Asus RT56 or Asus RT66

[chrisnasah]

Hi Guys,

New here hope you all doing well. Hope someone could answer few questions i am confused on.

I need to buy a router asap and have decided on either Asus rt56 or rt66 but confused on which to get.

I am not fussed on the cost as i need a router that will not give me big issues on performace.

My main requirement is the performance mainly for wireless, i have just signed up for 100mb virgin broadband and need a router that will give me the best performace wirelessly.

I have read mixed reviews where some say N56 performace is better than N66.

Can anyone who have worked on both confirm on their findings?

Thanks

 

[Charlie_Croker]

I can only speak from experience with the RT56. But I too have Virgin Cable (120/20)

The RT56 is an amazing router, though if you get one, make sure you run Padovan's amazing firmware https://code.google.com/p/rt-n56u/

My network consists of:
RT56 (Router and Wifi)
2x Apple Airport Expresses
1x Ubiquite Nano station
1xDD-WRT Netgear WNR2000
Apple Timecapsule
All except the RT56 run as wifi access points.

I have found the RT56 to be remarkably stable, it never needs rebooting, its easy to set up a VPN with iPhones etc, port forwarding etc is easy to setup and reliable.

I have been tempted by the RT66 but the speed and stability of the RT56 is bloody amazing.

 

[kayakj]

I had both of the routers and say that the 66u is significantly more stable. I am unsure about the newer 56U firmwares but the old ones had a kernel issue that caused it to frequently lose connection. With the 66u i put the most recent non beta firmware on it ( either 3.0.0.4.270 or the 3.0.0.4.270.26b merlin build) and have not had an issue with it, while the 56u had a ton of issues. With the 56u the Padavan firmware is a lot better than the stock firmware. Most of the issues i had with the 56u were in using a usb HD as a NAS etc and in terms of being used just as a router both should be a good purchase

 

[RogerSC]

I also have both routers now, and the rt-n66u is significantly better as far as wireless goes. Better range on both bands, especially on 5GHz., where you need all the range you can get to take advantage of the speed for streaming.

So I consider my rt-n56u my backup router, it works fine, but nowhere near as well as the rt-n66u in terms of wireless speed and range.

There is also a significant firmware advantage on the rt-n66u side, where you can use Asus's own firmware, RMerlin's version of enhanced Asus firmware, and Tomato as well. RMerlin's firmware has been best for me in terms of features and stability.

The problems with the Asus firmware for the rt-n56u have been continual. There have been a couple of good releases, but many of them have had problems. I like Padavan's firmware for the rt-n56u, except it seems to be going through a rough patch in the wireless area lately...range and speed are lower than you get with the Asus firmware (which has had other problems *smile*).

So, if you're choosing between the two, I'd recommend the rt-n66u hands down, especially based on wireless performance *smile*.

 

[joegreat]

I also have both routers now, and the rt-n66u is significantly better as far as wireless goes. Better range on both bands, especially on 5GHz., where you need all the range you can get to take advantage of the speed for streaming.

I confirm!

With kind regards
Joe