AC86U dying: Debating on spare AX68U or buying GT-AX6000 for 1Gb

[Amiga]

I've got an AC86U that I've been struggling with for several months, via scheduled nightly reboots, clean Merlin installs, and manual reboots (like today) when there's been zero end-user activity. I'm thinking of upgrading my cable to gigabit (with 100Mb upload) and know you can tweak aspects on the AC86U, and I'm sure the AX68U, to get it happy with supporting that speed (via Ethernet). I have a spare unused AX68U that has been aging like a fine wine because I wasn't crazy about it's range (2.4 GHz) compared to my AC86U. My biggest strain on my routers is concurrently using different VPNs within Asuswrt and plenty of IoT devices. I'm toying with getting a GT-AX6000 since it's on sale for $260 USD (Amazon & Newegg) and supports Merlin. Would I be a masochist trying to use the AX68U with 1Gb service instead of getting a new Cadillac (GT-AX6000)?

EDIT
RMerlin is suggesting the RT-AX88U Pro in another thread. Looks like this is it for $350 USD (ouch):
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BTTY7QFH

 

[Tech9]

You are struggling for several months with AC86U and have a spare unused AX68U available?

GT-AX6000 is a popular choice for people who don't care about how the router looks. The same hardware as RT-AX88U Pro.

 

[Amiga]

I've tried to keep the AC86U going with nightly reboots since the AX68U 2.4 GHz range sucked in comparison. If I'm upgrading to 1Gb service, I don't want to set myself up for failure with having to tweak everything to death to obtain close to that speed with the AX68U. I rarely hear anyone say anything positive in this forum about the AX68U.

 

[Tech9]

I rarely hear anyone say anything positive in this forum about the AX68U.

This model disappeared from Canadian retailers months ago. It was replaced by multiple RT-AX58U and V2 hardware variants - all RT-AX58U/AX3000, GS-AX3000/AX5400, RT-AX82U, TUF-AX3000/AX5400, etc. Seems like the chipset used for both radios was giving too much trouble. It had a long history of 5GHz connection issues. This was the only model in existence using BCM6710 for 5GHz. Not popular on SNB Forums for above reasons.

 

[Clark Griswald]

@Amiga
Hot Deals Post Currently GT-AX6000 $260 USD.
I'm running 6000 as Main with AC86 as an AP. I've experienced zero issues with our network, regarding hardware running RMerlin FW.

 

[Viktor Jaep]

GT-AX6000 is a popular choice for people who don't care about how the router looks. The same hardware as RT-AX88U Pro.

Count me in. My GT-AX6000 "Facehugger Edition" is located safely and securely inside a dark closet on top of my server rack/patch panel where I don't have to see its sweet, sweet Aura RGB LEDs.