RT AC68U or RT AC88U

Hi, have just discovered this forum over the last few days and it is great. I was wondering if I could get some advice. Have a home office with 7 wired computers, NAS, smart TVs - all ethernet connected and 4 phones and tablets wireless. Big files mainly run over the ethernet, wireless is good for me but not the ultimate decider. One computer does a fair bit of torrenting and also runs a VPN through PIA. I have adsl2 at 18mb.

I have read plenty here comparing these two routers and see the difference is a faster processor, more ram, more ports and potentially better wireless. Would the 88U make much of a difference in my apllication? I keep reading that LAN traffic is all switched and the processor or ram wont help much, but to be honest I can wortk out the 88U will be better, just cant work out by how much? Any ideas? Very happy to wait till it is reviewed here to get an apples with apples comparison. Thanks Simon

If your budget includes both routers then I would be leaning towards the latest model myself.

First, it is obviously better in cooling and the closed source side of the firmware is obviously better too.

Secondly, your ISP connection can only get better and your needs can only grow over time.

If you plan on keeping this new purchase for as long as possible, while also hoping for the best performance too over that time, considering the RT-AC68U today is not your best bet from all the data we've seen of the new router.

Thanks L&LD, I was leaning that way too. My worry was that the 88U is almost double the 68U and if the improvement in performance was only say 15% it would make sense to get the 68U and change in 18-24 months. It sounds like you think the 88U is a big improvement.

simonG said:

Thanks L&LD, I was leaning that way too. My worry was that the 88U is almost double the 68U and if the improvement in performance was only say 15% it would make sense to get the 68U and change in 18-24 months. It sounds like you think the 88U is a big improvement.

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If you bought an RT-AC68U and changed it for a similar cost model after 2 years, it would still be cheaper to buy the RT-AC88U today, right?

I have not used any of the newer models, just reading the forums here like yourself, but what I do know from past experience is that buying the old and proven model is not always the best path in the long run. And in many cases, it wasn't the best path for the short run either.

In your shoes, I would consider buying the RT-AC88U when it was around 50% more expensive than the '68U (that gives us some value if it really is about 67% better wifi). Until that time comes, hopefully we will see mature and fully stable firmware from RMerlin, a review from Tim and more users that can offer their experience with the newest model.

But either way; I strongly believe that the RT-AC68U has been surpassed (and quite easily too). Just as the RT-AC5300 has surpassed the RT-AC3200 from most of the accounts I've read too.

Given that; I would only buy an RT-AC68U if it was less than half it's current asking price (and then, only if I really needed a router today).

Just a quick comment. I just bought the RT-AC3100 exact same router as the 88U except for 4 extra lan ports and red antennas and it has been rock solid right out of the box using Merlin firmware. 6 days up time and not one issue with any device on my network. Good Luck with what ever you decide.

Kal-EL said:

Just a quick comment. I just bought the RT-AC3100 exact same router as the 88U except for 4 extra lan ports and red antennas and it has been rock solid right out of the box using Merlin firmware. 6 days up time and not one issue with any device on my network. Good Luck with what ever you decide.

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Depends on the price you paid, but the 88U is only $20 more than the 3100.

whsbuss said:

Depends on the price you paid, but the 88U is only $20 more than the 3100.

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In my opinion the price was to high $279.00 US but it seems all new edge routers are sporting a high price tag these days. It wasn't to bad though as i returned a R-7000 and got 199.00 back so i really only invested another $80.00 bucks.

Just my 2 cents:
For the money of one AC88U you can nearly get 2 routers: a AC68U and a N66U - which will give you by sure a better coverage if you have a big home or difficult WLAN situation...

Reading the forum, it's clear that the AC88U still has some issues in the firmware which will need to be fixed - the AC68U is stable due to his longer market presence.

Joe, great thoughts. At the moment the wireless clients I have don't move the big files like the wired clients and are even coping for range ok, with router in the middle of the house with n o more than about 15 - 20 yards (or 15- 20 metres) in any direction. I didn't realise there was so many concerns with the 88U, I am in no rush so will wait for more anecdotal evidence and maybe if I am lucky Tim will have a comparison. I would prefer the newer model if it is better.