News RT-AX68U

[Clark Griswald]

I'm sure the 8600+ reviews are legitimate and true, just like all the other Amazon reviews

 

[dscline]

Sometime in the last couple of days, Amazon decided to copy all 8613 reviews from the AC68U to the AX68U page. With only 1 letter difference in the model name, they must be pretty similar, right?

It's just because, for some reason, they've put them on the same product page (along with a couple of other models). If you go to the "all reviews" page, you can filter them for just the AX2700 reviews (of which there appear to be none). I hate when they combine different products on one page.

 

[pirx73]

Appeared in Latvia's internet shops, price range at the moment of writing this: 210..260€
Expected delivery - 15.02

 

[Lee MacMillan]

It's just because, for some reason, they've put them on the same product page (along with a couple of other models). If you go to the "all reviews" page, you can filter them for just the AX2700 reviews (of which there appear to be none). I hate when they combine different products on one page.
View attachment 29976

One review so far. Not off to a good start. Wouldn't connect to wifi (acknowledged by Asus tech support) and had to be returned!

 

[L&LD]

How many possible sales though that don't 'review' anything?

Reviews are just current marketing tactics. Not good for reliable information at all.

 

[Lee MacMillan]

How many possible sales though that don't 'review' anything?

Reviews are just current marketing tactics. Not good for reliable information at all.

That's true and I think dissatisfied customers are more likely to post a review than satisfied ones.

 

[dscline]

How many possible sales though that don't 'review' anything?

Reviews are just current marketing tactics. Not good for reliable information at all.

I bought mine through Amazon and didn't review it. But as I said before, I'm a fairly basic user, so I'm not a good source. I can say I had no problem getting it set up, and performance has improved over the router it replaced, but I also slightly moved it, so not completely apples to apples. But I can at least confirm they don't ALL have to be returned.

 

[pirx73]

Reviews are just current marketing tactics. Not good for reliable information at all.

But SNB will review AX68 right? That would be a realiable review?

 

[thiggins]

But SNB will review AX68 right? That would be a realiable review?

I am planning to have that be the first review when I restart.

 

[pirx73]

Looking forward to @thiggins ! Just checked out - in Latvia cheapest deal for AX68 is 199€

 

[chichow]

VPN question

So I see that the AX will have a quad-core CPU but we know that OpenVPN is single core.

BCM4908 (Quad) with AX68 and
BCM4906 CPU (Dual) with AC86U

both at 1.8Ghz

understand also that it is diff gen architectures, 64 bit etc. and crypto is offload

When or if Merlin someday becomes available should I then expect

1) better OpenVPN performance than the current say ~ 200Mbps and

2) is there improvements for generational changes on AES NI

Thanks

 

[Lee MacMillan]

VPN question

So I see that the AX will have a quad-core CPU but we know that OpenVPN is single core.

BCM4908 (Quad) with AX68 and
BCM4906 CPU (Dual) with AC86U

I think you're confusing the AX68U and the AX86U. The former has a dual-core BCM4906 (same as the AC86U) and the latter has the quad-core 4908.

 

[chichow]

I can't edit my prior post.

I mean for this one AX68U - what can I expect as an estimate for OpenVPN performance

RT-AX68U｜WiFi 6｜ASUS Global

WiFi 6 router, free network security, easy setup, fast wifi with no dead zone, mesh WiFi support, free VPN, parental controls, nice design, 802.11ax technology

www.asus.com

given that this thread with the older AC version has an OpenVPN performance of about 200Mbps

OpenVPN performance of the RT-AC86U

I've run a few iperf tests through an OpenVPN tunnel with the OpenVPN 2.4 server running on the RT-AC86U (on an early alpha build of Asuswrt-Merlin). The iperf client ran on my i7 7700K desktop, and the iperf server was on an i5 5200 laptop, connected on the other side of the RT-AC86U. Both...

www.snbforums.com

 

[L&LD]

At best, the same. At worst, less. Given the only information given is the (same?) 1.8GHz Dual Core as in the RT-AC86U.

 

[chichow]

I wonder if there is a difference in the SPU. I didn't see anything on the broadcom site

BCM49408

This high performance CPU has been designed from the ground up for the next generation of Wave 2 wireless applications.

www.broadcom.com

 

[chichow]

because if the software is going to use the built in hardware acceleration then I think the clock cycle of the single CPU would matter less

sorry for the crap link, but it shows a diagram to the SPU

BROADCOM 802.11AX Solution:BCM4908+BCM43684wifi主板定制 开发板研制ODM-正远智能

 

[chichow]

booyah!

NEW: Added support for the RT-AX68U.

Updated documentation · RMerl/asuswrt-merlin.ng@aa81b03

Third party firmware for Asus routers (newer codebase) - Updated documentation · RMerl/asuswrt-merlin.ng@aa81b03

github.com

 

[Grievous Angel]

Wow, long thread. A couple of observations: Asus really does have bewildering and confusing lineup of routers. I don't suppose the other manufacturers are any better. But I counted at least 5 or 6 different AX routers discussed here and I'm not sure the AX11Billion even came up. Or the "ROG" line. Bottom line, the price for these routers may be the strongest signal: you get what you pay for.

I knew something was up when the ax58/82 at best buy were both far cheaper than what I paid for the AC3100.

Glad I have this forum to help me sort it out.

On this router...I'm not sure if it's going or coming. The front looks like the rear. And the rear looks like the front. I like the ax86 looks a lot better and it's featured prominently (gotta let them antennae breathe!) so that alone might be worth another 50 bucks. And btw for anyone wondering I got it in 2 days from Amazon. The supply constraints appear to be better than earlier discussed, though it's not a router I could get at BB.

 

[iluvblackbmw]

PSA: This router doesn't appear to support DFS in the US: Should I see DFS channels on a US RT-AX68U running Merlin? | SmallNetBuilder Forums (snbforums.com)

 

[jumboframesZ]

Just got rt-ax68u as replacement for my failing rt-ac86u for 151eur (~184usd) in local shop in Latvia.

Could not justify for myself purchase of rt-ax86u, so got ax68u instead. Must have was merlin fw support, of course. Without merlin any asus router is zero worth for me.

Not set it up yet, will do it this weekend. Will let you know. I expect same performance as ac86u since CPU and ram is same. Dont care about wi-fi much, I care about usb 3 port performance when sharing files. I hope read speed will be maxed out by gbit lan like it is on ac-86u.