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Upgrade an Asus ac86u to a ax86u Pro or ROG GT-AX6000

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Adoz

Regular Contributor
Hello!

I've been wanting to upgrade my ac86u recently as I've just moved into a new house with 1gig internet. The ac86u can cover the whole house but the back bedroom that my brother works from home and games in could be better. Would the ax86u Pro or the GT-AX6000 be better for overall 2.4/5ghz range and performance compared to the ac86u?

Currently Amazon is having a sale for the two, the ax86u Pro is £210 and the GT-AX6000 is £270. Would the GT-AX6000 be a noticeable upgrade from the ax86u Pro?

Thanks!
 
Hello!

I've been wanting to upgrade my ac86u recently as I've just moved into a new house with 1gig internet. The ac86u can cover the whole house but the back bedroom that my brother works from home and games in could be better. Would the ax86u Pro or the GT-AX6000 be better for overall 2.4/5ghz range and performance compared to the ac86u?

Currently Amazon is having a sale for the two, the ax86u Pro is £210 and the GT-AX6000 is £270. Would the GT-AX6000 be a noticeable upgrade from the ax86u Pro?

Thanks!
There are reasons to choose either. However, if you do not need the dual 2.5 GB ports on the AX6000 the AX86U Pro should be great for you and you can save a buck or a pound. Then you can use that AC86U as an AiMesh node to extend your WIFI.
 
Hello!

I've been wanting to upgrade my ac86u recently as I've just moved into a new house with 1gig internet. The ac86u can cover the whole house but the back bedroom that my brother works from home and games in could be better. Would the ax86u Pro or the GT-AX6000 be better for overall 2.4/5ghz range and performance compared to the ac86u?

Currently Amazon is having a sale for the two, the ax86u Pro is £210 and the GT-AX6000 is £270. Would the GT-AX6000 be a noticeable upgrade from the ax86u Pro?

Thanks!
I ended up with the gt-ax6000 after having the PRO for a week. It wasn’t stable on current gen 388 firmware. I got the GT on sale for less than the PRO with more and better features. That’s called a no brainer. It has also been solid as a rock and blazing fast on any firmware thrown at it.
 
Would the ax86u Pro or the GT-AX6000 be better for overall 2.4/5ghz range and performance compared to the ac86u?

Not guaranteed. RT-AC86U is an excellent range router. Some forum members had the opposite experience - newer AX routers with weaker radios. My own RT-AX86U is weaker than RT-AC86U. In numbers - 4-6dBm less radio sensitivity on 5GHz band. This translates to less range and wall penetration.
 
Show the missus pictures of the prospective choices.
The ax86u stands upright like your ac86u, where as the ax6000 is guilty of "lan speading". It has quite the footprint and it's styling is a big turn off for many. The visual of a big, fat, dead, demonic (RGB), hairy bug chilling out on a shelf collecting dust may equal a hard no from the SO.

My wife, on the other hand, thinks it is cute. She wants to personalize it with fairy lights and googly eyes.

That got a hard no from me 😆
 
The visual of a big, fat, dead, demonic

Replace it with EVA Edition and arrange the antennas like this:

1679965428454.png
 
As far as specs go, they are pretty much the same. Performance in real time is subjective. Some folks have better luck with one or the other, YMMV. I myself have an ax6000, bought it prior to the release of the ax86u pro. I am happy with it.

If price is king, do the ax86u pro. Get a switch (about $20 a piece) and hard line the static devices, gaming is better on Ethernet. If your brother still gets less than great WiFi, if possible, run some Cat 6 and a switch to your brothers office. An access point may be beneficial there as well if you cannot run a line.
 
Last edited:
is your brother is gaming via LAN cable?

if yes, just buy new router AX and set current one AC in brother room as AiMesh node (cable LAN one - wi-fi AiMesh have same troubles :) )

not everything you should cover with 1 router and even if you will have range fare away wi-fi speed will be not as good as close to router.
 
is your brother is gaming via LAN cable?

if yes, just buy new router AX and set current one AC in brother room as AiMesh node (cable LAN one - wi-fi AiMesh have same troubles :) )

not everything you should cover with 1 router and even if you will have range fare away wi-fi speed will be not as good as close to router.

Unfortunately WiFi seems to be the only option for me as I'm in a rented building and don't really want a really long cable across the house. I was thinking of using the ac86u as a AiMesh node if I was to get a new Asus router but it would probably have to be through a WiFi connection.
 

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