Short Range AC + Wired Performance: RT-AX88U vs R7800 vs Others

[WiFiSeeder]

Hi guys,

First time posting in the forums (but long time obsessing over its contents ).
I'm one of the hundreds of people with an AC68U. I've just signed u for a 1Gbps fiber package and I think that an update can help me better enjoy my connection

I'm living in a 2 bedrooms flat. My AC68U is in the living room and there are 7 media devices wired to it (using a switch). 2 to 5 meters away from it, peak speeds are 400 Mbps Down / 55o Mbps UP, however, it often averages around 280 Mbps UP / 400 DOWN. Wired connections can reach up to 930 MBps both ways with no issues.

In my office, about 15 meters away from the router, peak speeds are of about 175 Mbps UP / 200 Mbps Down.

I'm thinking about buying a new primary router for the living room, pulling a cable all the way to the office and reusing my AC68U as an AP. I mean, if it does not slow down the living room setup; otherwise I'll probably just use it as a glorified switch or in Media Bridge Mode.

I have a Killer 1550 card with 160hMZ Channel Support.

So, I'm basically looking for the best possible "short range" speed / stability as well as wired routing performance. If it can hit 900 Mbps+ at around 3 meters distance (160 or 80 + 80 Mhz channels) that would be brilliant. If older AC clients could hit 600 Mbps / 700 Mbps (80 Mhz channel) at short distance that would be great as well.
I don't care much about Band Steering (Small Flat. I will probably be on the 5Ghz band all of the time). I do not use my router as a VPN Client and do not need many features other than: IPv6 Support + Firewall. A bonus would be descent USB 3.0 Write Performance over WiFi (Currently my backups are taking a couple of hours and transfer speeds are never over 30 MB/S. It is sometimes faster to upload a large file to the cloud than to a HD attached to my router.

The RT-AX88U caught my attention due to 160 Mhz support. I'm also very familiar with ASUS Software and a fan of Merlin's work (I'm sure that he will support AX88U some day). Netgear's R7800 on the other hand is battle tested and probably more stable than the AX88U... However, I'm not sure about its wired performance. Finally, other options like the AC87U, AC5300 and other options (Synology, Linksys, etc) are always welcome.

Any thoughts?

 

[mike06]

I just upgraded from a 68u to a Netgear R7800 added Voxel firmware and not looking back. Very good speeds throughout my 2100 sq ft home 13 wireless devices logged in (not all in use at the same time). I bought the R7800 to improve my Ring security camera and doorbell. Not looking back the R7800 is awesome.

 

[WiFiSeeder]

I just upgraded from a 68u to a Netgear R7800 added Voxel firmware and not looking back. Very good speeds throughout my 2100 sq ft home 13 wireless devices logged in (not all in use at the same time). I bought the R7800 to improve my Ring security camera and doorbell. Not looking back the R7800 is awesome.

How is the wired performance? Can you get close to 1 Gbps?

Kind regards,

 

[mike06]

How is the wired performance? Can you get close to 1 Gbps?

Kind regards,

I only have one desktop wired and have not checked it and it is right below the router.

 

[doczenith1]

I would take a close look at the RT-AC86U. Other than the new AX models it is one of the newest models in the Asus RT line. Many have said that their wifi performance has increased when moving from a 68U to a 86U including myself. I agree with others on this site in that it's a little too early to make the move to AX. Still having growing pains and not many clients available at this time.

I'm also very familiar with ASUS Software and a fan of Merlin's work (I'm sure that he will support AX88U some day).

That day happened maybe a month or so ago