Purchase Advice

[Nogi]

Hi All,
My RT-N65U died the other day and I'm trying to decide on a replacement. The N65U worked fine for me on the whole.

Things that could of been better on it were, more than 4 ethernet ports and faster VPN throughput from the WAN side.

Wifi isn't really a big issue in my small house but I do stream media via Wifi from my NAS to device and also via homeplugs.

Would anyone like to recommend a nice spec upgrade from my old RT-N65U please? willing to spend up to £150 / $215

Thank you

 

[TheLyppardMan]

Hi All,
My RT-N65U died the other day and I'm trying to decide on a replacement. The N65U worked fine for me on the whole.

Things that could of been better on it were, more than 4 ethernet ports and faster VPN throughput from the WAN side.

Wifi isn't really a big issue in my small house but I do stream media via Wifi from my NAS to device and also via homeplugs.

Would anyone like to recommend a nice spec upgrade from my old RT-N65U please? willing to spend up to £150 / $215

Thank you

I've just purchased the Asus RT-AC68U and it seems to be an excellent piece of kit. The firmware has also improved dramatically in recent times (more security, more choices for QoS and better graphs/logs). It's in your price range as well (about £143 from Amazon). A cheaper, alternative is the RT-N66U (I think there's an ac version as well, but if you have homeplugs, like me, you're probably not that bothered about the wi-fi). The RT-N66U is around the £80 mark and can be wall mounted or stand mounted, but it looks a bit odd if stand mounted as the cables come out the top. The RT-AC68U cannot be wall mounted as the stand is built in to the unit, but at least the cables come out the back. By the way, some or all of the above are available in white as well as the more common black. I wouldn't recommend the white version of the RT-N66U (RT-N66W) as the led's on that are VERY bright and look ghastly on the white unit as they shine through the white parts of the casing as well, making them look all blurry. The led's on the RT-AC68U/W are much less bright and can easily be turned off via a switch on the back.

 

[Nullity]

General consensus seems to be RT-AC68U. The 87U has a few problems.

Maybe a used RT-AC88U?

 

[Hawk]

As ex owner of RT-AC68 I agree at this time it is you best bet. money and performance wise.

@Nullity, RT-AC88U would be probably overkill, but if good deal is found why not.

 

[sfx2000]

General consensus seems to be RT-AC68U. The 87U has a few problems.

If you're serious on Asus - the RT-AC68U series is the best bang for the buck...

AC88U? interesting, but also consider the AC3100...

The older RT-AC87U is odd - either it works great, or it's a bag full of frustration for some...

 

[doczenith1]

My $0.02 would be to grab the AC-68U and add a 4 port switch as you mentioned that you were looking for more than 4 ethernet ports. As previously mentioned the 68U is the current best bang for the buck option for most people's needs. As far as increased vpn speeds I will have to defer to the experts on whether the faster dual core processor in the 68U will help with the vpn speeds.

 

[Chris313AllNight]

I would agree with most here about the AC68U. Try to find the latest revision of the 68U, though. The C1. Dunno how you'd find that if ordering from somewhere online, but I do believe it's on the package, or if you're checking stats and see the router has a 1GHZ CPU vs 800 for the other models. Finding a good switch is also important too. For ref, I use this one: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CMNYXME/?tag=snbforums-20 I use a N66U router with this switch and haven't had a day of trouble. I definitely think you'll be happy with the 68U. It's a great router for the money. If you find you can do more, however, the 88U might be the best choice since you say you want more then the 4 ports. The 88U version has 8 instead of 4.

 

[Nogi]

Thanks all for the recommendations. Looks like I'm gonna pick up a AC68U then, the 88U is a lot more expensive.

I need 5 ethernet ports really but as some of you have mentioned a switch will do.

Is the C1 revision of the 68U just a processor upgrade from 800Mhz to 1Ghz then? or are there more benefits? As you say ordering online might be difficult to differentiate.

I was originally thinking maybe get rid of my ISP modem and find a modem/router for VDSL2 wasnt sure if ASUS did any goods one, just throwing that in the mix if anyone agree's or disagree's but other people have persuaded me not to and keep the ISP modem.

VPN speeds UPSTREAM were slow on my RT-N65U it was like it couldnt handle it as it wasnt using hardly anywhere near my Max upstream.

 

[Mikeysnb]

Thanks all for the recommendations. Looks like I'm gonna pick up a AC68U then, the 88U is a lot more expensive.

I need 5 ethernet ports really but as some of you have mentioned a switch will do.

Is the C1 revision of the 68U just a processor upgrade from 800Mhz to 1Ghz then? or are there more benefits? As you say ordering online might be difficult to differentiate.

I was originally thinking maybe get rid of my ISP modem and find a modem/router for VDSL2 wasnt sure if ASUS did any goods one, just throwing that in the mix if anyone agree's or disagree's but other people have persuaded me not to and keep the ISP modem.

VPN speeds UPSTREAM were slow on my RT-N65U it was like it couldnt handle it as it wasnt using hardly anywhere near my Max upstream.

Amazon also has the ac3200 for £145 might be worth considering as there's so little price difference

 

[Nogi]

Amazon also has the ac3200 for £145 might be worth considering as there's so little price difference

Is the AC3200 any better? than the AC68U 1Ghz version?

 

[Mikeysnb]

Is the AC3200 any better? than the AC68U 1Ghz version?

Sorry can't answer as never owned asus router before all I can say is I've only owned mine a day and I'm ecstatic with mine it's very fast with solid wifi throughout the house take a look at only recent amazon reviews and they're all very positive now that bugs have been squished, plus it does have quite a few more features for just £10ish difference, good luck

 

[sfx2000]

Is the AC3200 any better? than the AC68U 1Ghz version?

If your needs are simple - the RT-AC68U is a better choice than the RT-AC3200, IMHO...

 

[TheLyppardMan]

If your needs are simple - the RT-AC68U is a better choice than the RT-AC3200, IMHO...

The AC3200 is so ugly as well (looks like a dead spider on its back).

 

[Nogi]

Well I have picked up an RT-AC68U today, went to several places none were carrying for the 1Ghz version so i've settled for the 800Mhz version and installed Merlins firmware on it.

Some cool features inside this firmware, big upgrade to my RT-N65U by the looks of it.

Thanks for all the answers to my OP, hopefully this thing plays nice with me. Cost me £134 in the end again upset couldn't find the 1Ghz version but would I really notice anyway?

 

[sfx2000]

The AC3200 is so ugly as well (looks like a dead spider on its back).

It reminds me of Darth Maul from SW-EP1, lol...