Logical upgrade to go from AC86U to AXE11000? Change my mind! ;)

[Viktor Jaep]

My trusty (for the most part except for the glaring NVRAM GET glitch) AC86U is getting a bit long-in-the-tooth... and looking to upgrade here around the Thanksgiving/Black Friday/Christmas season. After having looked at the plethora of options out there, I think I'm narrowing it down to the AXE11000... and please change my mind, if you think I'm off-base and should look at something else. And why?

* It's got tri-band - 2.4/5/6GHz... and they ordered the WLAN ports correctly, where wl0 = 2.4, wl1 = 5, wl2 = 6, unlike with the AXE16000 (I don't know what the engineers were thinking)
* Helps with future-proofing as more devices become WiFi6E hardware compliant
* So it's in a sweet spot, between a topped out quad-band AXE16000 and the other non-6E tri-band routers (like the AX11000), or the dual-band AX88U, which would probably be my second choice since the community has been giving it such rave reviews.
* More future proofing with 2.5Gbps WAN port, as I'm already topping out at 1Gbps right now.
* It's got a nice 1.8GHz quad processor and 1GB of RAM, so it should be able to handle a decent amount of load traffic wise, but also for the scripts I'm planning on running on the back-end.
* A must-have -- It's on Merlin's FW compatibility list.
* One of the main reasons I got the AC86U was to help offload VPN AES traffic with its dedicated chip. I believe much of this functionality is built within the AXE11000's Broadcom BCM4908 processor.

Other than the $500+USD prices, it's still priced as one of the higher-end routers, but have a feeling we'll see some deals here soon. What are your thoughts on my logic for narrowing down my choice to the AXE11000?

Thanks in advance for your feedback!

 

[Clark Griswald]

After reading your post, I recommend GT-AX6000.
- Significantly less in cost.
- Faster cpu
- Currently no need for 6E, so upgrade when needed.
Caveat is that extra radio of the AXE11000, which is nice if needed, yet increases the cost.

 

[Viktor Jaep]

After reading your post, I recommend GT-AX6000.
- Significantly less in cost.
- Faster cpu
- Currently no need for 6E, so upgrade when needed.
Caveat is that extra radio of the AXE11000, which is nice if needed, yet increases the cost.

Thanks @Clark Griswald! I'll dive into the specs, costs, benefits/drawbacks and will consider your suggestion!

 

[Tech9]

GT-AX6000 or wait for RT-AX86U Pro, if you prefer more compact size and you don’t need 2x 2.5GbE ports. With this tri-band you’ll be paying for something you can’t use and with older hardware.

 

[L&LD]

Unless you want to make a side-grade, rather than an upgrade, the GT-AX6000 is the model today. The next step up today (if you must/need to go higher) is the GT-AXE16000.

Anything in between, is money down the drain, in the long run.

 

[Viktor Jaep]

Unless you want to make a side-grade, rather than an upgrade, the GT-AX6000 is the model today. The next step up today (if you must/need to go higher) is the GT-AXE16000.

Anything in between, is money down the drain, in the long run.

I'm so glad I asked... Thanks very much @L&LD and @Tech9!

 

[heysoundude]

You're thinking about spending money on a new router with capabilities beyond most of your wireless devices, so that you'll have to upgrade them as well? oh, and you are ready to open up the internet pipe coming to your home too?
let me just login to my investment trading account and buy some tech stocks first ;-p

 

[Viktor Jaep]

You're thinking about spending money on a new router with capabilities beyond most of your wireless devices, so that you'll have to upgrade them as well? oh, and you are ready to open up the internet pipe coming to your home too?
let me just login to my investment trading account and buy some tech stocks first ;-p

Well like I said, I like to future proof. My new Pixel 7 Pro is 6E capable, and have a feeling we'll be seeing some laptop upgrades this year, and a few of my hardcore gamer kids will probably spring for a new 6E card when push comes to shove to bring that latency down even more. 1.5Gbps ISP service is already available, and believe this will just keep getting pushed. For me, it's whether or not to spend $300 to give me some of these capabilities now, and another $300 in a year or two, or just 500 now and be set for the next few years. Ah trade-offs.

 

[elorimer]

I replaced my AC86U with an AX88U for $200. The AC86U I am moving to another location to replace my AC56 with site to site VPN; the AC56 can't do wireguard or AES, and I'm guessing the older kernel won't work when OpenVPN gets DCO. (But gosh it has been a champ in that role over the last year, coming up remotely after all sorts of power interruptions and hurricanes.) The AC56 will be a media bridge.

My mesh nodes have wired backhaul, so the third radio wouldn't be an advantage. My ISP isn't going beyond 1G anytime soon, so a 2.5 port on the router is useless. (A 2.5 switch would be a better investment). But I can LAG my NAS and the AX88U, and that is better than a 2.5G port.

The AX88 runs much cooler but I bet the AXE will be ok. But I can also do away with one 8 port switch now, saving me a little coin but more importantly one less slot on my UPS.

Oh, and I also got a 3 year old Dell SFF coming off lease to replace my 12 year old HP, which is saving me 60 watts an hour and paying for itself in 1 year; I could have gotten two and the AX88U and still spent less than that AXE. EDIT: Oh, a 2.5G switch and a couple of 2.5G adapters instead of the second Dell.

The 6000 was in the Amazon early access for $300 so you might see that again soon.

 

[Tech9]

For me, it's whether or not to spend $300 to give me some of these capabilities now, and another $300 in a year or two, or just 500 now and be set for the next few years. Ah trade-offs.

In few years this router may have limited support. Asus is moving all high-end routers to different platform already. There is no future proofing with AIO routers. Get what you need today and don't expect miracles coming from AC86U. This router has excellent performance at distance and through walls, similar to AX88U in range and better than AX86U. 6E has even lower wall penetration and range.

 

[Clark Griswald]

Money will always be a limiter for The Griswalds, or else I would have purchased the AXE16000. RMerlin's cutting-edge work 388 Dev Post #208
No miracles expected, yet my AC86 upgraded to GT-AX6000 has been glorious. Can I get an Amen my Brothers and Sisters

 

[Tech9]

Money will always be a limiter for The Griswalds

Be more optimistic brother.

 

[heysoundude]

Well like I said, I like to future proof. <SNIP> For me, it's whether or not to spend $300 to give me some of these capabilities now, and another $300 in a year or two, or just 500 now and be set for the next few years. Ah trade-offs.

we think alike. I'd push off the 2nd round of $300 upgrades in the hopes that they'd become $175-200 by the time they're ACTUALLY required.
Then again, the thought crossed my mind that I should look into FibreOptic networking replacing the ethernet cabling currently in place for when I have fibre to my home and a router with an appropriate port...
It never ends. I tease, but I feel your pain.

 

[Viktor Jaep]

It never ends. I tease, but I feel your pain.

Amen brother!

 

[Tech9]

I feel your pain.

Pain comes when you spend $200 more for extra features and you realize they are useless. We are trying to prevent this.

 

[Viktor Jaep]

Pain comes when you spend $200 more for extra features and you realize they are useless. We are trying to prevent this.

I don't mind spending an extra $200 to live in a Dreamworld where WiFi 6E is a thing! Lol

 

[Tech9]

Seriously Viktor, I would rather get GT-AX11000 Pro model. Newer hardware and 2x 5GHz bands useable now. Longer support as well. It's GT-AX6000 with one port upgraded to 10GbE and one extra 5GHz radio. It can handle more Wi-Fi devices and you can dedicate one radio for gaming right away.

 

[Viktor Jaep]

Well you guys have convinced me... The AXE11000 isn't the way to go. I'll be keeping my eye out for a new GT-AX6000, and see what the holiday season/sales brings us. Thanks much for all of your great feedback.

 

[Brads27]

Don't know what to get now

 

[Viktor Jaep]

Don't know what to get now

Lol! Sorry about that! Ha!