Updating from RT AC1900P to RT AC86U ...worth it?

[ika]

I have changed my mind about RT-AC86U. I do not recommend ASUS routers to anyone anymore.

My first Asus router was n66u and now I have ac68u, both were running Merlin + entware (To be precise, I switched to john9527's awesome fork on the n66u when Merlin "abandoned" it).
I never had any issues and it is simply pure joy to use these units with Merlin's FW, I could never go back.

In previous years, I deployed many N18U units for friends and in the family (talking about more than 50 routers here), and lately I mostly deploy AC65P units. Both were exceptional "bang for the bucks" devices (the ac65p truly is), and it really saddens me that I had to go OpenWRT with both since Merlin does not support them...but to the point:

the only problem I ever had with any of those routers is 2-3 power adapter failures, and that is it for hundreds of deployed units!

Yes of course, networking is cool and I'm also an enthusiast, I understand that soho routers have many shortcomings. I also bought an ER-4 and a GS108Tv2 along with some UAP-AC Pro APs to play around at home, and those are awesome indeed, but also an overkill to be honest. There is simply nothing what my ac86u could not do (with some tinkering) what a home user would need.

I agree that Asus (just like all the other big brands) are dropping quality rapidly in the last few years, but my personal experiences are vastly differ from yours, and - for home use - I personaly still prefer anything what Merlin supports.

edit:typo

 

[Val D.]

but my personal experiences are vastly differ from yours

Shouting doesn't make your point more valid. Just use whatever you think is best for your needs.

By the way, what are the specifications of ASUS RT-AC65P? It's a region specific router, not offered around here.

 

[ika]

Shouting doesn't make your point more valid. Just use whatever you think is best for your needs.

By the way, what are the specifications of ASUS RT-AC65P? It's a region specific router, not offered around here.

I did not meant to shout, only tried to mark the TL&DR part of the post, sorry about that one.

The 65p is quite powerful considering how cheap it is (usualy goes for 1/3 of the 86u's price). It has a dual core/quad thread CPU with 256MiB RAM, and runs very cool compared to the 86u (full spec here: https://wikidevi.wi-cat.ru/ASUS_RT-AC65P, I hope it's allowed to link from other sites).

Official Spec from Asus global:

• Network Standard
  • IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11n, IEEE 802.11ac
• Product Segment
  • AC1750 superior AC performance : 450+1300 Mbps
• Coverage
  • Large homes
• Data Rate
  • 802.11a : 6,9,12,18,24,36,48,54 Mbps
  • 802.11b : 1, 2, 5.5, 11 Mbps
  • 802.11n : up to 450 Mbps
  • 802.11ac : up to 1300 Mbps
• Antenna
  • External antenna x 3
  • Internal antenna x 1
• Transmit/Receive
  • 2.4 GHz 3 x 3
  • 5 GHz 3 x 3
• Operating Frequency
  • 2.4 GHz / 5 GHz
• Encryption
  • 64-bit WEP, 128-bit WEP, WPA-Enterprise , WPA2-Enterprise
• Management
  • DHCP, DDNS, System Event Log
• Utilities
  • Router setup wizard, firmware restoration, device discovery
• Ports
  • RJ45 for 10/100/1000/Gigabits BaseT for WAN x 1, RJ45 for 10/100/1000/Gigabits BaseT for LAN x 4
  • USB 3.1 Gen 1 x 1
• Features
  • MU-MIMO
  • SmartQoS
  • - WMM
  • - User definable rules for IP/MAC/Port
  • - Upload and download bandwidth management
  • - ACK/SYN/FIN/RST/ICMP with highest priority
  Parental Control
  • Guest Network : 2.4 GHz x 3, 5 GHz x 3
  • VPN server : PPTP Server, OpenVPN Server
  • VPN client : PPTP client, L2TP client, OpenVPN client
  • VPN Pass-Though :IPSec, PPTP, L2TP
  • AiDisk file server
  • - Samba and FTP server with account management
  • IPTV support
• Dimensions
  • 220 x 87 x 158 ~ cm (WxDxH) (Without Bezel)
• Weight
  • 533 g
• Package Content
  • 1 x RT-AC65P Dual Band Wireless-AC1750 Gigabit Router
  • 1 x RJ-45 cable
  • 1 x Power adapter
  • 1 x QSG
  • 1 x Warranty card

 

[Val D.]

The 65p is quite powerful considering how cheap it is

No, no... What CPU exactly and what OpenWRT file you use for it? Forget about official ASUS specs for a moment.

 

[ika]

No, no... What CPU exactly and what OpenWRT file you use for it? Forget about official ASUS specs for a moment.

I linked the exact CPU spec. It's basicaly same as the ac85p: https://downloads.openwrt.org/snapshots/targets/ramips/mt7621/

 

[Val D.]

I linked the exact CPU spec. It's basicaly same as the ac85p, so you can use those builds.

I knew the answer of every question above, but I wanted you to see for yourself one of the reasons I do not recommend ASUS routers anymore:

- ASUS advertisement - "gaming router", "superior wireless", "1.8GHz dual-core CPU", "ASUS QoS", etc.
- real technical specs - el-cheapo MediaTek based router, 0.88GHz dual-core CPU, enable QoS and see the high performance.

This router is basically an equivalent to Netgear R6700 V2 from Jan 2017 with current Amazon price of $73.

See the little differences above? It's called false advertising. "Best bang for the buck", right? Not for you though, for ASUS. Do you like to be lied to? Where is @L&LD to like this post? RT-AC65P is bout $30 piece of hardware.

 

[ika]

I knew the answer of every question above, but I wanted you to see for yourself one of the reasons I do not recommend ASUS routers anymore:

- ASUS advertisement - "gaming router", "exceptional wireless", "1.8GHz dual-core CPU", "ASUS QoS", etc.
- real technical specs - el-cheapo MediaTek based router, 0.88GHz dual-core CPU, enable QoS and see the high performance.

This router is basically an equivalent to Netgear R6700 V2 from Jan 2017 with current Amazon price of $73.

See the little differences above? It's called false advertising. "Best bang for the buck", right?

It is a device which will allow the whole family to use Facebook and whatnot what they could simply not do with the device they get with the ISP subscription.
Yes marketing people are doing marketing stuff, and water is wet...who cares? You buy it, you get rid of the factory fw, you set it up properly and you forget it. That is how it is done. And indeed, there is no HW accel for everything on a budget device, but if you somehow need QOS , the unit does around 200Mb/s from CPU.
I am from the EU, we get Gigabit speed optical internet for the price of two Bigmac menus, so you do not need to throttle your internet around here (for normal everyday usage), these routers work perfectly without QOS.

What I am trying to say is that you do not need a $200-$300 budget to provide stable wired and wireless internet for a home, and I had good experiences with ASUS routers for the job.

ui: and the R6700 V2 wireless coverage is nowhere near as good as what this unit provides for the same price.

 

[Val D.]

who cares?

I do, for example. I don't like false advertisement.

That is how it is done.

Really? Send some OpenWRT links for RT-AC86U then. Because Asuswrt-Merlin is built on top of exceptional quality closed source components of stock Asuswrt. I can crash your router just using available firmware options in about 60 seconds time. Just don't soft reboot it after, please. It may not come back alive due to other exceptional quality ASUS features. So, lets try OpenWRT on it, shall we?

and the R6700 V2 wireless coverage is nowhere near as good as what this unit provides for the same price.

Really? May we see some supporting test data for RT-AC65P? A link here and there, may be not very legitimate, just something to see how better is ASUS router version in 2020, based on 2016 hardware, compared to Netgear version from 2017. Thank you!

 

[OzarkEdge]

@Val D. I wish you'd settle on either defending Asus or attacking Asus because this sparring for, then against that you do with other Asus users is making me dizzy.

OE

 

[Val D.]

I wish you'd settle on either defending Asus or attacking Asus because

This was the purpose of me returning to this thread. I just wanted to share that I do not recommend ASUS routers anymore. The above posts show one of the reasons why.

 

[OzarkEdge]

This was the purpose of me returning to this thread. I just wanted to share that I do not recommend ASUS routers anymore. The above posts show one of the reasons why.

Got it! Thanks.

OE

 

[KevTech]

Shouting doesn't make your point more valid. Just use whatever you think is best for your needs.

Bold text is not shouting it is used to show strong emphasis on what you wrote.
Writing in all caps is shouting.

 

[GuruGuy]

@Val D. I wish you'd settle on either defending Asus or attacking Asus because this sparring for, then against that you do with other Asus users is making me dizzy.

OE

Another one that’s on the ignore list...don’t even see posts...it’s great

 

[OzarkEdge]

Another one that’s on the ignore list...don’t even see posts...it’s great

I prefer to not use a community's ignore function. It is typically not required in the long run, and I prefer to hear out everyone. Ignoring begets ignorance. I like to think that I can learn from anyone.

And I think you are being way too heavy-handed in this instance.

OE

 

[GuruGuy]

I prefer to not use a community's ignore function. It is typically not required in the long run, and I prefer to hear out everyone. Ignoring begets ignorance. I like to think that I can learn from anyone.

And I think you are being way too heavy-handed in this instance.

OE

To each their own.

 

[Val D.]

I like to think that I can learn from anyone.

You can, but only of you want to...
As you see, reaction on unsupported claims is "like", on obvious false advertising is "who cares".

Actually, I start to believe a lot of copy/paste is going on on ASUS website and someone has to pay a bit more attention. RT-AC65P https://www.asus.com/Networking/RT-AC65P/overview/ and RT-AC85P https://www.asus.com/Networking/RT-AC85P/ use the same hardware based on MediaTek 880MHz Dual-Core CPU, but one is advertised as "1.8GHz Dual-Core", the other as "Dual-Core". Routers with 802.11b/g/n support only (like this one https://www.asus.com/Networking/RT-N800HP/specifications/) have a fine print at the bottom of the page saying "Connected devices must be 802.11ac-compatible for best results", etc.

Now, the statement that a dual-core CPU can process WiFi traffic and LAN traffic on different cores is interesting one: https://www.asus.com/Networking/RT-N800HP/overview/
Can someone confirm that MediaTek MT7621AT chipset can actually do that or it's just another marketing BS?

 

[follower]

ASUS Fanboys: "I don't have any issue with ASUS Routers. Your issue is a user issue."
Real world: ASUS fanboys don't even know the issues they have or just deny.
According to their opinion they always say, we don't need to update the firmware. Because ASUS routers don't have any problem and users don't have any issue.

 

[Val D.]

ASUS fanboys...

This is not really necessary...

What bothers me lately is increased false advertising from all manufacturers. ASUS just follows the trend. We all have seen 3X MU-MIMO performance, MU-MIMO on 2x2 routers, Beamforming on 2.4GHz b/g/n routers, 2X range with Beamforming, N600/N800 ultimate performance on 2.4GHz, etc. ASUS is going even further lately with Dual-Core Enhanced Performance (dual-core routers exist from a long time), MU-MIMO optimized for multi-player with no lags (gaming 101, no joke), ASUS QoS... optimized for online gaming (yes, gaming again, ASUS QoS it is), WiFi and LAN data split on different cores (this is something new too, proof needed), AiRadar... exclusive ASUS RF fine-tuning (exclusive name indeed), etc.

Sound like "Your Toyota Corolla can reach up to 320km/h*", and then in a small print below "* - in a free fall from 10.000ft".
I'm pretty sure even @thiggins will have hard time to reproduce most of the advertising claims in optimum conditions lab test setup.

 

[ColinTaylor]

Sound like "Your Toyota Corolla can reach up to 320km/h*"...

But my Toyota can reach 320km/h (if I use the mathematics of a router vendor). 4 wheels each doing 80km/h = 4x80 = 320km/h.

 

[Val D.]

But my Toyota can reach 320km/h

You are cheating! You have TurboQAM enabled!