RT-AC68U max internet throughput?

[jhferry]

I am still rocking my rt-ac68u running Merlin fork rt-386.10. My ISP has plan over 1GB download but I was wondering if this router supported that? I can't find the spec anywhere.

 

[bennor]

The WAN port on the RT-AC68U is 1GB. That's (at the very best) the fasted download you'll get even if the broadband plan is higher than 1GB (ex: 1.5 GB or 2GB, etc.)

However due to the age of the router and its hardware one may not see 1GB download speed for a number of reasons. There is a older post here discussing WAN speed on the RT68U:

[RT-AC68U] Getting 1Gbps WAN-LAN throughput

Hello! I've been using an Asus RT-AC68U router for about a year now and it has been handling my 500Mbps connection flawlessly while running Merlin 378.51. Recently I have upgraded to a 1Gbps connection (it was actually cheaper, yeah) and my trusty AC68U doesn't seem to manage getting much over...

www.snbforums.com

A internet search turns up this discussion as well:

Unable to reach max speed on Asus RT-68U

Hi, I now upgraded to a 1000Mb (download)/100Mb (upload) connection. With the generic, flimsy router I got from my ISP I reach 950/96 speeds, but with the expensive router I had for a long time now I only reach 250/96 speeds. Have no idea why. It might be because the CPU on the router is...

forums.tomshardware.com

Don't trust the RT-AC68U's internal speedtest.net/Ookla speed test results. The results are well known to be wildly inaccurate due to using a single core to test the speed. Basic suggestions. Do a hard factory reset on the RT-AC68U and do a minimal manual configuration, do not import a saved router CFG file, nor install extra scripts or activate extra router intensive features. Then test the speed from a Gigabit capable computer wired to the router's Ethernet port and not from the router's GUI.

 

[jhferry]

The WAN port on the RT-AC68U is 1GB. That's (at the very best) the fasted download you'll get even if the broadband plan is higher than 1GB (ex: 1.5 GB or 2GB, etc.)

However due to the age of the router and its hardware one may not see 1GB download speed for a number of reasons. There is a older post here discussing WAN speed on the RT68U:

[RT-AC68U] Getting 1Gbps WAN-LAN throughput

Hello! I've been using an Asus RT-AC68U router for about a year now and it has been handling my 500Mbps connection flawlessly while running Merlin 378.51. Recently I have upgraded to a 1Gbps connection (it was actually cheaper, yeah) and my trusty AC68U doesn't seem to manage getting much over...

www.snbforums.com

A internet search turns up this discussion as well:

Unable to reach max speed on Asus RT-68U

Hi, I now upgraded to a 1000Mb (download)/100Mb (upload) connection. With the generic, flimsy router I got from my ISP I reach 950/96 speeds, but with the expensive router I had for a long time now I only reach 250/96 speeds. Have no idea why. It might be because the CPU on the router is...

forums.tomshardware.com

Don't trust the RT-AC68U's internal speedtest.net/Ookla speed test results. The results are well known to be wildly inaccurate due to using a single core to test the speed. Basic suggestions. Do a hard factory reset on the RT-AC68U and do a minimal manual configuration, do not import a saved router CFG file, nor install extra scripts or activate extra router intensive features. Then test the speed from a Gigabit capable computer wired to the router's Ethernet port and not from the router's GUI.

I was actually thinking its time to upgrade. My current plan is 1.2GB but they now offer 2GB down.

 

[bennor]

I was actually thinking its time to upgrade. My current plan is 1.2GB but they now offer 2GB down.

Yes you should seriously consider upgrading the router if you have a broadband plan over 1GB. The RT-AC68U is showing its age at being something like 10 years since it's initial release. With later Merlin firmware one runs into NVRAM issues on the RT-AC68U which can cause various issues.

 

[Tech9]

My current plan is 1.2GB but they now offer 2GB down.

And what 2Gbps ISP line is going to be used for? It can't go through Wi-Fi and you need wired computers with 2.5GbE ports. Otherwise you'll never see 2Gbps to single device. Don't throw hundreds of dollars chasing ISP speed. They are going to win. You'll be paying for something you can't use.

 

[jhferry]

And what 2Gbps ISP line is going to be used for? It can't go through Wi-Fi and you need wired computers with 2.5GbE ports. Otherwise you'll never see 2Gbps to single device. Don't throw hundreds of dollars chasing ISP speed. They are going to win. You'll be paying for something you can't use.

I have multiple PCs hardwired to the router. I am adding a third. I use powerline over ethernet to connect a number of streaming devices on another floor. Then there are the various wifi devices. So my thoughts are really the aggregate of devices whacking away at that ISP limit. Not really one PC really.

 

[Tech9]

This is why routers with single 2.5GbE WAN port exist, but you have to know only downloads and speed tests may show real difference. Your Internet experience won't change. Your router is >10 years old technology and instead of paying for faster Internet - upgrade the router. What will give you real wired and wireless experience improvement with your current 1.2Gbps line is a new RT-AX86U or RT-AX86U Pro router (compact). If you want 2.5GbE LAN port as well go for GT-AX6000 (ugly and large) or GT-AX88U Pro (large). Both are almost identical hardware.

 

[jhferry]

This is why routers with single 2.5GbE WAN port exist, but you have to know only downloads and speed tests may show real difference. Your Internet experience won't change. Your router is >10 years old technology and instead of paying for faster Internet - upgrade the router. What will give you real wired and wireless experience improvement with your current 1.2Gbps line is a new RT-AX86U or RT-AX86U Pro router (compact). If you want 2.5GbE LAN port as well go for GT-AX6000 (ugly and large) or GT-AX88U Pro (large). Both are almost identical hardware.

Awesome, thanks for the suggestions. They already upgraded my existing plan to 1.2GB. The router upgrade will help a lot. Thanks!

 

[Tech9]

On >500Mbps ISP lines you have to be careful what firmware options you enable on home routers because they all have weak hardware using NAT acceleration tricks. If you hit something NAT acceleration incompatible even latest models can't do 500Mbps WAN-LAN traffic. One such tricky option is Bandwidth Limiter on a Guest Network - it kills the performance of the entire network. Don't overpay for "future proofing" hardware. Get what you need now, upgrade when it's not enough anymore. Don't overpay for latest and greatest - you are signing for a volunteer beta tester. Good luck.

 

[drinkingbird]

I have multiple PCs hardwired to the router. I am adding a third. I use powerline over ethernet to connect a number of streaming devices on another floor. Then there are the various wifi devices. So my thoughts are really the aggregate of devices whacking away at that ISP limit. Not really one PC really.

And all those things probably use under 100 megs except the occasional file download.

The 68U probably won't be able to do a full gig but if you disable all trend micro stuff (go in and revoke permission if you have ever enabled any of it) and disable the traffic statistics, disable QOS and any guest traffic limiters, etc, you'll be able to see what speed it can do from a hardwired PC (assuming the PC can do 1G, speedtest often maxes out one CPU core and limits throughput). Somewhere between 500 and 950M (950 is the most you can get on a 1G port) depending on which revision of the router you have.

Are you having any speed issues now with your current plan? If not, what is the reason for upgrading?

For reference, a 1G internet service can support a corporate environment with thousands of employees.