Asus USB-AC53 Adapter

[mgunner76]

Asus released a 802.11AC USB adapter, but it's USB 2.0. Is it possible to achieve speeds it's claiming on USB 2.0?

I know it's new, but is there any reason to think that it would be better to hold off on this?

 

[got_milk]

USB 2.0 has a theoretical limit of 480Mbps - real world is just over half of that I believe (~280Mbps or so). The radios themselves in the adapter I'm sure can do up to 867Mbps but you won't see that kind of performance due to the obvious limitations of USB 2.0.

 

[mgunner76]

USB 2.0 has a theoretical limit of 480Mbps - real world is just over half of that I believe (~280Mbps or so). The radios themselves in the adapter I'm sure can do up to 867Mbps but you won't see that kind of performance due to the obvious limitations of USB 2.0.

So what you're saying is that I wouldn't necessarily get any faster speeds by using this over my current built in network card?

Might have to wait until there's a USB 3.0 version.

 

[RMerlin]

USB 2.0 has a theoretical limit of 480Mbps - real world is just over half of that I believe (~280Mbps or so). The radios themselves in the adapter I'm sure can do up to 867Mbps but you won't see that kind of performance due to the obvious limitations of USB 2.0.

I'd be really curious to see actual benchmarks. 867 Mbps is the radio link, so if the data gets decrypted by the USB dongle before being communicated to the laptop, then the throughput that has to travel over USB will be at a much lower speed than that. Will USB 2.0 still be enough to sustain that? That's what would be interesting to benchmark.

 

[CL-Jeremy]

Hi All!

Just thought this video would help show some of the benefits of using the USB-AC53 through a live demo. In cases where you would be upgrading an integrated wireless card in a laptop or an older adapter in a desktop, throughput should still be better on N wireless.

Yes, USB 3.0 would be ideal, but the chipset on the USB-AC53 only supports 2.0. Rest assured, we do plan on implementing USB 3.0 adapters, but that will be in future products.

With that said, enjoy our Senior Technical Marketing Manager Nick's demo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7kIlfbEVFY
*Demo starts around the 9:15 mark.

 

[RMerlin]

Thanks for the link Jeremy! 30 MB/s is pretty close to the cap that USB 2.0 can push. A USB 3.0 device might be able to get a bit faster, but probably not that much (due to the encryption overhead). Still, 30 MB/s over wireless is damn fast, and a nice upgrade over standard 802.11n.

 

[mgunner76]

I went ahead and ordered it. I know I should just wait for for the USB 3.0 adapter, but whatever. I'm not half expecting the results from that video, but I'll let you guys know.

 

[admiral2145]

3.0

the usb 3.0 would do what the pcie card does witch is around 55-65 megabytes a second but still...30-40 on usb 2.0 is great

 

[RMerlin]

the usb 3.0 would do what the pcie card does witch is around 55-65 megabytes a second but still...30-40 on usb 2.0 is great

And I suspect that in a typical scenario where your laptop is in a different room, the speed difference between PCI-Express and USB would become marginal, as your link speed would be lower anyway.

 

[nubyOz]

Hi,
I got a built in DUAL Band 3 channel card using PCIe.
using 450MBPS linkspeed on 5GHz.
I suspect u won;t see any material difference in speed as you ewither max out link speed or bus speed close to theoretical 450-480 Mbps.
I am sticking to my RT-N66U with build in client for now as at least the antennas are better so in practice I get better reach and likely speed than using a USB dongle.

Glad to be proven wrong.

Cheers

 

[njweb]

I just ordered the USB-AC53 802.11ac wifi adapter.
I'll see how my two Asus routers fare with it, so I can decide which one to keep.

I'll post test results to hopefully help others here.

 

[parestailor]

MAC OSX Support

Hi

Sorry if im being lame here...

Can the Asus USB-AC53 Adapter work with Mac OSX?

If so how do you install the adapter? There is no instruction in the booklets or on the asus website.

Thanks guys
P

 

[RMerlin]

Hi

Sorry if im being lame here...

Can the Asus USB-AC53 Adapter work with Mac OSX?

If so how do you install the adapter? There is no instruction in the booklets or on the asus website.

Thanks guys
P

They do list compatibility to Mac OS X (and even Linux - kudos to Asus) on the box.

I'm not familiar enough with OS X, but I would guess that if the included CD doesn't contain the required drivers, just plugging the interface should have it automatically installed.

The user manual should also be on that same CD.

 

[mikeg]

Has anyone tested Edimax AC120 USB adapter

Hello,
I just wonder if anyone has tested the Edimax AC1200 Wireless Dual-Band USB adapter curious to if it has better performance than the Asus USB-AC53.

 

[maylyn]

Just wondering,

I haven't seen anyone mention much about the ASUS USB-AC56 yet?

Has it started retail in your respective areas?