Strange RT-AC-5300 questions :)

[rbdan]

First off. Thank you in advance for any information you can provide.

Well it's time for me to upgrade my wireless router that I've had for many years. I have a very old Airport Extreme that provides limited coverage and gives me absolutely no visibility into my network at all. No QOS, VPN, Traffic monitoring, etc.

I'm considering two different models, the AC–5300 or the AC–88. I think either router, technology wise, will do just fine but now I am trying to figure out which one aesthetically will cause me the least grief from my wife.
I am hoping that the AC-5300 would be less obvious on top of my 5.5 foot entertainment tower with the antennas not sticking straight up like they would on the AC-88.

I have two questions:

1. Can someone please tell me the width of the AC– 5300 with the antennas extended to the 45° angle's that is recommended? The reason I need to know this is I want to make sure it can fit on top of my cabinet without the arms hanging off the sides.
2. Now for a technology question. Neither unit has enough ethernet ports for all of my devices, so I was wondering if I hook up my switch downstream to this router, will I still have all the management capabilities and visibility into the traffic on my network?

Thanks again for any info,

Dan

 

[manilla]

>> 1) Can someone please tell me the width of the AC– 5300 with the antennas extended to the 45° angle's

the square width is 18,9 inches / 48 cm

 

[rbdan]

Thank you Manilla!

I did have to google "zoll". I have never seen the word zoll before.

If anyone could assist with the 2nd question it would be greatly appreciated.

Dan

 

[pete y testing]

1. Now for a technology question. Neither unit has enough ethernet ports for all of my devices, so I was wondering if I hook up my switch downstream to this router, will I still have all the management capabilities and visibility into the traffic on my network?

as long as its an unmanaged swicth the answer is yes as the switch plays no part in the routing as such

btw you dont need to have the antenna 45 deg as it works fine with the all aligned vertically

 

[Deleted member 22229]

Unless you need higher signals on different floors having the antennas all vertical is the best way to go.

 

[rbdan]

Unless you need higher signals on different floors having the antennas all vertical is the best way to go.

Thanks, Good to know.

 

[Corey Zamara]

I wouldn't get the RT-AC5300, it's full of bugs, I'd get the RT-AC3100 or the RT-AC88u, same router but 4 port vs 8 port depending on needs, better pricing as well.

Both incredibly solid router's.

 

[pete y testing]

lol hell why even go to that extent when the ryt-ac68u has all you could need and or use atm anyway

 

[PaperFriend]

My 5300 is the best router I have ever purchased and I am not having any 'bugs'

 

[rbdan]

In all of my obsessive reading here, I haven't seen a lot about bugs on the 5300. I will look around again.

If the 5300 had 8 ports I would order it today. I have a t-link 8 port switch with the devices shown below connected. I am debating where or not to keep the switch and connect the low bandwidth devices to it and just move the Playstation_4, AppleTV and DirecTV to the 5300 ports. That is why I asked, will all the management features (QOS, VPN, Traffic monitoring, etc.) still work properly and give me the same visibility into my network.

FYI - The main reason I am replacing my AirPort Extreme is that I am giving it to my daughter who is moving out next month. I have a feeling she will be taking my Xbox_One also. Also the coverage isn't the greatest and if this new router doesn't help I will purchase a ASUS extender. Am I correct in thinking that the additional 5Ghz radio would be of benefit if I do have to pick up an extender and connect the two wirelessly?

Thanks again for taking the time to offer your opinions!
Dan

Wired Devices:
Airport_Extreme
AppleTV
DirecTV
Denon
Playstation_4
Xbox_One
GenieGo
Magic Jack


Wireless Devices:
1 - AppleTV
4 - iPhones
3 - iPads
1 - Android tablet
1 - iMac
1 - MacBook Pro
2 - Apple Watches
1 - Nest
1 - Christmas tree
1 - Printer

 

[GrinningShark]

My 5300 is the best router I have ever purchased and I am not having any 'bugs'

Ditto.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Puppa]

I have hit a few apparent bugs on the 5300, but to put it in perspective, my uptime out of the box was 6 solid weeks. I wouldn't qualify that as "full of bugs" by any stretch of the imagination. It's the best router I have ever owned as well (going back over 15 years!)

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

 

[Corey Zamara]

Well reading online and watching YouTube video's a fair number of people complained about heat causing it to lock up, a daily reboot was common.

 

[rbdan]

Well reading online and watching YouTube video's a fair number of people complained about heat causing it to lock up, a daily reboot was common.

That's not good. I just searched via Google and Youtube for:

"RT-AC5300 overheat"
"Asus AC5300 overheat"
"Asus AC5300 lockup"

I didn't find anything. Can you post a few links?

Thanks
Dan

 

[rbdan]

FYI - I have a message #10 waiting for moderator approval that provides more detail to my environment and needs.

 

[pete y testing]

It's the best router I have ever owned as well (going back over 15 years!)

but the question is , is it your first wireless AC router as its hard to compare any wireless N router to a wireless AC router

the 5300 is a great futuristic piece of kit that in time will show its full potential once there are adapters to take advantage of its sync speed and throughput , the same can be said of the 3100 / rt-ac87u , without the wireless adapters to go with them you are not able to unitize them to any greater benefit than you could with the 3200 or 1900ac class routers that we do have adapters for

pete

 

[System Error Message]

The AC5300 is meant to be more obvious.

 

[rbdan]

Repost due to initial delay:

If the 5300 had 8 ports I would order it today. I have a t-link 8 port switch with the devices shown above in post #10. I am debating where or not to keep the switch and connect the low bandwidth devices to it and just move the Playstation_4, AppleTV and DirecTV to the 5300 ports. That is why I asked, will all the management features (QOS, VPN, Traffic monitoring, etc.) still work properly and give me the same visibility into my network.

FYI - The main reason I am replacing my AirPort Extreme is that I am giving it to my daughter who is moving out next month. I have a feeling she will be taking my Xbox_One also. Also the coverage isn't the greatest and if this new router doesn't help I will purchase a ASUS extender. Am I correct in thinking that the additional 5Ghz radio would be of benefit if I do have to pick up an extender and connect the two wirelessly?

Thanks again for taking the time to offer your opinions!
Dan

 

[System Error Message]

it would for making bridges but than you would need 2 ac5300s. The equivalent would be 4 ac88u. You also need directional antennas and you would need to know which antenna connects to which radio.

 

[rbdan]

That would be quite expensive.

Can someone tell me the overall height of the unit with the antennas straight up?

I wish Best Buy had one to look at.

Thanks,
Dan