RT-AC3100 vs RT-AC88u vs RT-AC3200

[endtimes]

Hello!

So I'm pulling out my hair trying to figure out the differences between these routers.

In some sites like Amazon and even CNET, I see the dual band 88U refereed to as the AC3100. This is just one example, http://www.amazon.com/dp/B016EWKQAQ/?tag=snbforums-20. It has a price of around $300.

But then you look at the RT-AC3200 with a price tag of approximately $50 cheaper and being a tri band makes me scratch my head a little. I can see the 88U has 8 ports vs 4 and has the game accelerator but I'm trying to understand if there are any more real differences. Between the minor differences and the models numbers, I'm quite confused. Is there a router that has the features of the 88U but in a 4 port?

Any help and explanation would be greatly appreciated.

 

[pete y testing]

Between the minor differences and the models numbers, I'm quite confused. Is there a router that has the features of the 88U but in a 4 port?

yes it can be a bit confusing because of the way they have named them but it breaks down like the

the 88u and the 3100 are the same class wifi , eg 2156M on 5 gig and 1000M on 2.4 gig

the 88u has 8 port which 2 can be use fir link aggregation

the 3100 has 4 less ports and thats about it apart from the red antennas on the 88u

----------------------------

the ac3200 is a different class being a gen 1 wifi with 600M on 2.4 gig and 1 x 5 gig 1300M + another 1 x 1300M 5 gig and is why its called tri band

it doesnt have link aggregation nor game boost

but the 3200 is still a dam good router and until recently the 3200 spent a few months on the front line of my home network and didnt miss a beat and no complaints from the tribe

----------------------------

reality if you dont have or cant see yourself getting a nas or server with link aggregation and aint a super hard core games you will get about the same performance from all 3 with your current wifi clients and connected devices

so make your decision based on budget or base it on future proofing ether way you really cant go wrong

 

[endtimes]

Thanks for the info. That does help.

Here is my situation. I work in networking but mostly in enterprise level systems so building out a home network and focusing on home SOHO consumer grade products is a little bit of unfamiliar territory. I game a lot. I also do a lot of streaming and some file sharing. So I'm working on how I want to configure the new house my girlfriend and I just bought. Between each of us, well mostly me, we have a good number of devices between game consoles, gaming PC, phones, tablets, Chrcomecast...and I'd like to put a NAS in a little bit down the road. So far, I plan on running Ethernet cable through the house because I believe in wired ports over wireless any day of the week. lol I also may need to add an additional AP in the house cause I don't want any lapse in coverage and its a big house. And what I'm wrestling with is how many ports I really need on the router because I intend to run a probably a 24 port switch where I will run the cables from. So that brings me back to the beginning. I don't want to (can't really) spend the money on enterprise or business level products. I'd rather run with the home media market products because they have really come a long way and you can get a lot of features for cheap prices, relatively speaking. I like what the 88U offers but I feel like I could save a little bit of money with another model since I don't need 8 ports if I plan on a switch. Still, the 88U is nice and I still could run an AP to it just fine and the LAG would be great to the NAS drive. For the switch, I don't need anything overkill as I don't think I'm really going to be setting up VLANs because my network is small. High data transfers wont be happening consistently enough to warrant it. And my kids are too young yet for connected devices.

I need to do more research but that's more or less what I'm thinking.


Thanks for all the help

 

[pete y testing]

I need to do more research but that's more or less what I'm thinking.

sounds like you have half a plan just need to refine it now

so with regards to the NAS i would suggest you buy a as that is capable of link bonding anyways there days and that means ether the switch or the router need to have link bonding built in

so you ether buy a cheaper router like the rt-ac3200 and get a switch with bonding

or

buy the rt-ac88u and get a standard switch

the price difference im not sure about but a semi managed switch with bonding might be more in the long run cost wise

----------------

running cables everywhere you need them is the smart way to go

but make sure you run 2 ethernet cables to somewhere central in the house

the reason for this is you can locate the switch and cables in a different location and still run the 88u in the center of the house for best wifi coverage and still run it as your router

goes something like this

internet provision ( modem or ntd etc ) in same place as switch

2 cables run from the switch location to the center of the house

you connect directly from the modem or ntd to one of these ethernet leads , the other end of the leads connects to the wan port of the router you choose

the other ethernet lead connects to a lan port on the router you choose and its other end connects to the switch and all other ethernet cables connect to switch as well

this way the router performs all routing and wifi duties and feeds the switch

-------------------

if after installing the 88u you find there are still black spots (which i doubt ) you can then just add a wireless access point to one of the ethernet runs in that part of the house

the reason i say i doubt it

see

Asus rt-ac88u data throughput
http://www.snbforums.com/threads/asus-rt-ac88u-data-throughput.31991/

at 25 meters through quite a few walls the asus is still pounding out the signal

pete

 

[endtimes]

pete y testing, awesome stuff and great help.

You hit on another issue I was thinking about yesterday. Since the router would be used as the wireless AP, I'd have to consider putting that in a different, more central location then maybe where I place the switch and modem. Because I was thinking of maybe just getting a non-wireless router instead and buy some AP for the house. But the advantage to the ASUS is what it offers in software and having the additional ports on the router could come in handy since it will be put in a different location than the switch. I'm concerned about the wireless coverage in my media room which will be in the basement while the 88U will be in the first floor. But having the wired ports in the basement will severely decrease the need for blanketed wifi. I'll have my PC down there as well as my NAS and game systems. The Chromecast will most likly be in the family room as well as the upstairs master bedroom.

Any recommendation for inexpensive but good quality cat6?

 

[pete y testing]

Any recommendation for inexpensive but good quality cat6?

no soz im in oz so i can only say whats available here , but just get your electrician source and install it

 

[Marc66]

pete y testing, awesome stuff and great help.
Any recommendation for inexpensive but good quality cat6?

If you're to go with the effort of rewiring the house, you should invest in Cat7 cabling. If you can't afford Cat7 connectors, you can start with Cat6e and upgrade them later. It is easier to change a connector than to completely upgrade the cabling.

Not sure where you're located but here's what I used when I upgraded my phone cabling and outlets to Cat7 cable and Cat6e outlets: https://www.1000ordi.ch/dätwyler-network-cable-cat-7-sftp-(orange)-100.0-m-182934-56429.html

 

[ngerasimatos]

I agree on the CAT 6e or 7 can support 10G will be the future and you may as well future proof your network.

 

[JustinHu]

I've been eagerly waiting to join SNB. So I have came along way over the past month determined to learn more about privacy and security. I'm trying to find the best way to provide vpn access to my newly purchased firetv. Since I will mainly be using p2p I want to make sure I'm secured and my Ip isn't visible. I want to say thanks for all of the discussions you guys have had on this forum as I have read so many the past month. I first wanted to learn the basics before joining and annoyingly asking something too noobish. I wrote down every acronym and terminology I didn't understand and thouroughly researched it until I understood. I will probably ask a stupid question here and there (maybe even the one I'm about to ask) but even though I'm novice I'm a very quick learner.

 

[JustinHu]

Now to my question though: is the only difference between the 3100 and the 88u the number of ports? On previous pages this is what has been Mentioned but a quick google search indicated the 3100 is not IPv6 compatible. Also, are the realtek ports more efficient than Broadcom?

I ask this because I have been researching ddwrt, tomato shibby, Merlin, and Sabai. I think I've settled on Merlin "seems to be the most invested operator, and I like the OC option since vpn will slow down connection ultimately". I have research multiple routers and finally came down to the 88u, yet that was until I saw the 3100 on Black Friday sale at bestbuy for $191 (cheaper than the 68p oddly). I want to bite before the Black Friday deal ends but I don't want to make the wrong decision...

 

[soulbadguy]

Now to my question though: is the only difference between the 3100 and the 88u the number of ports? On previous pages this is what has been Mentioned but a quick google search indicated the 3100 is not IPv6 compatible. Also, are the realtek ports more efficient than Broadcom?

I ask this because I have been researching ddwrt, tomato shibby, Merlin, and Sabai. I think I've settled on Merlin "seems to be the most invested operator, and I like the OC option since vpn will slow down connection ultimately". I have research multiple routers and finally came down to the 88u, yet that was until I saw the 3100 on Black Friday sale at bestbuy for $191 (cheaper than the 68p oddly). I want to bite before the Black Friday deal ends but I don't want to make the wrong decision...

I am actually looking at the same deal. Since it's cheaper than the AC1900P you might as well go for it

 

[soulbadguy]

Now to my question though: is the only difference between the 3100 and the 88u the number of ports? On previous pages this is what has been Mentioned but a quick google search indicated the 3100 is not IPv6 compatible. Also, are the realtek ports more efficient than Broadcom?

I ask this because I have been researching ddwrt, tomato shibby, Merlin, and Sabai. I think I've settled on Merlin "seems to be the most invested operator, and I like the OC option since vpn will slow down connection ultimately". I have research multiple routers and finally came down to the 88u, yet that was until I saw the 3100 on Black Friday sale at bestbuy for $191 (cheaper than the 68p oddly). I want to bite before the Black Friday deal ends but I don't want to make the wrong decision...

even better deal at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833320287&ignorebbr=1

 

[L&LD]

even better deal at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833320287&ignorebbr=1

That isn't a better deal, even if it is less money (it is a refurbished unit).

 

[wouterv]

In short the RT-AC3100, RT-AC88 and RT-AC3200 compare as follows:

The RT-AC3100 and RT-AC88U are identical routers with MU-MIMO support. The difference is the number of LAN ports: the RT-AC3100 has 4 LAN ports and the RT-AC88U has 4 broadcom + 4 realtek LAN ports.
The RT-AC88U can be easily identified by the red accents.
Be aware MU-MIMO is still in beta and must be supported by the client end as well to work.

The RT-AC3200 has 3 radios: 1x 2.4 GHz and 2x 5 GHz.
Those two 5 GHz radios are completely separated, allowing you to connect one group of clients to the first 5 GHz radio and an other group of clients to the second 5 GHz radio.
The RT-AC3200 does not support MU-MIMO.
By using two 5 GHz radios and the use of "standard" 802.11ac clients you can split the wireless communication load.

As further comparison, the RT-AC68/RT-AC1900 series routers are standard 802.11ac, without MU-MIMO, with "only" one 2.4 GHz radio and one 5 GHz radio and less memory compared to the above mentioned routers.

With the strict regulations in place I do not think there are major difference in wireless coverage between all above mentioned routers.

 

[willyburz]

The RT-AC3200 is a steal right now!

 

[Roy2001]

I just downgraded from R8000 (Netgear version of AC3200) to AC68U. I would say, AC68U is good enough although 2 5Ghz bands sound better. I don't see any reason to get MIMU router, I think it is half cooked technology and whether it would fly is a big question. If OP has a lot, I mean a lot, of devices, AC3200 should be fine. I have totally 15-20 devices constantly connected to router and they are all fine. So save money, either get a AC1900 or AC3200.

 

[wouterv]

I made another table as quick comparison between different actual Asus 802.11ac routers:

[EDIT] CPU, RAM, Flash added (to my best knowledge).

 

[Roy2001]

I made another table as quick comparison between different actual Asus 802.11ac routers:

View attachment 7871

Probably you can add RAM size and CPU speed, which matter to some people who run VNC.

 

[JustinHu]

Thanks for all the info guys!. I ended up missing the window on the 3100 at bestbuy, so I took advantage of the 1900p for only $130 on cyber Monday. Although, later that evening I noticed Walmart had the 3100 for $210 and decided to buy it also. I keep fighting myself on which one to keep, but in honesty I'll probably keep both since my goal is to somehow set up network that I can place secure devices on and a network I can place not so secure devices on.

 

[kudzero]

Thanks for all the info guys!. I ended up missing the window on the 3100 at bestbuy, so I took advantage of the 1900p for only $130 on cyber Monday. Although, later that evening I noticed Walmart had the 3100 for $210 and decided to buy it also. I keep fighting myself on which one to keep, but in honesty I'll probably keep both since my goal is to somehow set up network that I can place secure devices on and a network I can place not so secure devices on.

About a year ago I tried all the 'high end' consumer routers (at the time) BestBuy had, Netgear R8000, Linksys WRT3200AC, Buffalo AirStation 1750, Asus rt-ac3100. I flashed every offical, open source and 3rd party firmware I could find for every router I had but only one combination could pull off all the functions that I needed it to. The Asus RT-AC3100 running Merlin Firmware.

Our home netowrk has 17 wi-fi devices connected, a 24 port switch connected, VPN Client active w/ policy routing, stream movies from the routers usb with a WD mypassport (self-powered through USB 3.0), Netflix streaming in full HD to 3-4 TV's at the same time, tablets phones, online gaming, all mostly over wifi and this thing is like a rock. Never lags or reboots, it's on the 2nd floor of a 3 story home and I get wifi coverage inside and out in the yard no problem.

Merlin runs great on the 3100 and the resource usage is amazing, the CPU rarely goes over 10% and the average RAM use average is about 15%. Only thing I would have done differently would've been to wait a little longer for the 88U to release just because those extra ports could've come in handy!