RT-AC86U vs RT-AC87U

[regular]

I am currently running a 3 year old RT-AC87U on Merlin's latest firmware. I had a while where it constantly locked up but it has been running smoothly with no lockups for the past 2 years. With the upcoming Black Friday sales, I can get the RT-AC86U on discount.

I was wondering if any of you can explain if there will be any tangible benefits to upgrading? I do understand there is a newer CPU and that there is no longer a Quantenna chipset which was causing a lot of problems before.

 

[RMerlin]

The RT-AC86U CPU will greatly enhance VPN or USB sharing performance.

 

[sfx2000]

I was wondering if any of you can explain if there will be any tangible benefits to upgrading? I do understand there is a newer CPU and that there is no longer a Quantenna chipset which was causing a lot of problems before.

You will not be disappointed by the upgrade...

As for the 87U and Quantenna - it's probably better than what one might expect reading on the forums here - as folks rarely post when things are working... Quantenna gets a bad rap sometimes, but I've seen them in other solutions and they're ok...

 

[RMerlin]

but I've seen them in other solutions and they're ok...

Not in this case however. In addition to numerous driver issues, that chip frequently suffers from early failures, and Asus's implementation is also pretty bad (they went with a RGMII interface instead of the PCIE interface recommended by Quantenna).

 

[regular]

Thanks Merlin. So far it's been working well on your firmware and I look forward to trying out the AC86U on your firmware as well.

 

[Big_AL]

Not in this case however. In addition to numerous driver issues, that chip frequently suffers from early failures, and Asus's implementation is also pretty bad (they went with a RGMII interface instead of the PCIE interface recommended by Quantenna).

Merlin, sorry - do I read then that the AC86U would be a good upgrade to the AC87U? I am looking for a router with the closest spec, but would be mesh compatible. I would stick with the 87U if I could as performance for me has been solid, but lack of Mesh support is disapointing. I run it on your firmware. I have a large old victorian house - the client thats in the loft has ok coverage but sometimes its a bit poor, so would like to upgrade to mesh to take care of that issue. Also - if I take a backup of my settings for the 87U, can I restore them on the 86U ? thanks for your help

 

[Grisu]

Merlin doesnt support Aimesh, either go with merlin w/o Aimesh or Asus-stock with Aimesh. Its up on you what you like more.
You cant load settings from a different router, not even to same model (some did me too but not recommeded)!

 

[Big_AL]

Merlin doesnt support Aimesh, either go with merlin w/o Aimesh or Asus-stock with Aimesh. Its up on you what you like more.
You cant load settings from a different router, not even to same model!

I appreciate the info - thank you very much.

 

[RMerlin]

The RT-AC86U is a better router than the RT-AC87U in almost every way, yes.

 

[Big_AL]

The RT-AC86U is a better router than the RT-AC87U in almost every way, yes.

Thanks Merlin!

 

[Big_AL]

Thanks Merlin!

Just one other thing - I've noticed that the cost of the AC86U is lower than the AC86U, which is curious..

 

[RMerlin]

Just one other thing - I've noticed that the cost of the AC86U is lower than the AC86U, which is curious..

Say that again?

 

[Big_AL]

Say that again?

Sorry - I started on the old Captain Morgan a little early!

I meant to say that the I've noticed that the cost of the AC86U is lower than the AC87U, so was just wondering why that was the case, if the AC86U is a better router

 

[RMerlin]

Sorry - I started on the old Captain Morgan a little early!

I meant to say that the I've noticed that the cost of the AC86U is lower than the AC87U, so was just wondering why that was the case, if the AC86U is a better router

It's not. The RT-AC86U is frequently discounted recently, which is why the prices are often so close. If you look at the regular prices (without discount), the RT-AC86U is 50$ more expensive.

On Amazon:
RT-AC86U:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0752FD3XJ/?tag=snbforums-20 (199$)

RT-AC87U:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MPI5N7U/?tag=snbforums-20 (159$)

 

[MarkyPancake]

Get the AC86U. You won't be disappointed.

I've gone from an N66U, to an AC68U and now an AC86U, all running Merlin firmware and each one has performed better than the last and they've all been great for their time.

 

[Big_AL]

It's not. The RT-AC86U is frequently discounted recently, which is why the prices are often so close. If you look at the regular prices (without discount), the RT-AC86U is 50$ more expensive.

On Amazon:
RT-AC86U:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0752FD3XJ/?tag=snbforums-20 (199$)

RT-AC87U:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MPI5N7U/?tag=snbforums-20 (159$)

Ok - perhaps in the US but here in the UK, the 87U is still more expensive - not by a large ammount - about £20 or so.

 

[Big_AL]

Get the AC86U. You won't be disappointed.

I've gone from an N66U, to an AC68U and now an AC86U, all running Merlin firmware and each one has performed better than the last and they've all been great for their time.

I think you are right - based on Merlin's views on the 86U and some of the in depth reviews I have read - I think I will be having a deeper look at this, as soon as I can figure out how to get my company to fund it as I want to add some Lyra nodes to it as well and really future proof my upgrade as far as possible