Solved ASUS RT-AX86U network performance issues

[jsz]

However the most impressive thing about the AX86U was the dramatically noticeable improvement in decreased latency. Several reviews like CNET measured the lowest latency of any router they ever tested... https://www.cnet.com/news/asus-rt-ax86u-wi-fi-6-router-review/ "the RT-AX86U is just flat-out fantastic at handling latency, and easily the best router I've ever tested when it comes to lag."

For online gamers this is a huge advantage. If you aren't into online gaming maybe it's not such a big deal but when you consider the time and money online gamers invest in their setups that extra cost for having an ultra low latency wireless router like the AX86U is well worth it. Needless to say I am also an online gamer and I am not hiding the fact that I have become a huge fan of the RT-AX86U.

Latency wise, I think the biggest advantage comes from 160mhz blocks, but it could also be the faster radio SoCs and better QAM modulation with AX clients that helps quite a bit. In fact, I'm pretty sure its all of the above.

AX86U is a great router and I'm sure future updates will push it past the GT-AC2900 that I ended up keeping for cost purposes. My plan was to upgrade to Triband 6E or future renditions anyway after 2-3 years. Just didn't seem logical to keep.

 

[SoCalReviews]

Latency wise, I think the biggest advantage comes from 160mhz blocks, but it could also be the faster radio SoCs and better QAM modulation with AX clients that helps quite a bit. In fact, I'm pretty sure its all of the above.

AX86U is a great router and I'm sure future updates will push it past the GT-AC2900 that I ended up keeping for cost purposes. My plan was to upgrade to Triband 6E or future renditions anyway after 2-3 years. Just didn't seem logical to keep.

Those are advantages but I suspect the extremely low latency is much more than just AX implementation and better hardware. It is something that impacts both wired and wireless.

I haven't done any analysis on this but I wouldn't be surprised if Asus specifically streamlined and optimized the code for the AX86U in regards to lower latency because according to the CNET review in my previous post it consistently outperformed other top rated consumer grade AX routers in his latency tests including those with similar BCM SoC hardware specs and top end AX gaming routers costing almost double the price.

In regards to 6E.. I really like what I have read about the upcoming Asus GT-AXE1100. It sounds like Asus has really pushed the envelope in terms of design, hardware and features. Unless you plan to get two of them and use 6Ghz for backhaul in an AiMesh setup I just find it hard to justify spending that much more money for 6E when it will probably be two years before we see many clients that can utilize it. Because of this your two to three year wait and see strategy until your next upgrade makes sense. I also consider myself in a good place after having gone full Wifi 6 with the AX86U while I wait for Wifi 6E, 6Ew2 and 7.

 

[tallytr]

I tried both the RT-AX86U and the RT-AX88U, both do nothing better for me than my older RT-AC86U.
Decided to keep the RT-AC86U at least a year or more...
The only reason for me to upgrade would be much improved radios (reach on 5Ghz) but I doubt that will happen with the push to Mesh Wi-Fi....

 

[SoCalReviews]

I tried both the RT-AX86U and the RT-AX88U, both do nothing better for me than my older RT-AC86U.
Decided to keep the RT-AC86U at least a year or more...
The only reason for me to upgrade would be much improved radios (reach on 5Ghz) but I doubt that will happen with the push to Mesh Wi-Fi....

The AC86U is a really good router but it sounds like none of the new wireless routers in the next five years (Wifi 6, 6E, 6Ew2, 7) will do much for you. I still have a few N66U's that work ok and except for 5Ghz they work ok compared to the AX86U but I don't use them. I consider those decade old devices old tech. There's nothing wrong with old tech. I still use old Macs and Win computers. I play games on old systems like NES, PS1, Sega Dreamcast, etc.. but Like many here I generally like keeping my tech including my Wifi tech up to date partly for functionality and partly for fun. I can't wait to get my Wifi 6 capable PS5.

 

[jsz]

Those are advantages but I suspect the extremely low latency is much more than just AX implementation and better hardware. It is something that impacts both wired and wireless.

I haven't done any analysis on this but I wouldn't be surprised if Asus specifically streamlined and optimized the code for the AX86U in regards to lower latency because according to the CNET review in my previous post it consistently outperformed other top rated consumer grade AX routers in his latency tests including those with similar BCM SoC hardware specs and top end AX gaming routers costing almost double the price.

In regards to 6E.. I really like what I have read about the upcoming Asus GT-AXE1100. It sounds like Asus has really pushed the envelope in terms of design, hardware and features. Unless you plan to get two of them and use 6Ghz for backhaul in an AiMesh setup I just find it hard to justify spending that much more money for 6E when it will probably be two years before we see many clients that can utilize it. Because of this your two to three year wait and see strategy until your next upgrade makes sense. I also consider myself in a good place after having gone full Wifi 6 with the AX86U while I wait for Wifi 6E, 6Ew2 and 7.

I mean.. the AX86U uses the same BCM4908 28nm CPU/Switch as a lot of high end BCM wave 2 AC routers. I don't exactly see how wired LAN can improve other than software/firmware optimizations that can impact both types of designs aside from the radios. This is actually part of the reason I avoided putting down the extra money as I think this platform is also semi outdated.. Aside from the newer faster Radio SoCs. AC86U/GT-AC2900 has the dual core version (BCM4906) of the same CPU.

I'm currently more interested in the mid range Qualcomm solutions like the IPQ8174/IPQ8173 (14nm SoC, DDR4 support.. etc). QCA designs are traditionally a bit different in terms of layout. The main CPU on the popular wave 2 IPQ8065 for example also controls the networking processors effectively making it a quad core, but its obviously a dual core relative to BCM solutions and I think engineering had a field day relying this to marketing when it came to certain brands.

I'm actually annoyed and find it weird that the A7 based BCM6750 AX58U is marketed as "tri core" when its obviously a dual core with the 3rd processor being dedicated to the 2.4G radio on the SoC. "Lower end" BCM6755 products are "quad core", but thats obviously a dual core with two cores dedicated to the radios. Technically a product like the AX58U has a slower A7 "dual core" relative to A53 in the AC86U. The Radio SoC on AX products are much faster though. (1.5ghz vs 800mhz). I'm legitimately wondering how Radios like the QCA5054 operate as there's no datasheets on the internet.

Anyway.... I don't/didn't see much difference other than 1-3ping (Likely QAM/160mhz block advantage) and faster ramp up times in speed test (Likely Radio SoC improvements).

Coming from an AC68... Big jump. I can see why you saw so much improvement.

 

[SoCalReviews]

I mean.. the AX86U uses the same BCM4908 28nm CPU/Switch as a lot of high end BCM wave 2 AC routers. I don't exactly see how wired LAN can improve other than software/firmware optimizations that can impact both types of designs aside from the radios. This is actually part of the reason I avoided putting down the extra money as I think this platform is also semi outdated.. Aside from the newer faster Radio SoCs. AC86U/GT-AC2900 has the dual core version (BCM4906) of the same CPU.

I'm currently more interested in the mid range Qualcomm solutions like the IPQ8174/IPQ8173 (14nm SoC, DDR4 support.. etc). QCA designs are traditionally a bit different in terms of layout. The main CPU on the popular wave 2 IPQ8065 for example also controls the networking processors effectively making it a quad core, but its obviously a dual core relative to BCM solutions and I think engineering had a field day relying this to marketing when it came to certain brands.

I'm actually annoyed and find it weird that the A7 based BCM6750 AX58U is marketed as "tri core" when its obviously a dual core with the 3rd processor being dedicated to the 2.4G radio on the SoC. "Lower end" BCM6755 products are "quad core", but thats obviously a dual core with two cores dedicated to the radios. Technically a product like the AX58U has a slower A7 "dual core" relative to A53 in the AC86U. The Radio SoC on AX products are much faster though. (1.5ghz vs 800mhz). I'm legitimately wondering how Radios like the QCA5054 operate as there's no datasheets on the internet.

Anyway.... I don't/didn't see much difference other than 1-3ping (Likely QAM/160mhz block advantage) and faster ramp up times in speed test (Likely Radio SoC improvements).

Coming from an AC68... Big jump. I can see why you saw so much improvement.

You make some really great points especially relating to the hardware claims of SoC frequencies and cores. Just like it has for decades with PC CPU and GPU spec wars it seems like wireless router marketing is becoming just as or more important than the real world performance results.

Yes... the jump from the AC68 series to the AX86U was a bit of a shocker especially considering the AX86U is now being crowned by many as the new king of low latency gaming routers. For me the low latency wasn't just a theoretical spec bump on paper. It was an immediately noticeable and dramatic improvement both wired and wireless... the snap and pop of web browsing, a more responsive video playback and enhancement of all internet access activities compared to using my older routers... and those older routers I upgraded from have been considered very good performers for years. I will be very curious how this next two to three years unfolds with the rollout of 6Ghz. Once the devices support the new band there will be a huge wave of marketing blitzes promoting it. Hopefully a a new gen of even faster SoC's will arrive as well. We will have to see if the next Wifi waves match the hype with actual noticeable improvements in performance.

 

[Aedgar]

I have the opposite problem, similar to the other user on the first page.

I replaced a Netgear X4S as it failed to pull an IP from my Netgear CM1100 Modem. Sometimes restarting 10 times worked, other times not. I had to leave the modem disconnected overnight so I would have a new IP assigned to me. That issue was basically impossible to troubleshoot, I had tried everything.

Enter the rt-ax86u...
In summary:
WAN to Wired LAN = Fast
Wired LAN to Wireless LAN = Fast
WAN to Wireless LAN = Slow

I have 1Gbps from Cox. Perfect signal levels on the modem. Modem supports 802.3ad link aggregation, as does the router. Router is connected to my desktop with a Crosshair VIII Hero that has a 1Gbps Intel NIC and a 2.5Gbps Realtek one. Everything is wired up using CAT 7 (yes overkill I know, but was cheaper than the CAT 6 at the time).
From WAN to Wired LAN I can pull over a gigabit. Here is the fastest one I've gotten:

The Intel NIC also gets near gigabit speeds.

To test Wireless LAN, I have an nginx server on my desktop and I download a large file using various devices like an ipad (2 streams AX = 1200mbps) and achieve 1Gbps.

As for WAN to Wireless LAN, I get only about 250-350Mbps from speedtest.net (both web and app). I have tried it on various AX devices. I thought it could just be speedtest.net, so I setup a large file on GCP Storage and downloaded it over wireless. Around 400Mbps.

I've disabled all the QOS and friends. I've tried without the link aggregation. Tried both 80 and 160MHz. No one else sharing the channels that I am on as well. The new Asus router is actually slower than the broken Netgear it replaced in this specific case. I still have until Jan 31 to return it to Amazon. I don't like to give up easily but this again seems like an untroubleshootable issue.

 

[jsz]

Are you in a heavily congested area? I can't really think of any other reason.


My AX86U was fine and pushed over 600mbps easily.

 

[Novak921]

I have the opposite problem, similar to the other user on the first page.

I replaced a Netgear X4S as it failed to pull an IP from my Netgear CM1100 Modem. Sometimes restarting 10 times worked, other times not. I had to leave the modem disconnected overnight so I would have a new IP assigned to me. That issue was basically impossible to troubleshoot, I had tried everything.

Enter the rt-ax86u...
In summary:
WAN to Wired LAN = Fast
Wired LAN to Wireless LAN = Fast
WAN to Wireless LAN = Slow

I have 1Gbps from Cox. Perfect signal levels on the modem. Modem supports 802.3ad link aggregation, as does the router. Router is connected to my desktop with a Crosshair VIII Hero that has a 1Gbps Intel NIC and a 2.5Gbps Realtek one. Everything is wired up using CAT 7 (yes overkill I know, but was cheaper than the CAT 6 at the time).
From WAN to Wired LAN I can pull over a gigabit. Here is the fastest one I've gotten:

The Intel NIC also gets near gigabit speeds.

To test Wireless LAN, I have an nginx server on my desktop and I download a large file using various devices like an ipad (2 streams AX = 1200mbps) and achieve 1Gbps.

As for WAN to Wireless LAN, I get only about 250-350Mbps from speedtest.net (both web and app). I have tried it on various AX devices. I thought it could just be speedtest.net, so I setup a large file on GCP Storage and downloaded it over wireless. Around 400Mbps.

I've disabled all the QOS and friends. I've tried without the link aggregation. Tried both 80 and 160MHz. No one else sharing the channels that I am on as well. The new Asus router is actually slower than the broken Netgear it replaced in this specific case. I still have until Jan 31 to return it to Amazon. I don't like to give up easily but this again seems like an untroubleshootable issue.

Did you ever figure this out? I'm running into the same issue. I can't get over 300 on speed test. You can see it maxing out

 

[Novak921]

Are you in a heavily congested area? I can't really think of any other reason.


My AX86U was fine and pushed over 600mbps easily.

I hope there's a fix. I'm about to throw in the towel and call it a day. I can't get over 300 on speedtest but you're getting 600

 

[Novak921]

I'm capped at 300 mbps on a 1gb connection after recent firmware update. Flashed back no issue. Flashed to most recent capped at 300 mbps. All things turned off qos and so forth.

What firmware version are you on? I'm running into this issue where I'm capped