Will I see an appreciable difference upgrading from N66U to AC68U?

[eric choi]

I'm very green when it comes to networking and, as I research for a new router, I'm really scratching my head at what device to get. I'm currently using a 3-year old Asus N66U, which has been rock solid for me for a long time. Recently, however, I've noticed some signal and connectivity issues and, after moving to a larger home, I think its time to upgrade. Will transitioning to the AC68U make a significant difference for me in terms of signal strength, connectivity, and speed? My usage patterns are as follows:

Usage: Surfing, YouTube, Netflix (4k), Android TV, Chromecast, and Apple TV
Internet speeds: Comcast 75 Mbps down
File sharing: Rarely (if ever) do I share files within network; though, I would like to connect an external HD to the router to start a NAS (still have to learn a lot about this before proceeding)
Users/devices: I have anywhere from 2-4 connected users at any given time, and probably 15 connected devices (2 laptops, 2 tablets, 2 phones, 3 Nest products, Alexa, Apple TV, 2 Chromecasts, Android TV, 2 IP cams)

Based on my research here and elsewhere, I've come to the conclusion that I do not need AC2400 or AC3100, which would be overkill. But, now I'm beginning to wonder if--assuming the N66U is working exactly as it should--I will see an appreciable difference by upgrading to the AC68U, which itself is a 3-year old product?

Your insight would be greatly appreciated.

ASUS AC1900: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FB45SI4/?tag=snbforums-20

ASUS AC3100: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FB45SI4/?tag=snbforums-20

 

[CooCooCaChoo]

Unless all your current devices are AC devices the answer would be no. If you need better coverage then maybe upgrade to the AC but have the N66 as a repeater to provide needed coverage.

 

[eric choi]

Unless all your current devices are AC devices the answer would be no. If you need better coverage then maybe upgrade to the AC but have the N66 as a repeater to provide needed coverage.

That was exactly the plan. Thanks for your input. I take it, then, that upgrading to the AC3100 (AC88U) likewise will not give me the better coverage and speed, assuming I don't have all AC devices. Correct?

 

[sfx2000]

That was exactly the plan. Thanks for your input. I take it, then, that upgrading to the AC3100 (AC88U) likewise will not give me the better coverage and speed, assuming I don't have all AC devices. Correct?

Should be about the same perhaps - have you consider the RT-AC88U's little brother - the RT-AC3100?

For most folks, the AC1900 class RT-AC68 series is going to be "good enough", and taking into account the 3rd party community and hive-mind insight into the model, it's a good choice...

 

[dlandiss]

That was exactly the plan. Thanks for your input. I take it, then, that upgrading to the AC3100 (AC88U) likewise will not give me the better coverage and speed, assuming I don't have all AC devices. Correct?

You have another factor in play--which firmware is in your RT-N66. There was a time period when the official firmware offered less-than-optimum WiFi speeds. Fortunately aftermarket firmware, notable "John's Fork," have blended the WiFi radio drivers showing good performance with the latest security updates. The best of both worlds!

With the correct radio drivers there is very little difference in the radio range of the RT-N66 and the AC models (in the absence of AC clients).

 

[TonyH]

That was exactly the plan. Thanks for your input. I take it, then, that upgrading to the AC3100 (AC88U) likewise will not give me the better coverage and speed, assuming I don't have all AC devices. Correct?

AC3100 being based on newer hardware, it'll give some performance improvement. OP, '한국분이십니까?'

 

[eric choi]

AC3100 being based on newer hardware, it'll give some performance improvement. OP, '한국분이십니까?'

I see, and yes, indeed.

 

[eric choi]

You have another factor in play--which firmware is in your RT-N66. There was a time period when the official firmware offered less-than-optimum WiFi speeds. Fortunately aftermarket firmware, notable "John's Fork," have blended the WiFi radio drivers showing good performance with the latest security updates. The best of both worlds!

With the correct radio drivers there is very little difference in the radio range of the RT-N66 and the AC models (in the absence of AC clients).

I'll definitely give John's Fork a shot.

Also, since I was going to upgrade the n66u and thereafter use the n66u as an AP/switch, I need to find something else that can fit the bill. Can someone recommend a basic router I can use for these purposes? (The n66u is currently setup in the office on the first floor, and I have one available ethernet cable traveling from the office into the basement where all the other ethernet cables from other rooms terminate. If I setup the AP/switch down there, I could wire the house as necessary. Also, I need an AP down there because wireless doesn't carry very well into the basement, where there is a guest room.)

 

[eric choi]

You have another factor in play--which firmware is in your RT-N66. There was a time period when the official firmware offered less-than-optimum WiFi speeds. Fortunately aftermarket firmware, notable "John's Fork," have blended the WiFi radio drivers showing good performance with the latest security updates. The best of both worlds!

With the correct radio drivers there is very little difference in the radio range of the RT-N66 and the AC models (in the absence of AC clients).

I could really use some help. I tried to install John's Fork and ran into some issues. Initially, I got a message that said that Asus would not permit me to install uncertified third-party firmware. I researched a bit and read here that I need to install 380.61 first over which I could install something like John's Fork. So I downloaded 380.61 from here and then tried to install John's Fork over-top of it, but I'm again getting the message that I cannot install uncertified third-party firmware. Any ideas?

 

[rtn66uftw]

I could really use some help. I tried to install John's Fork and ran into some issues. Initially, I got a message that said that Asus would not permit me to install uncertified third-party firmware. I researched a bit and read here that I need to install 380.61 first over which I could install something like John's Fork. So I downloaded 380.61 from here and then tried to install John's Fork over-top of it, but I'm again getting the message that I cannot install uncertified third-party firmware. Any ideas?

I have both AC68U and N66U and AC68U's 5GHz is so much better than N66U's. And ofc all my AC devices love the upgrade from N66U to AC68U.

If your firmware level is 380.3xxx you won't be able to flash from the gui. You may be able to flash using the firmware restoration tool or the CFE mini server http://www.snbforums.com/threads/fork-update-for-374-43-available-v17e8-v18b9.18914/page-195#post-265343

See also: http://slickdeals.net/f/7193262-t-mobile-personal-cellspot-ac-router-by-asus-free-for-postpaid-25-deposit?p=70386382#edit70386382

 

[Wingsfan87]

If you're going to upgrade to the AC68 I would suggest you upgrade to the AC68P model instead of U. It has the faster processor. You can pick them up refurbished at a good deal Amazon/Newegg/Ebay etc.

 

[vrapp]

I confirm what NetBuilder87 said, I actually changed from "U" to "P" after "U" died because of lighting strike. However, the only difference in speed you'll notice will be in it's own UI.

Speaking of your initial question, the only meaningful difference is AI protection by TrendMicro, which actually works and blocks fresh bad websites. Other protections don't block anything - specifically, those DNS-based found under DNS filtering - OpenDNS, Norton, Yandex, and Comodo.

 

[Jim Hand]

I went from the N66U to the AC88U when it came out. My family has about fifteen wireless devices and about eight wired devices. For my family's usage, it is very unlikely that more than three devices will be streaming video wirelessly at the same time. I also have a QNAP NAS that is often streaming video to both wireless and wired devices. When I upgraded to the AC88U, I noticed the access to the NAS was noticeably snappier. When using the 5GHz channel on the AC88U, Plex seems to start very fast with fast-forwarding and rewinding jumping very quickly to new locations in the video. I think file transfer time between the NAS and a wireless laptop decreased by about 60-70%. Internet streaming improved somewhat, but the effects were much less noticeable. The bottlenecks for Internet streaming seemed to be more due to my download speed and issues outside my home network. After getting the AC88U, I upgraded my Internet plan from a 100/5 plan to a 200/20 plan. That seems to have helped more than the AC88U for the initial start time of the Internet video streaming services we use (mostly Netflix, Hulu, and Youtube).
I did not have any problems with connectivity, signal strength, or range with the N66U, but it seems like the AC88U may give slightly stronger signal strength in parts of my house.

 

[KevTech]

Unless all your current devices are AC devices the answer would be no. If you need better coverage then maybe upgrade to the AC but have the N66 as a repeater to provide needed coverage.

It has been shown that an AC router can inprove N performance.

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wire...oes-an-ac-router-improve-n-device-performance