]

BE = 802.11be = Wifi 7
AXE = 802.11ax + 6 GHz support = Wifi 6e.

The BE routers also have a faster CPU.

Check closely the model specific specs, they all have different Ethernet ports configuration.


They do support AiMesh, at least the currently available models do.

Thank you for the response.

 

[David Williams]

Check the Asus web site for your answers about AiMesh...

Sure glad that you are planning to experiment with WIFI 7 so we don't have to... And 5 GB WAN? Do you really need it? Will you use even 20% of that on a regular basis?

I'm getting the 5GB WAN for $5/month more than I'm getting the 1GB WAN through work discount so why not? My current router is AX-86U won't support the full bandwidth through it.

 

[sharktank]

I'm getting the 5GB WAN for $5/month more than I'm getting the 1GB WAN through work discount so why not? My current router is AX-86U and know I won't it won't support the full bandwidth through it.

amazing! Time to think of using Dual WAN router + Wifi 7 AP I guess.

 

[Tech9]

I'm getting

You're giving, not getting. You're giving more to your ISP, planning to give more to Asus, you also have to give us feedback because new tech comes with a 2-year beta tester subscription. You are getting higher bills for the same user experience. May be also getting headaches in the process of equipment change and beta testing.

 

[Analog-1]

You're giving, not getting. You're giving more to your ISP, planning to give more to Asus, you also have to give us feedback because new tech comes with a 2-year beta tester subscription. You are getting higher bills for the same user experience. May be also getting headaches in the process of equipment change and beta testing.

I don't always agree with you, but on this one your spot on.

 

[Tech9]

I don't always agree with you

Because you're still Analog, I'm Digital.

 

[Analog-1]

Because you're still Analog, I'm Digital.

LOL. Maybe your right.

 

[David Williams]

Thank you all for the "helpful" feedback... Wasn't planning on testing Wi-Fi 7 since I don't have any Wi-Fi 7 devices, I was more asking for future proofing. After more research, in addition to the $200-$300 price difference, I'm leaning towards the AXE-16000 since, as you all alluded to in a roundabout way, it's probably better tested than the BE devices and I can also use the Merlin software if I choose to.

 

[Tech9]

Thank you all for the "helpful" feedback...

This 5Gbps WAN is going nowhere on wired or wireless. You have to invest way more for wired 5-10GbE network and can't get >1.7Gbps to common 2-stream client, and it has to support 160MHz wide channels, and 160MHz wide channels require clear DFS, and only close to the router in the same room. The new to you 6GHz band on GT-AXE16000 has even shorter range than your current 5GHz router and the clients for it are still very limited. This is the "futureproofing" you get with home AIO router... on paper. In reality you'll be getting the same up to Gigabit on wired and wireless and no one in your family will notice the "upgrade", except you on your credit card bill. Make sure you have a good excuse why did you spend extra money for nothing. Someone may ask.

GT-AX16000 is well tested indeed. It doesn't even have 3.0.0.6 Pro firmware yet. Only a Beta from Mar 2023. It's almost Mar 2024 now. Good luck.

 

[David Williams]

I hear you so have gone ahead and cancelled the router and will see what my existing devices will do on Friday and compare with what I have today with my AX-86U. Worse case scenario I can use the 2.5 port on it and if I see no difference to what I am getting today then I just go online and downgrade my internet back to 1Gbps that I have today. I'll at least get a new AT&T router/modem to replace my current one that is about 8 years old. Thanks.

 

[Tech9]

Family of 4 here, usual work/learn from home, browsing, streaming. The bandwidth needed rarely exceeds 150Mbps. You basically invest in faster occasional downloads and speed tests. All the rest will be exactly the same. Your phones and tablets don't need >100Mbps, UHD streaming is up to 40Mbps, browsing rarely exceeds 50Mbps bursts. Watch your Traffic Monitor on your RT-AX86U from time to time, last 24 hours. You'll get an idea if you need higher speed or not. Your ISP knows you perhaps don't need it, won't use it and your equipment can't handle it. They'll take happily extra money for about the same as before traffic and speed. It's a marketing trick.

 

[David Williams]

Agree on what you are saying. I do have a NAS at home that me and my family connect to when away from home. According to my internet usage report this is what family used this month: Used 8335GB, 1004GB downloaded, 7332GB uploaded.

This was an unusual month because my daughter is way at college. Normally its about half of this. I will see if performance is better for my daughter after Friday but based on what you are saying, makes sense, I shouldn't see a lot of change. Just have to hope that it doesnt get slower...

 

[Tech9]

It all depends on the needs. A digital content creator may take advantage of multi-Gigabit connection. A serious investment in hardware and infrastructure is needed though and whatever is high speed - wired only. On wireless what we can get is about 800Mbps @80MHz wide channels. Some may push it up to 1.7Gbps, but many factors at play and not guaranteed. For >2Gbps WAN home AIO routers may struggle. They all rely heavily on NAT acceleration. One incompatible firmware option and the router can't do even 500Mbps. This incompatible option may be simple Bandwidth Limiter on a Guest Network. For multi-Gigabit WAN-LAN - x86 hardware firewall, switches with 2.5GbE or faster ports, NAS with corresponding ports, wired computers with corresponding ports. Proper equipment may reach thousands of dollars very fast.

 

[Tech9]

I do have a NAS at home that me and my family connect to when away from home.

Your family has to connect back to your home with >Gigabit connection in order to take advantage of >Gigabit upload. This automatically excludes remote locations with Wi-Fi. Must be wired computer with at least 2.5GbE port connected to >Gigabit ISP or perhaps a phone with line of sight to 5G cell tower. What a phone is going to do with the large data downloaded is another question. I have a feeling you have huge bandwidth waste. If you upload to your devices UHD media for example - how many pixels you can see on a phone/tablet/laptop screen? The file size difference between 720p and 4K is huge, but your eyes may not be able to see the difference on a small screen.