Anything better than the ASUS AC68U?

[Phoenix]

I've had the AC68U, then upgraded to the AC87U when it first came out, didn't like it and sold it as it used to disconnect a lot on my computer and phones, then I got the AC3200 which was even worse, it used to disconnect all the time, tried all firmwares, Merlin firmwares, no luck, so I sold it and went back to an AC68U which is great.

Now I am at a stage that I don't want anything that has the name ASUS on it, I was disappointed with their routers, even the AC68U firmwares have been in BETA for many months now if you check the download page, their driver team seem to be like a bunch of clowns.....

My X-99 Deluxe motherboard in my computer is one of the worst motherboards I have ever owned, takes about 15-20 seconds from a cold boot because it is obviously checking components and training RAM, I disabled the RAM training but still, not satisfied with it completely.

I have owned every ASUS gaming laptop in the past and they all had their issues, bad USB ports, randomly not booting, etc.......

So I don't want to have anything that has the name ASUS on it anymore...

What other good router is reliable and stable and has low poing rates like the AC68U?

I have a 1 bedroom apartment but thick walls

 

[Phoenix]

Oh BTW the router must have 5 GHz and 2.4GHz bands......

I wish there was a router like the AC3200 that actually worked, as in, it would only have one network SSID and would switch the devices according to the load between 2.4/5 GHz, the idea is great on paper but it was a nightmare in real life on that POS AC3200

 

[System Error Message]

There are many routers better or worse the question is what are you looking for?
Are you looking for NAT performance? Router features?
Wifi performance? Stability? Range?

Every router performs differently in different areas.
The AC3200 actually works but like any wifi router manufacturer they love to implement their own proprietary stuff that tends to have compatibility issues with some devices.

 

[Phoenix]

There are many routers better or worse the question is what are you looking for?
Are you looking for NAT performance? Router features?
Wifi performance? Stability? Range?

Every router performs differently in different areas.
The AC3200 actually works but like any wifi router manufacturer they love to implement their own proprietary stuff that tends to have compatibility issues with some devices.

I don't know what is NAT. All I want is a router that would give me a stable connection in my 1 bedroom apartment and doesn't disconnect but low ping rates are important also for gaming.

 

[red_pope]

This is just my views,

I do like the can and string theory! but If that stops working, then we have Pigeon messenger bird theory, If that stops working, then the Bow and arrow with a writing MSG in the arrow, then you have the Morse code, but learning the code takes intelligence cells to translate!

 

[System Error Message]

I have not had any disconnection issues with my AC68U. I have both the AC68U and AC3200 and they both work well even for gaming. I've never had disconnect issues even while streaming from a room away.

How long are you connected before disconnected or is it only while you're gaming that you get disconnected? There are other good wifi routers out there but when it comes to wifi nothing is really certain on what is better than the other. All it depends is what wifi chip the router uses and what wifi chip the client uses. A wifi router may have a good chip but the client's chip can sometimes be incompatible.

Firmware is debatable as many have different options

 

[snakebite3]

Were you using the Smart Connect on the 3200? I heard the Smart Connect isn't well configure out of the box. People had better connection as 3 wi-fi point instead.

 

[L&LD]

How long ago was this? What firmware? What options altered beyond defaults?

Your experience for the RT-AC68U and even the RT-AC3200 is not what most people report today. Rather the opposite.

 

[System Error Message]

Ive used smart connect but rarely have issues with it, only rare reconnects but i did mess with smart connect settings. As usual i change every single setting i can on a router before using it.

Both the AC68U and AC3200 are currently stuck with RMerlin's firmware from June and using them for a year or more i've only had to restart the AC68U once but it was running a bit hot. I have added a usb fan onto the AC68U.

I think the important bit to note is that i use them solely as APs and not routers. I have them in router mode but without DHCP and using them as an AP.

 

[Phoenix]

How long ago was this? What firmware? What options altered beyond defaults?

Your experience for the RT-AC68U and even the RT-AC3200 is not what most people report today. Rather the opposite.

The AC68U is running fine, just not 100% happy with the fact that ASUS haven't updated its firmware beyond BETAs since many months.

Just wanted something better...

With the AC3200 I tried the first 3 initial firmwares then I got tired of waiting desperately for a firmware...

no settings were changed beyond default other than choosing that feature which shoes the 2.4GHz/5GHz as 1 network and auto switches between them depending on the network congestion.

If you search on the web, you will find many people unhappy with it and the solution was to disable this feature. But then this was the no. 1 reason I bought this router for. only thing it doesn't work reliably.

 

[psychopomp1]

The AC68U is running fine, just not 100% happy with the fact that ASUS haven't updated its firmware beyond BETAs since many months.

Just wanted something better...
.

Go for the Linksys EA8500, which is a Wave 2 AC router. Granted, there aren't (m)any 4x4 clients around but this router pisses all over AC1900 class routers on 2x2 & 3x3 clients. Has superb 2.4ghz & 5ghz range and is rock solid. You won't be disppointed

 

[Trip]

All I want is a router that would give me a stable connection [...] low ping rates are important also for gaming.

What is the internet speed you're paying for? Assuming it's <150Mb/s up + down, you've got tons of options. And are you hooking up your latency-sensitive clients (ie. gaming, voip, etc.) via wire? That will of course make a huge difference.

Moving on, just buying another all-in-one won't ensure good quality-of-service (QoS) and proper reliability alone (as you've already discovered). I'd start by doing a factory reset on the 68U, then loading the latest version of Merlin or AdvancedTomato, then another full reset and NVRAM clear-out, then re-do your configs. Once you have all your QoS setup, check the DSLReports speedtest and check to make sure you're getting a high enough bufferbloat score. If so, you should be done -- unless of course the hardware is burning out in some way, or CPU is just not powerful enough, and then, yes, you will need to buying something new. I'd recommend a business-class wired router with a separate access point, or all-in-one set an as access point. Often, that's the best way to ensure good reliability and proper QoS.

 

[red_pope]

What is the internet speed you're paying for? Assuming it's <150Mb/s up + down, you've got tons of options. And are you hooking up your latency-sensitive clients (ie. gaming, voip, etc.) via wire? That will of course make a huge difference.

Moving on, just buying another all-in-one won't ensure good quality-of-service (QoS) and proper reliability alone (as you've already discovered). I'd start by doing a factory reset on the 68U, then loading the latest version of Merlin or AdvancedTomato, then another full reset and NVRAM clear-out, then re-do your configs. Once you have all your QoS setup, check the DSLReports speedtest and check to make sure you're getting a high enough bufferbloat score. If so, you should be done -- unless of course the hardware is burning out in some way, or CPU is just not powerful enough, and then, yes, you will need to buying something new. I'd recommend a business-class wired router with a separate access point, or all-in-one set an as access point. Often, that's the best way to ensure good reliability and proper QoS.

Definitely, If someone will Follow your suggestion for a WIRED NETWORK, that person will be on track for robustness and serious networking. I do enjoy my WIFI but after reading your response, basic knowledge of home cat5e and copper wiring will be required, then you got your Wired router to configure and learn patiencly every thing and how interfaces. Important thing, is know and decide what you want.

 

[System Error Message]

I think i'll write an article about building a home network relating to the types of hardware to use. A dedicated AP is helpful when it comes to simplifying things such as 1 ethernet port, POE in whereas a wifi router is better as an AP if you also need to extend your wired network in a simple way.
There is a lot of misconception and things you can do with networking such as if you have fibre optics you do not need to use a modem but you can use a router with SFP and get the SFP module which is more efficient and you just need to focus on a router with good firmware rather than a good modem.

 

[Phoenix]

What is the internet speed you're paying for? Assuming it's <150Mb/s up + down, you've got tons of options. And are you hooking up your latency-sensitive clients (ie. gaming, voip, etc.) via wire? That will of course make a huge difference.

Moving on, just buying another all-in-one won't ensure good quality-of-service (QoS) and proper reliability alone (as you've already discovered). I'd start by doing a factory reset on the 68U, then loading the latest version of Merlin or AdvancedTomato, then another full reset and NVRAM clear-out, then re-do your configs. Once you have all your QoS setup, check the DSLReports speedtest and check to make sure you're getting a high enough bufferbloat score. If so, you should be done -- unless of course the hardware is burning out in some way, or CPU is just not powerful enough, and then, yes, you will need to buying something new. I'd recommend a business-class wired router with a separate access point, or all-in-one set an as access point. Often, that's the best way to ensure good reliability and proper QoS.

It's a fibre optic connection @ 50 MBPS Down/10 MBPS up.

I never use QoS. When I use my internet I want teh full bandwidth.

 

[L&LD]

QoS doesn't limit the bandwidth of a single user.

 

[Phoenix]

QoS doesn't limit the bandwidth of a single user.

Ohh ok, I'll enable it then, thanks

 

[Trip]

At 60Mb/s aggregate on an 800Mhz ARM cpu, you should be able to shape your egress traffic without slowdowns, assuming you've set it up properly. If using stock or Merlin firmware, then you should see respectable results at the very least.

If end-users can still notice signs of contention/jitter/bloat and you want to take it one step further, you could load AdvancedTomato and use fq_codel-based QoS. Just specify your down and up-link speeds and it takes care of the rest. No classes to asign; no priorities to order; no math to crunch. And it appears to do a significantly better job, with less overhead as well.

YMMV, but since you're on fiber, assuming your upstream hops are all clear, you should see at least some benefit from the first approach, and significant benefit from the second.