Upgrade to RT-AC66u?

[cliver]

I'm looking to possibly upgrade my rt-ac66u.
Looking at RT-AC88u or 87u.
Obviously the price difference is large. Does the 88u offer that much better performance to justify the cost?
Also does the 88u require a separate firewall?
I will probably bridge the 66u to it at the other end of the house to give some wireless range extension and wired ports.

Any experiences/advice appreciated.

Regards
Clive

 

[PolarBear]

Clive, I have been lurking on these forums for a couple of years now. Although I have no personal experience of the AC87U or AC88U, I can summarise what others seem to be saying in this regard.

Some people report success with RT-AC87U, but for others it does not work well at all. The issues seem to surround the radio chip it uses, which AFAIK Asus are no longer using in any future models.

RT-AC88U seems to get good reports here, but is significantly more expensive.

Many on here say that RT-AC68U seems to be the way to go, to get good performance without spending the earth.

I am running RT-AC66Us (3 of them) and wish now that I had chosen RT-AC68U instead, since they offer better performance (especially for VPN use) and are only slightly more expensive than the AC66 right now.

HTH
PB

 

[cliver]

Thanks PolarBear,
I hadn't considered the 68u. I'll have a look [emoji3]

 

[SoCalReviews]

The 5300 and 88u are supposed to be good and you should consider them but all the newer wave-2 designs still have kinks that need to be worked out and there are very few if any 4 x 4 clients that can utilize their technology at this time.

If you are looking for the best value go with the Best Buy exclusive RT-AC1900P (not the RT-AC1900). It's a 68u (or 1900) 3 x 3 design with an upgraded 1.4Ghz dual core processor... similar to the one in the 5300/3100/88u... but at a cost just a little more than the 68u. Trust me on this one. You won't regret it.

 

[cliver]

Thanks SoCalReviews, I'll look it up. I take it is available in the UK?

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[SoCalReviews]

Thanks SoCalReviews, I'll look it up. I take it is available in the UK?

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

I don't think ithe RT-ac1900p is available in the UK ... not yet. Maybe you can find a distributor who imports and if not it might be available in the future on amazon.co.uk . I'm not sure it would be worth the trouble unless you find a good reliable seller who will support it under warranty in the UK. I also wonder about the firmware problems or restrictions if you import it from the U.S.. Maybe someone else in this forum who has experience with this has answers for you.

Your next good value choice is the RT-AC68U. It's available right now on amazon.co.uk The other option if you don't mind paying almost twice as much for it compared to the 68u is the RT-ac88u . It costs more for the latest 4 x 4 technology but it is also readily available and supported in the UK.

 

[cliver]

Sadly you are right, it's not available in UK at the moment. May see if I can import one. Probably need to buy a UK power adapter but that's no biggie. Out I could wait patiently to see if it comes over here [emoji39]

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[SoCalReviews]

Sadly you are right, it's not available in UK at the moment. May see if I can import one. Probably need to buy a UK power adapter but that's no biggie. Out I could wait patiently to see if it comes over here [emoji39]

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

You could import from the U.S. but you want to make absolutely sure that UK region firmware is supported for UK region power and channel compatibility. I hope someone in this forum can answer those questions. I read in this forum that some RT-ac1900p owners have claimed that they flashed with RT-ac68u firmware on it but I am not certain about that because I don't own one myself.

 

[cliver]

Just a question on the ac88u. Am I right in saying it doesn't come with any firewall? I can't see it mentioned in any specs or review.

 

[L&LD]

Just a question on the ac88u. Am I right in saying it doesn't come with any firewall? I can't see it mentioned in any specs or review.

All routers have a firewall. What would make you think otherwise?

Is there a specific firewall feature you're looking for?

 

[cliver]

All routers have a firewall. What would make you think otherwise?

Is there a specific firewall feature you're looking for?

It's just the spec doesn't mention it. I have allways used spi and did protection in the past and don't see it mentioned in the specs.

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[cliver]

Dos protection

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[SoCalReviews]

It's just the spec doesn't mention it. I have allways used spi and did protection in the past and don't see it mentioned in the specs.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

Under the Firewall > General tab there is a tick option for firewall (default is on) and a tick option for DoS protection (default is off), and an option for respond to ping request (default is no). I'm not sure exactly what type of firewall the firewall option provides.

The 68u and newer routers also offer AiProtection for an added layer covering malicious web and LAN security threats if you choose to enable it. I normally leave many of those advanced extras turned off because I like to run my router mean and lean for gaming and streaming.

 

[cliver]

Under the Firewall > General tab there is a tick option for firewall (default is on) and a tick option for DoS protection (default is off), and an option for respond to ping request (default is no).

Thanks SoCalReviews, I wonder why it doesn't state that in the specs on the web site? It did for all the others. That's what made me question it.

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[SoCalReviews]

Thanks SoCalReviews, I wonder why it doesn't state that in the specs on the web site? It did for all the others. That's what made me question it.

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Your concerns are understandable. It's good for you to know that the Firewall option is there and from my years of experience it runs fine by default with it turned on.

 

[cliver]

Just to close off. I ended up with an RT _AC68U. I would have gone for a1900P but it's not available in the UK and I couldn't find anyone to export it to me that I felt comfortable with. Anyway, I have promoted the 68U to my main router behind my modem and demoted the 66U to a second wireless ap at the other side of the house with a cat5e back haul. All in all very pleased. My wireless coverage now covers the whole house and garden well. The 68P seems to perform very well and the addition of a usb 3 interface has improved my 3tb drive performance, although I haven't tested it in depth to quantify this it is definitely noticeable. Both are running Rmerlins .61 firmware btw which is the main reason I like Asus routers [emoji3].

 

[SoCalReviews]

Just to close off. I ended up with an RT _AC68U.

Congrats, Really good choice... The dual core processor based ac68u is a nice upgrade from your ac66u.

 

[CED334]

Is the AC1900P (AC68P) compatible in Europe is a good question. I want to import it in France, but I don't know
if it will work correctly.

 

[cliver]

Is the AC1900P (AC68P) compatible in Europe is a good question. I want to import it in France, but I don't know
if it will work correctly.

That's why I didn't get one. I think it should work OK but can't be sure and I was worried about warranty issues if anything went wrong. To be honest, unless you are doing any great processing jobs on it the 68P is fine. It's been rock solid for several weeks now.

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[CED334]

I am not sure, about the wifi, the bootloader has settings for USA, not for Europe.