Question Best router option - SOLVED - Asus RT-AX68U

[hicks451]

Hi all,

I am on the lookout for a new router after having my network & Pc- devices hacked and was hoping I could get some advice on what one would be best to choose out of the three listed or would the TH members recommend something different?
I am currently running a gaming Pc, Gaming laptop as well as 2 Xbox One consoles 2 smart Tv's & 2 phones.
Not every device will be running at once but I will be doing a lot of online gaming.
I will leave the 3 I have chosen so far and would appreciate any help on what one might be best for my needs out of the three or would members suggest something else to choose from?

Here are the links to the three I have added to my list so far.

Netgear
AX1800 WiFi Router (RAX10)

4-Stream AX1800 Dual-Band WiFi 6 Router - RAX10 | NETGEAR

Discover the RAX10 4-Stream, Dual-Band AX1800 WiFi 6 Router. Experience a new level of WiFi speed. Connect, Stream, and download faster and interruption-free. Buy now.

www.netgear.com

AX1800 WiFi Router (RAX20)

4-Stream AX1800 Dual-Band WiFi 6 Router - RAX20 | NETGEAR

Discover the RAX20 4-Stream, Dual-Band AX1800 WiFi 6 Router with WiFi speeds up to 1.8Gbps. Includes NETGEAR Armor™ to provide advanced cyber threat protection and USB 3.0 port. Buy now.

www.netgear.com

AX3000 WiFi Router (RAX40)

Nighthawk RAX40 | WiFi 6 Router | NETGEAR Support

Find setup help, user guides, product information, firmware, and troubleshooting for your Nighthawk RAX40 on our official NETGEAR Support site today.

www.netgear.com

I have a budget of around £150 but can go a little higher if the router is worth spending the extra amount or if there might be another router recommend by the TH members.

Thanks in advance.

 

[gggplaya]

If nobody asked how fast is your internet. Many times even routers with large cpu will bottleneck say 500mbps internet connection if you use even simple feature. There is a NAT hardware accelerator even in the most simple router that allows them to run gigabit but to do this it bypass the cpu chip. Any feature that needs the cpu to see the traffic force this feature to be disabled and the cpu now must do the first feature as well as the nat function.

They stated 75mbps internet plan currently. With that many consoles and gaming pc's in the house, they'll need a good QOS system for sure to keep things smooth.

 

[hicks451]

I would get the AC86U or RT-AX68U because they have the best processors.

Thank you for the reply and help gggplaya. I will go and check out the specs to try and work out what one is the latest and overall better router out of the two. Appreciate the heads up mate!!!👍

 

[hicks451]

I just want to thank everyone for your help and support. As you can all work out I am still learning when it come to the fine details so I appreciate all the help I can get from the great TH members. 👌

 

[hicks451]

Hi all,

Ok I have narrowed it down to these two AC86U or RT-AX68U .
As I mentioned before my connection speed can go up to 75mbps but I might upgrade that in the near future once I manage to get some savings which has been wiped clean after building my new gaming Pc.
I apologise for repeating this as you have all done so much to help me so far but what one is the better one out of the two?
I am also going to spend more time educating myself on managing a network so that I am not so reliant on others so were would be a great place to start and would TH be a place I could get the best information without annoying everyone in the process?
Thanks again.

Hicks 👍

 

[kanewolf]

Hi all,

Ok I have narrowed it down to these two AC86U or RT-AX68U .
As I mentioned before my connection speed can go up to 75mbps but I might upgrade that in the near future once I manage to get some savings which has been wiped clean after building my new gaming Pc.
I apologise for repeating this as you have all done so much to help me so far but what one is the better one out of the two?
I am also going to spend more time educating myself on managing a network so that I am not so reliant on others so were would be a great place to start and would TH be a place I could get the best information without annoying everyone in the process?
Thanks again.

Hicks 👍

IMO, the AX has the probability of being supported longer. The AC is an older model. As you can see, Merlin has frozen support for some models.
That would be the reason I would get the AX.

 

[gggplaya]

The AC86u is a 4x4 radio(1 antenna is hidden internally) and the AX68u is a 3x3 radio. That said, very few client devices have a 4x4 radio, most only have a 2x2 radio so you won't see any real benefit from the extra radio until your house is severely congested with wifi devices all hammering the router at the same time or you have a client with a 4x4 radio which I could only see in a desktop wifi card or a sister router you're using as a wifi bridge. The AX unit also uses OFDMA which will help with wifi traffic congestion, so in a crowded wifi environment, the average speeds of all clients will be higher.

 

[hicks451]

Ok it looks like I will go with the AX68U. I can't thank you all enough and you have all been life savers as well as great educators with patients helping a novice when it comes to the most important details when choosing the right router with the most recommend firmware.
I am sure this won't be the last time I will be asking for help from the fantastic TH moderators and members.
I must admit I would have struggled far more if I didn't have the good members to put me on the right path!!!
Thanks again all. Very grateful!!!

Hicks

 

[hicks451]

Hi all,

Just a quick one to let you all know that the router arrived today.
I want to thank everyone again for getting me to switch from the Netgear routers I had listed to consider over to the Asus routers with support towards the Merlin firmware.
After doing more digging and watching more video's on the Asus line I feel like you have all done me a massive turn and have helped to raise my game for my new network and without the TH moderator & members support I believe I would of made a huge mistake with the routers I had in mind.
I will keep you all posted on how I get on with getting everything set up and I am sure you will all see me post for more help in the coming days.
If I had the means I would buy a round for you all!!!
Owe you all and very grateful.

Kind regards

Hicks 👍👌✌️