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

[Maverick009]

The firmware has not been updated yet.

Ok thank you. I was not sure on that, but know usually it can be updated from the time a reviewer gets it to the time it goes official to the mass consumer. Thank you for the update

 

[Clark Griswald]

Believe me, I would not have spent $550 if I didn't have to. ASUS couldn't tell me when they could provide one for review.

Thank You!!!
SNB and SNB Forums are valuable and relative destinations for quality information and ideas!

Stay Safe Everyone

 

[Grievous Angel]

The RT-AX88U is a great router and I'm not too keen on the 2.4GHz band (never was) for my own use.

I hope the X86U is at least as good as my AC3100 was...it's still important to me for range. But I think I saw you or someone else reference the AC3100 as being known for exeptional range, and I can back that up.

But I do have a question about loading up the 5GHz band. In the past I've tried to "balance" the distribution of my clients (20 ish) between the 5Ghz and 2.4Ghz bands. Thinking that would provide better overall experience. For the older/further devices where speed doesn't matter, I'd put them on 2.4. For hotter/closer devices, I'd put them on 5ghz.

Does this matter? Should I put *everything* on 5Ghz that gets a reasonable signal and not worry about this balance?

The x86u is coming today!

 

[thiggins]

Does this matter? Should I put *everything* on 5Ghz that gets a reasonable signal and not worry about this balance?

I think it's worth trying to separate devices that operate at lower link rates from faster ones. Today's routers sometimes do a better job of not letting slower devices eat up most of the bandwidth. But not all routers are smart enough.

 

[Maverick009]

@dscline The dB values in testing are not RSSI readings, which would be in dBm. They are path loss attenuation. The typical starting RSSI value I see reported for 5 GHz is ~-40 dBm. Windows reports only a % #, not RSSI. But let's say 6 GHz starts 3 dBm lower. So the -42 dB you cite would actually be ~ -87 dBm. So the situation is not as bad as you think.

I am never a proponent of being an early adopter. Prices are highest, technology is buggy and product selection is limited.

I agree with you and what I was trying to convey is test environment has different variables then real world. One person's environment may be different from another. I also think you were showing the extreme parts of it if I am not mistaken.

I am in the middle. I am big on early adoption but also sometimes against it. When I am for it, there are times where it can be a struggle with early firmware. I however think that although 6Ghz air wave is new and at that the biggest change for WiFi, the tech is pretty much the same as it uses the 802.11AX standard and not a whole new WiFi standard. I think that helps to make it more of a seemless transition with far less issues and firmware that is more mature then say if was all from ground up. Just my opinion.

 

[Maverick009]

Does this matter? Should I put *everything* on 5Ghz that gets a reasonable signal and not worry about this balance?

The x86u is coming today!

For me I use the 2.4GHz more or less for IOT devices and smart home automation. The 5Ghz channels I have split with 1 servicing my Apple TVs and Nvidia Shield. The other 5Ghz channel serves the family mobile phones, laptops and gaming consoles where not wired in to the network. That is on the Asus AX11000.

I would definitely recommend keeping IOT devices separated on the lower 2.4Ghz band

 

[SoCalReviews]

... For the older/further devices where speed doesn't matter, I'd put them on 2.4. For hotter/closer devices, I'd put them on 5ghz.

Yes, that's how I usually do it.

... Should I put *everything* on 5Ghz that gets a reasonable signal and not worry about this balance?

The x86u is coming today!

After setting it up the first way I like to fine tune the connections and do this as well. I then put as many newer AC/AX devices that need the speed and get good signal on 5Ghz.

I just like the 5Ghz frequency much better and it's very good on the AX86U. Legacy devices and far away devices where throughput doesn't matter as much can go on 2.4Ghz to take some of the load off the other radio. Experiment for what works best in your environment.

Depending on the application like when the router is in a location that I will be close to for long periods of time and if I don't need to connect to very many devices I will either lower the 2.4Ghz power signal output (available in the AX86U settings) or I turn 2.4Ghz off altogether to lower my EMF exposure since it's the more impactful frequency on anything that is water based. This also clears the 2.4Ghz band for other devices that heavily rely on it such as Bluetooth.

 

[SoCalReviews]

For me I use the 2.4GHz more or less for IOT devices and smart home automation. The 5Ghz channels I have split with 1 servicing my Apple TVs and Nvidia Shield. The other 5Ghz channel serves the family mobile phones, laptops and gaming consoles where not wired in to the network. That is on the Asus AX11000.

I would definitely recommend keeping IOT devices separated on the lower 2.4Ghz band

This is a good way to do it as well. Devices that benefit from a strong and reliable signal that don't need as much bandwidth will often be more stable on 2.4Ghz. Of course in crowded neighborhoods saturated with many 2.4Ghz SSID broadcasts it can sometimes be less stable.

 

[360NoScoper]

IMO 2.4Ghz is an overused and often crowded frequency band used mostly for legacy devices. I have found that the new 5Ghz radios like the one used in the AX86U offer a similar range as compared to 2.4Ghz on many older Wifi routers but with better performance and throughput... Besides that there are other factors that have become more important for modern internet applications...

The AX86U is The King of Wifi 6 routers in latency tests according to this CNET review...
The leader in latency
https://www.cnet.com/news/asus-rt-ax86u-wi-fi-6-router-review/

At this time for current consumer grade Wifi 6 routers in its price range nothing else comes close. For online gaming or any latency sensitive online applications it is a huge factor.

In regards to the ports it's really a personal preference. I would rather have one flexible 2.5Gb port that I can assign to whatever application I choose... a total of 4 LAN ports + 1 2.5Gb WAN/LAN + 1 WAN rather than 8 fixed LAN + 1 WAN because as you mentioned... If I want more 1Gb LAN ports I just add an 8 port 1Gb switch for less than $20 USD.

Doubt the latency is any better than the RT-AX88U considering they use the same CPU.

 

[L&LD]

Yes, the latency is obviously better in actual use.

See the graph plots in the link provided above.

The leader in latency​

One last point on performance (and I really can't stress this enough) -- the RT-AX86U is just flat-out fantastic at handling latency, and easily the best router I've ever tested when it comes to lag.

Each of these graphs show you how much lag I recorded across 90 speed tests for a single router. Routers that keep the colored line closer to the center of the graph are better -- and the RT-AX86U (purple) is the best I've ever tested.
Ry Crist/CNET

Lag, or ping, is a measurement of how long, in milliseconds, it takes your router to send a signal to a specific server and receive an answer. In my speed tests here at home, I always ping the same server in Lexington, Kentucky, about 80 miles away, and I record the ping time for each and every test. Each router I review goes through a minimum of 90 speeds tests, so that adds up a lot of data on lag.

Now check out those radar graphs. Each one shows the lag results of those 90 speed tests for a single router. The colored circle graphs each one's ping time across those tests. Spikes represent tests where the lag was unusually high, so the closer each line stays to the center, the better.

Just about every router will see occasional spikes at some point in my tests -- but not the RT-AX86U. It never, ever registered a lag time any higher than 20 ms, which is why the purple line representing its lag results looks like such a tight ring around the bullseye.

The CPU may be the same, but the SDKs are different. The RT-AX86U version is much newer.

 

[SoCalReviews]

Doubt the latency is Amy better than the RT-AX88U considering they use the same CPU.

That CNET review speaks for itself. It was their latency testing that showed the AX86U to have the lowest latency.

Many routers from many different brands use the same CPU but they have much different test results. There is a lot more to a router's performance than just the hardware components. The overall engineering and design along with the firmware implementation also effects the performance.

 

[360NoScoper]

Yes, the latency is obviously better in actual use.

See the graph plots in the link provided above.



The CPU may be the same, but the SDKs are different. The RT-AX86U version is much newer.

But they haven't tested the RT-AX88U. You're basing your opinion off the assumption that it doesn't perform as good with regards to latency, simply because it's a few years older. I think the assumption that they perform the same holds more weight considering the hardware is almost the same and they both have access to the latest firmware. It also wouldn't make sense that the cheaper model performs better than the more expensive model.

 

[360NoScoper]

That CNET review speaks for itself. It was their latency testing that showed the AX86U to have the lowest latency.

Many routers from many different brands use the same CPU but they have much different test results. There is a lot more to a router's performance than just the hardware components. The overall engineering and design along with the firmware implementation also effects the performance.

Sure but CNET haven't even reviewed the RT-AX88U. So that guy claiming the RT-AX86U is superior to the RT-AX88U with regards to latency is doing so based off assumption, not objectively tested data.

 

[L&LD]

They haven't, but I have used both in my own home.

RT-AX86U vs. RT-AX88U

The RT-AX88U isn't slow, but it feels like an in-shape grandfather compared to the 'teenager', the RT-AX86U.

 

[360NoScoper]

They haven't, but I have used both in my own home.

RT-AX86U vs. RT-AX88U

The RT-AX88U isn't slow, but it feels like an in-shape grandfather compared to the 'teenager', the RT-AX86U.

Nice post, but outside if your subjective opinion you didn't provide any objectively tested latency data between the two routers. There's countless reason a network can feel more responsive, latency is one but without measurements - it's all opinion.

 

[L&LD]

Selective reading skills. Yes, that post is my opinion. But countless others have confirmed it too on their own networks.

Nobody does the testing you're looking for today. If that testing was done, it would be right here on SNB.

So first, you doubt that the latency will be any better, because of the similar CPU. Then, you dismiss when both routers are compared in an identical network infrastructure.

What can I say? Buy one yourself and see if the benefits over the RT-AX88U are obvious to you too. But, don't expect anyone to believe you.

 

[360NoScoper]

Selective reading skills. Yes, that post is my opinion. But countless others have confirmed it too on their own networks.

Nobody does the testing you're looking for today. If that testing was done, it would be right here on SNB.

So first, you doubt that the latency will be any better, because of the similar CPU. Then, you dismiss when both routers are compared in an identical network infrastructure.

What can I say? Buy one yourself and see if the benefits over the RT-AX88U are obvious to you too. But, don't expect anyone to believe you.

Well I follow the scientific method. I only purchase something for the purpose of being better, if it's objectively proven to be better. If the 86U was truly better, I would have a lower ping in CoD compared to the 88U. You could easily test this if you have both routers to hand - or better yet, use the Netmeter Ping Test webpage. I'm sure the software is slightly better in terms of optimisation on the 86U, but how it feels doesn't always correlate with objective performance.

 

[L&LD]

If you read the link I posted, I sold the RT-AX88U because of the performance of the RT-AX86U.

As I too follow the scientific method, by actually testing it myself. If it performs better in my network, I keep it.

There is no doubt the RT-AX86U is truly better, for many, including me. The only question is, is it better for your situation? Only you can know by testing properly in your network. And don't just do the 'objective testing' you think is so important. Simply use the router as you want to in your network. That test trumps all others.

Objective performance numbers would indicate the RT-AX88U as the superior router. That has been proven false for over a year today.

 

[360NoScoper]

If you read the link I posted, I sold the RT-AX88U because of the performance of the RT-AX86U.

As I too follow the scientific method, by actually testing it myself. If it performs better in my network, I keep it.

There is no doubt the RT-AX86U is truly better, for many, including me. The only question is, is it better for your situation? Only you can know by testing properly in your network. And don't just do the 'objective testing' you think is so important. Simply use the router as you want to in your network. That test trumps all others.

Objective performance numbers would indicate the RT-AX88U as the superior router. That has been proven false for over a year today.

Okay then, which metrics did you test to decide the RT-AX86U is superior to the RT-AX88U? I want numbers, even if it's only Wi-Fi bandwidth or range. What metrics did you test? Due to placebo and biases, one can't rely on perception alone.

 

[bbunge]

Okay then, which metrics did you test to decide the RT-AX86U is superior to the RT-AX88U? I want numbers, even if it's only Wi-Fi bandwidth or range. What metrics did you test? Due to placebo and biases, one can't rely on perception alone.

Newer hardware for one. Fewer reported issues with the AX86U for two. And three because I had the CFO`s permission.