What's the verdict on the RT-AX88U vs RT-AX86U vs GT-AXE11000 if I'm buying today

[lindros2]

I'm jumping in late here, but here's my experience:
1. The GT- (especially the AX11000) models do not have Merlin, and (according to him) will not. Too big a pain in the butt for him to do it, and I can't disagree.
2. Wi-Fi 6 is a complete waste right now. Show me devices which take advantage of it, and compare with Wi-Fi 5. My iPhones and a test laptop with WiFi 6 have been crap, both with the AX11000, my AT&T BGW320-500 (WiFi 6), and other test routers.
3. My GT-AX11000 (obviously not the all-new case AXE11000 - too similar names...) has wireless issues (signal/noise/internal home performance). That is, if I set as main, my performance is crap compared to my AC5300, and if I use it as main with extenders (AC68U and aforementioned AC5300) I cap out at lower speeds.
4. Want evidence for #3? I'm getting over 600Mbps to the internet, and 1053 Mbps internally, on my AC68U <> AC5300. My AX11000 has higher noise and caps out at 750-850Mbps internally, but damn near close to that to the internet (desktop/laptop > switch > AX11000 > AC5300 > AT&T Fiber residential gateway > internet).

Regarding a UPS...
I have an APC home office (prosumer) grade backup in my home office, but just use a $99 Costco UPS (Cyberpower) with my AT&T residential gateway.
When my power goes out (which it did for 30 hours earlier this year, and twice since), my internet is still lit up, but I just use a AC68U (preconfigured but powered off) to extend the AT&T BGW320 until we get power again.
My desktop and laptops all connect to it, and performance is adequate (100-200Mbps) instead of normal (250-550).

 

[Clark Griswald]

When my power goes out (which it did for 30 hours earlier this year, and twice since), my internet is still lit up,

You are fortunate, since Power Out for me equals no power for my neighborhood. I have UPS for my router, switch, and seperate larger UPS for my NAS so my intranet stays functioning, until a safe power down is initiated.
Or did you intend to write intranet?
I agree with with the majority of forum members that without RMerlin fw the router is a PASS, and routers with "new" standards are useless without a corresponding client.

 

[lindros2]

You are fortunate, since Power Out for me equals no power for my neighborhood. I have UPS for my router, switch, and seperate larger UPS for my NAS so my intranet stays functioning, until a safe power down is initiated.
Or did you intend to write intranet?
I agree with with the majority of forum members that without RMerlin fw the router is a PASS, and routers with "new" standards are useless without a corresponding client.

I said and meant internet. I get full 980 bidirectional even though my food is spoiling.
AT&T somehow maintains power.
Comcast does not.

 

[GK59]

don't know about best wires. but instead of a power strip i would get a small ups. like from apc or cyberpower.

Amazon.com: APC UPS, 600VA UPS Battery Backup & Surge Protector, BE600M1 Backup Battery Power Supply, USB Charger, Back-UPS Series Uninterruptible Power Supply: Home Audio & Theater This is what I have had my ac66u_b1 in among other small devices for 3 years. And I get a power outages and bad surges a couple times a month where I live. never had a problem with the router. Its still rocking.

If extra worried though you could spend a little more money and get something with AVR (automatic voltage regulation) for when you get brownouts and such. tripplite sells cheap ones like this Amazon.com: Tripp Lite AVR750U 750VA UPS Battery Backup, 450W AVR Line Interactive, USB, Ultra-Compact, Black: Home Audio & Theater

They sell even more expensive ones like pure sine wave ones, but I think they are unnecessary. I don't even use that on my desktop pc and I'm a heavy gamer. I use evga bronze rated psu.

I have found though using the ethernet wire into surges can cause issues but you can always get one that has that and try it out. I never bother anymore. pretty sure the heavy duty ONT on my wall has surge protection in it but who knows. like i said i get constant power outages and crazy surges. Every single room in my house has a ups. lol but the ethernet wires i don't bother plugging in.

Thank you cooloutac, I found some decent Cable Matters and Nippon Labs Cat 8 Ethernet cabling so will try both. As for an APC I may move to one here soon, currently using an older 5400 Joule SP but is getting a bit old. We have clean power here in MT so not worried too much on that but need to replace my SP at some point.

 

[cooloutac]

I wouldn't get too caught up in those AX58U vs. AX88U vs. AX86U Asus Wifi benchmarks. They are provided to differentiate their product line for marketing purposes. I am not saying that aren't real. It's just that many of their tests are done under optimal conditions in pristine environments with the latest Wifi 6 devices. I rely more on user tests and reviews in real world environments with a variety of different new and legacy devices.

The AX86U 5Gz signal in my house seems to be almost as strong as the 2.4Ghz but the throughput speed is superior so the devices I used to connect at the edges of my home that worked only with 2.4Ghz now use 5Ghz. Compared to the old Asus AC68P (which I really liked for stability) that I was using... both the 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz radios have better range, more stability and better throughput on the AX86U.

That is my experience but it doesn't mean your experience would be exactly the same. You would have to try in your environment for yourself. However I have read about other AX86U users making similar claims about how much improved both 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz is with 5Ghz being considerably better than the older Asus AC Wifi routers.

Which is I why my first statement in my post is my "personal experience". but its not just the user benchmarks. Those links I provided are Asus own spec sheets. The ax58u blows away both the ax88 and ax86u for 2.4ghz ax speed. I would assume its range too. And lets not compare the ac68u which obviously would have lesser range. I was comparing to the ac86u which has very good range. again also according to asus own spec sheets and my own personal experience. I'm not gonna argue the ax88u and ax86u have better 5ghz range then the ax58u, they prolly do. But its doubtful they would be enough to cover my shed 150ft away in my backyard or through the walls and floors to my front doorbell, because the ax58u doesn't even come close. Most likely I will still need to use 2.4ghz for those. I would say almost definitely. Even though as I said they are 2.4ghz only, regardless, as is 80% of my iot devices which I don't forsee changing in the next 5 years.

IMHO, the ax88u and ax86u are hugely overpriced. But I would still get the ax88u unless i have more 5ghz devices then 2.4ghz. I got the ax58u only cause it was a good refurbished price, at less then half the price of ax88u or ax86u, and to increase my 2.4ghz range over my ac66u_b1. The 5ghz range increase was only slight. and for just the couple ax devices i own to have some future proofing and longer eol.

 

[cooloutac]

Thank you cooloutac, I found some decent Cable Matters and Nippon Labs Cat 8 Ethernet cabling so will try both. As for an APC I may move to one here soon, currently using an older 5400 Joule SP but is getting a bit old. We have clean power here in MT so not worried too much on that but need to replace my SP at some point.

the joules ratings on UPS surges are extremely low. your 5400 is higher then even any surge strip I own. Its not recommended, but I buy basic power strips with higher joule rating and plug the UPS into them and then into the wall. Get one that tells if it still has surge left because they don't last after a heavy surge like I get in my area. And make sure you plug nothing else into the other surge except the ups. but again, its not recommended though I've never had a problem.

 

[GK59]

the joules ratings on UPS surges are extremely low. Its not recommended, but I buy basic power strips with higher joule rating and plug the UPS into them and then into the wall. Get one that tells if it still has surge left because they don't last after a heavy surge like I get in my area. And make sure you plug nothing else into the other surge except the ups. but again, its not recommended though I've never had a problem.

hey I appreciate that, having an SP is better than not having anything I suppose. I'll have to get after it sometime soon and have a better setup.

 

[cooloutac]

I said and meant internet. I get full 980 bidirectional even though my food is spoiling.
AT&T somehow maintains power.
Comcast does not.

I know in my case with fios it only uses the backup battery in their ont if you subscribe to cable tv. which is very lame. but like above user I agree the ups is still good for being able to cleanly power down. or like when in my area they power is constantly going out only for 15 minutes or so.

 

[lindros2]

I know in my case with fios it only uses the backup battery in their ont if you subscribe to cable tv. which is very lame. but like above user I agree the ups is still good for being able to cleanly power down. or like when in my area they power is constantly going out only for 15 minutes or so.

My UPS powers BGW320 (RG+ONT) for 5-8 hours.
it cannot, however, power my sump pump right near it...

 

[SoCalReviews]

Which is I why my first statement in my post is my "personal experience". but its not just the user benchmarks. Those links I provided are Asus own spec sheets. The ax58u blows away both the ax88 and ax86u for 2.4ghz ax speed. I would assume its range too. And lets not compare the ac68u which obviously would have lesser range. I was comparing to the ac86u which has very good range. again also according to asus own spec sheets and my own personal experience. I'm not gonna argue the ax88u and ax86u have better 5ghz range then the ax58u, they prolly do. But its doubtful they would be enough to cover my shed 150ft away in my backyard or through the walls and floors to my front doorbell, because the ax58u doesn't even come close. Most likely I will still need to use 2.4ghz for those. I would say almost definitely. Even though as I said they are 2.4ghz only, regardless, as is 80% of my iot devices which I don't forsee changing in the next 5 years.

IMHO, the ax88u and ax86u are hugely overpriced. But I would still get the ax88u unless i have more 5ghz devices then 2.4ghz. I got the ax58u only cause it was a good refurbished price, at less then half the price of ax88u or ax86u, and to increase my 2.4ghz range over my ac66u_b1. The 5ghz range increase was only slight. and for just the couple ax devices i own to have some future proofing and longer eol.

You want to compare 2.4Ghz range? I'll take one of my old RT-N66Us loaded up with earlier firmware and put it up against the AX58U or any other consumer router you have any day, any time, and in any environment. The original N66U 2.4Ghz radios are a blast from the past... absolute power transmitting beasts. Later firmware actually had to tame them down for reasons I won't go into but most Asus RT-N66U users who were members of this forum should remember.

BTW, in reply to one of your previous posts I really appreciate your opinions and the information that you have been providing in your posts... and you are welcome to disagree or contradict anything I say just as long as you have some data or a rational argument to back it up... and even if you don't I am always interested in knowing what your opinion is.

 

[Clark Griswald]

I said and meant internet. I get full 980 bidirectional even though my food is spoiling.
AT&T somehow maintains power.
Comcast does not.

Thanks for the clarification.
I'm sure we are paying extra for that feature:
"Federal Regulatory Non-Transmission Safety Fee"

 

[cooloutac]

You want to compare 2.4Ghz range? I'll take one of my old RT-N66Us loaded up with earlier firmware and put it up against the AX58U or any other consumer router you have any day, any time, and in any environment. The original N66U 2.4Ghz radios are a blast from the past... absolute power transmitting beasts. Later firmware actually had to tame them down for reasons I won't go into but most Asus RT-N66U users who were members of this forum should remember.

BTW, in reply to one of your previous posts I really appreciate your opinions and the information that you have been providing in your posts... and you are welcome to disagree or contradict anything I say just as long as you have some data or a rational argument to back it up... and even if you don't I am always interested in knowing what your opinion is.

I never used one I'll take your word for it.

But it goes to show you, by even your own personal experience, you can't assume the newer the router the better especially when it comes to 2.4ghz. And I agree with your previous statement that benchmarks and even asus spec sheets might not be all that accurate. since the ac86u which should be faster then my ax58u on paper was indeed not on the 2.4ghz.

 

[cooloutac]

Thanks for the clarification.
I'm sure we are paying extra for that feature:
"Federal Regulatory Non-Transmission Safety Fee"

I dunno man. at&t seems dirt cheap compared to fios and comcast. I'm still pissed I got a battery in the ont box but its of no benefit to me unless i subscribe to cable. but as you said earlier if the whole neighborhood loses power i guess it really doesn't matter.

But its like 60 a month for a gb connection with at&t. which is insane. almost half price vs verizon or comcast. I'm just afraid to go off fios since I'm already setup for it and its always been super stable and reliable 99% of the time.

 

[SoCalReviews]

Whether it's computer/networking hardware or internet service... familiarity has it's value.

 

[cooloutac]

Whether it's computer/networking hardware or internet service... familiarity has it's value.

true, could be another word for experience. would hate to switch and then have a bad experience lol.

 

[dylanmitchell]

I'm most interested in the 5ghz performance. 5Ghz is a trade-off with faster speeds but less range and less penetration through walls. Companies like Asus are likely focused on improving 5 GHz and keeping 2.4 GHz for legacy devices. Doubt new routers will see improvements on 2.4 GHz performance.

2.4 GHz has a longer range and penetration but is slower. Be interesting to see how running at an AX 88U or AX86U on 5 GHz and running an AC66U or AC86U on 2.4Ghz would perform. Running ethernet cable to an AC 66U or AC 86U in a shop, basement, or near a window to extend outdoor coverage could work well. Any way to get a new AC66U to run at full power 2.4 GHz like the first ones that came out?

I really liked the WRT Linksys like my 1900AC and my AC86U has been a great router and in some ways, outperforms the AX88U and AX86U. I'd keep it and wait for wi-fi 6E if it wasn't on it's way out. New routers are overpriced, AX routers are expensive like any new tech, and the AC86U is a great value buy and solid performer. Always a question of buying solid proven equipment that's come down in price vs newer tech that performs better and is more future proof.

 

[cooloutac]

I'm most interested in the 5ghz performance. 5Ghz is a trade-off with faster speeds but less range and less penetration through walls. Companies like Asus are likely focused on improving 5 GHz and keeping 2.4 GHz for legacy devices. Doubt new routers will see improvements on 2.4 GHz performance.

2.4 GHz has a longer range and penetration but is slower. Be interesting to see how running at an AX 88U or AX86U on 5 GHz and running an AC66U or AC86U on 2.4Ghz would perform. Running ethernet cable to an AC 66U or AC 86U in a shop, basement, or near a window to extend outdoor coverage could work well. Any way to get a new AC66U to run at full power 2.4 GHz like the first ones that came out?

I really liked the WRT Linksys like my 1900AC and my AC86U has been a great router and in some ways, outperforms the AX88U and AX86U. I'd keep it and wait for wi-fi 6E if it wasn't on it's way out. New routers are overpriced, AX routers are expensive like any new tech, and the AC86U is a great value buy and solid performer. Always a question of buying solid proven equipment that's come down in price vs newer tech that performs better and is more future proof.

I consider the ax58u a new router. at least newer then the ax88u. it has better 2.4ghz then probably any asus router out right now, at least according to even their own spec sheets. AX also uses 2.4ghz and range seems to always be an issue for most people on some devices. That is never going to change 5ghz on these routers still won't give me a good connection on my front doorbell and shed cam. I can personally attest to the ax58u blowing away the ac66u_b1 and being much better then the ac86u on the 2.4ghz band. Most of my networked devices are still 2.4ghz only and I don't see that changing in the next 5 years. I haven't tried the ax88u and ax86u, but I would be very bold and say the ax58u is probably the most stable and secure router asus has right now, just based on reviews and forum posts and changelogs.

 

[Meatrocket]

Have you considered a mesh setup? I had a ZenWifi XT8 and the signal saturation was incredible, not to mention the speeds. The stellar thing about it is the wireless backhaul band being accessible if you have wired backhaul. It's nice having a built-in switch on the secondary node as well. I did end up replacing the XT8 with Unifi gear mainly for security and advanced networking features, but I do miss the speed. I took some speed measurements:

Wired backhaul on 5Ghz-2 / 160Mhz channel. This was with the node in the next room over from my office.

Wireless backhaul (160Mhz) to my office with PC connected to node switch via ethernet

Wireless backhaul (160Mhz) with PC connected via Wifi to 5GHz-1

 

[dylanmitchell]

ZenWifi XT8 looks like a great set up. I set up a Linksys mesh at a friend's house but would recommend Asus or Unifi when they upgrade. I have a smallish house so I can cover it with a single router.

 

[Maverick009]

Coming in Late here as well. I can say from experience and playing around, the GT-AXE11000, may be worth its weight and gold for a few reasons. 1. I have the first gen GT-AX11000 with 2 5Ghz channels and 1 2.4Ghz band, and since owning the firmware has improved, and corrected a lot of issues with this first gen AX Broadcom chipset for the most part and the 386 firmware will be a heavy refinement, especially with AiMesh fixing most of the bugs and issues in this first gen flagship AX router. That brings us to the 2nd Gen AXE11000. That has a refined chipset and now adding the full AX capabilities with the new 6Ghz radio. You may not see an immediate need for it, but I would think more along the lines of future proofing. It is also using the newer chipset and should have some of the hardware issues from the first gen chip corrected.
2. The design is refreshed and a little more slimmed down, but I think it is also to better shield and cool the chipset and slightly better arrangement of the antennas.
3. It is a Tri-Band router - For me, I currently have the GT-AX11000, and use the 2.4Ghz Channel more or less for IOT devices and our AIO printer. The 5Ghz-1 channel is used for all the AX equipped devices, and the 5Ghz-2 channel is for the AiMesh backhaul, and a few media devices that have wireless AC but not AX. I have most of the major media equipment plugged in by ethernet to an RT-AC3100 Wireless router that is acting as an AiMesh Node.

The newer AXE router may have one of the bands as the 6Ghz AXE band, but you could more or less use it for all dedicated AXE 6Ghz equipment as it seems OEMs are more or less fast tracking that update, and you would have a channel with less interference.

For me I think forward of all the capabilities and what I am getting, as to not regret it. Sometimes it doesn't always payoff, but most of the time it does. I think wireless is one of those things. If it fits in your budget and you did your homework, make the decision that best fits you.