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Best Asus - Merlin Supported - VPN Router

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CDB1870

New Around Here
Hi,

I am still a router novice and looking for some advice about what router to buy. My requirements are:
  • Asus brand and has Merlin Firmware support
  • Support at least 80 Mbps when connected to OpenVPN
  • Most up to date - does this mean the AX range?
  • Price is not necessarily a deciding factor
  • Lets me use my AC-88U as an Access Point with or without AIMesh
Apologies if duplicated but I could not find a similar thread.
Many thanks
 
RT-AX86U, RT-AC86U and RT-AX88U are all good options, as they have hardware-accelerated AES support.
 
Based on availability, due to the shortage of chips, a RT-AC86U (which is the oldest in the range @RMerlin suggested, might be your best bet. I'm using it for a few months now and I love it. I see no need to upgrade to an AX model for the foreseeable future. I get speeds of >300Mbit easily (which is the max of my subscription) and VPN speeds upto 150Mbit, which is nearly threefold the speed compared to my previous RT-AC68U router, which now servers as an AIMesh Node with ethernet backhaul.
 
From what I have read, the RT-AX68U is not an option if the RT-AX58U is available. Too many tradeoffs on the supposedly 'better' ('AX68U) model and seems to be even more expensive too.
 
RT-AX86U, RT-AC86U and RT-AX88U are all good options, as they have hardware-accelerated AES support.

Doesn’t AX11000 have AES-NI too?
 
@Marin, yes. And with the dubious benefits and all of the downfalls of the 'tri-radio' marketing that entails.
 
From what I have read, the RT-AX68U is not an option if the RT-AX58U is available
The RT-AX68U has AES acceleration, but the RT-AX58U doesn`t. So for his specific needs, the RT-AX58U is not an option.

I didn't recommend the RT-AX68U because I couldn't remember what CPU it had, or what its availability was. Been working on too many different models lately... I worked on another (still unreleased) model last week, so I'm having a hard time keeping them all separated in my brain at the moment.
 
I would wait until it becomes available. Router upgrade is rarely urgent.
It's kind of urgent, as I need a router at the new apartment as soon as possible, and the current one is still at my current place for the next month
 
The GT-AX11000 is nearly 40% more expensive than the RT-AX88U here at Amazon Canada (about 200$ CAD more).
 
Here
The AX88U was both available and "on sale" last week for $290. If you need something right away then this was the time to pull the trigger in today's market IMO.

While I detest BestBuy it looks as though they still have it for $300. I've been very pleased with the AX88U.

The GT-AX11000 is nearly 40% more expensive than the RT-AX88U here at Amazon Canada (about 200$ CAD more).
Here, AX88U is 400$ and AX11000 is 479$. I don't mind the extra 79$ if AX11000 is better and more future proof.
 
Thanks all. I went with the AX88U and I am running 386.2_2. When I run the VPN Client - OpenVPN I see my download speed drops by an average of 13% and upload speed drops by an average of 8%. I am happy with the performance but are my numbers 'normal'?
 

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