RT-AC68U / RT-AC68P / RT-AC1900 / RT-AC1900P

[RMerlin]

@RMerlin - by the way, does your firmware support RT-AC68U revision E1?

In theory yes, but I don't know for sure.

 

[wouterv]

The firmware will disable a few features when the RT-AC68A model is detected. This is a cut-down version intended for Amazon AFAIK.

Table in the first post adapted based on above.

 

[chris.at]

In theory yes, but I don't know for sure.

I can confirm that it does support E1. Have one here, running fine.

Regards,
Chris

 

[chris.at]

I may ask one question which was already asked in this thread but didn't get an answer. If 68U-E1 and 1900P share the same CPU, should it be save to clock E1 at the same 1400MHz as the 1900P, or are there other components around which aren't designed for this speed and therefore E1 only runs at 1000MHz?

Regards,
Chris

 

[cybrnook]

@wouterv

RT-AC68P is available at Amazon and Newegg as well as Bestbuy.

 

[pirx73]

@wouterv - could you please add another column to your table, indicating MerlinFW compatibility?
Possible values: OK, NOK, TBD or Unknown
Does it seems reasonable to you?

 

[wouterv]

@RMerlin , aren't all of the RT-AC68 and RT-AC1900 series supported by Asuswrt-Merlin?

 

[RMerlin]

@RMerlin , aren't all of the RT-AC68 and RT-AC1900 series supported by Asuswrt-Merlin?

Not necessarily. The TM-AC1900 for instance is not supported. (I know people got it running on it, but it requires CFE hacking, and can break at any point).

 

[wouterv]

@wouterv
RT-AC68P is available at Amazon and Newegg as well as Bestbuy.

The table is updated.

@wouterv - could you please add another column to your table, indicating MerlinFW compatibility?
Possible values: OK, NOK, TBD or Unknown
Does it seems reasonable to you?

The table is updated according the info of RMerlin.

 

[houmi]

Newegg has the AC68P on sale (refurb) today

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833320228

 

[Sean]

I can answer this part. Connecting via a VPN client on my desktop, my download speed is 67Mbps (ISP limited). The VPN client on my 800MHz RT-AC68U manages 17Mbps (CPU limited), and when overclocked to 1000MHz, over 20Mbps. All with Merlin's latest firmware.

Whether that's a big enough improvement to warrant the risks of overclocking longterm is up to you.

Would you mind pointing me in the direction for the steps on how to setup an OC? I used to do this on my AC68R, but with later FW revisions it no longer stays after a reboot. Thanks!

 

[Derpcrawler]

Got myself 1Gbps fiber. My older Netgear WNDR3700v2 was managing only ~350Mbps through-output of WAN-LAN and LAN-WAN with DD-WRT. So decided to replace it with newer router plus one with AC Wi-Fi. Was reading into the info about RT-AC68U routers for quite some time. Especially this forum. Noticed people from Europe never saw revision higher than A2 and saw that C1-E1 can have faster CPU. Since I am in Europe, was a bit disappointed but oh well.

Got my router today, says E1 revision and manufacturing date is 2017. Haven't even set up Merlin yet, will come back to confirm if it's indeed 1Ghz CPU.

Edit:
Just installed Merlin WRT, can confirm, it's 1000Mhz.

Edit 2:
@RMerlin

Is there a way to force FA+CTF on? Reason I am asking is that I am not getting my full speeds on my fiber. There is no login credentials, I just have static IP and Gateway from my ISP. I have direct fiber to my place and I got Planet-GT-905A Managed Gigabit Ethernet Media Converter. if I plug it directly to my PC Gigabit Intel port, I am getting around 915Mbps download and 998Mbps upload to likes of Microsoft OneDrive for Business and Google Drive. Speedtests also show similar speeds, so I guess my download is limited to around 915Mbps by my ISP.

But on my router with CTF enabled I manage to get only around 700-710Mbps download and around 890-900Mbps upload with CPU hitting 100% on core 1. I was searching through forums and I think CTF+FA makes most out of 1Gbps internet connections. I don't expect anywhere near native speeds, but having at least 800Mbps would be nice.

I tried disabling all Firewall features, QoS and Spanning Tree Protocol, only AI Protect is enabled, but it still shows that only CTF is enabled in Switch control.

I also confirmed that SoC is BCM4709C0 so I believe it should be able to support FA+CTF.

Edit 3:
I am stupid, it says right on the box now 1Ghz dual core processor right next to ASUS logo (top left corner of the box). It's a sticker (not printed), so I think Asus might just stick them on E1 revision?

 

[RMerlin]

Is there a way to force FA+CTF on?

The code to detect/handle FA support kept changing, so I stopped keeping track of it a long time ago. The router should automatically enable it if the hardware supports it and you don't use any incompatible features.

 

[Derpcrawler]

The code to detect/handle FA support kept changing, so I stopped keeping track of it a long time ago. The router should automatically enable it if the hardware supports it and you don't use any incompatible features.

Thank you for the reply. Does BCM4709C0 support it? And if it does, how do I know which features I need to disable? I believe I disabled everything, but UPnP - AiProtection, QoS, Firewall, etc.

Also, another questions, does Adaptive QoS break it? It's disabled, but I am thinking about enabling it, for Streaming services.

 

[RMerlin]

Thank you for the reply. Does BCM4709C0 support it?

I think it does, unless Broadcom removed it. I never checked.

how do I know which features I need to disable?

Asus frequently changes it, so there's no reliable list.

does Adaptive QoS break it?

Yes, FA is disabled when enabling Adaptive QoS.

 

[doczenith1]

I am able to get 940 Mbps WAN<-->LAN on my 68U with only CTF enabled. Core 1 does hit 100% but I do get those speeds. With CTF+FA I get the same speeds with lower cpu usage however I intentionally disable FA by turning on AiProtection because with FA enabled the Traffic Monitor stats do not correctly calculate the incoming and outgoing traffic. To get FA enabled you'll need to reset to defaults and then just set up your wireless. You should show CTF+FA (If I remember correctly it might take a reboot after initial setup to see FA enabled). Next, add any customizations one at a time and reboot in between to see what items will disable FA. From my experience AiProtection and Traffic Analyzer-Statistic will disable FA. Port forwarding will NOT disable FA.

 

[pirx73]

In theory yes, but I don't know for sure.

I will have an opportunity to verify that, got my RT-AC68U rev E1 today. Came with Warhammer 40000: Dawn of War III game Steam code.

 

[Nigel Jones]

Interesting. I'm in the UK and just ordered a ac-3200 as it was only around 25 more than ac68p and added the 1GHz processor. Unlikely I need the other enhancements.

Can I assume performance is pretty much identical as is merlin support?

 

[wouterv]

Interesting. I'm in the UK and just ordered a ac-3200 as it was only around 25 more than ac68p and added the 1GHz processor. Unlikely I need the other enhancements.

Can I assume performance is pretty much identical as is merlin support?

The RT-AC3200 and the RT-AC68 are different routers, check the comparison table in the first post.
The RT-AC3200 is a so called 3-radio router (1x 2.4 GHz, 2x 5 GHz), the RT-AC68 "only" has 2 radios.
The RT-AC3200 is supported by Merlin, check his website:
https://asuswrt.lostrealm.ca/about

 

[Stepalex]

What is the maximum VPN speed that RT-AC68U can achieve via OpenVPN?