N66U vs AC66U test results with 354 firmware and USB-AC53

[njweb]

EDIT 04/08 AC66U results added (see 04/08 post below).


See attached for N66U results (fw 354).
Will run AC66U tests tomorrow (started tonight but getting too late so I won't post partial results).

The most interesting thing is that the 5GHz signal strength in my bedroom (adjacent to router room) is lower than with the N66U. In the living room the different was marginal.
The good news is that both speedtest.net and LAN Speed Test results for 5 GHz in my bedroom on the AC66U are better than the N66U, which is what matters most.

The true test will be when I test my AC66U downstairs in the family room.
EDIT - Ran an informal test just now in the downstairs family room and maxed out my connection (59 MBps) on 5 GHz!
Also got great LAN Speed Test results 69.44 Mbps and 74.9 Mbps,
BUT the signal strength is only -76 dbm (2 bars for reference) ironically...
That concerns me since the 66U had higher signal strength and the -76 dbm is borderline dangerous (even had a disconnect and low performance before it kicked up to amazing levels again.
I know 5 GHz is not even supposed to reach this far, but the N66U was between -70 and -72 dbm in the same spot...

Not sure what to make of the signal strength discrepancies.
Might try one or two of the older firmware versions (266 and 270) tomorrow for comparison purposes.

Will


All tests are with a USB-AC53 client.

 

[njweb]

GREAT NEWS!
I bumped the TX power on my AC66U for just the 5GHz band from 80 mW to 100 mW. 5 GHz signal strength in my bedroom jumped from -56 dbm to -49 dbm instantly and, in the tough downstairs family room, that helped bump it from -76 dbm (at times maybe a little better, but basically still only 2 bars) to - 67.5 dbm (4 bars to put it in perspective) given the location (one floor down and opposite corner of house from the router)! \
Very nice. (I had posted WOW when it showed -62 dbm but that was short lived).
The speedtest.net result maxed out at 59 Mbps (same as my wired connection upstairs), so the 20 mW TX power bump did not cause adverse effects.

(I had not changed the TX power on my N66U from the default in ages on my N66U).

Now I just need to confirm the 5GHz signal on my AC66U does not drop over time and I can happily sell my N66U.

 

[lilstone87]

Well I only say it's smart to keep the AC66U, if you can deal with some smaller issue's. The reason I say this is, because when you have both Asus, and Merlin working on firmware build's often. imo thing's will only get better, plus it's nice to have that kind of support behind a router. Not even mentioning the option of Tomato, and DD-WRT(kind of atm) firmwares. The kind of support we have behind the N66U, and AC66U currently is really great firmware wise.

I do think Asus still has some work to do with wireless driver's, as I do think there is some issue's with it being compatible with certain device's still. But feel like they are headed in the right direction. One thing I really wish Asus would enhance/improve on, is there QoS. Yes they have made some change's to it, but if you have ever used Tomato's QoS. Then you know it leaves you wanting more from asus, and there rather basic QoS system they currently use. Anyway's sorry about going kind of off-topic at the end .

 

[KumquatOfPain]

I post both MBps and Mbps. Which one? I'm assuming Mbps.

 

[njweb]

I post both MBps and Mbps. Which one? I'm assuming Mbps.

All measurements were indeed Mbps. I caught a typo (almost 2 AM local time) as I was typing but I see I had still left one B by mistake.
I just fixed it, thanks.

 

[koan00]

Curious, what are you're 2.4Ghz channel width settings? 40 or 20?

I assume you will be posting the results for the AC66U later?

 

[njweb]

Curious, what are you're 2.4Ghz channel width settings? 40 or 20?

I assume you will be posting the results for the AC66U later?

My 2.4 GHz channel bandwidth is set to 'Auto', so neither 20 nor 40 but rather letting the router set it dynamically based on network conditions and types of clients etc.

Yes, I hope to rerun my AC66U tests in more depth tonight after my guests leave (they're coming over for the evening). If so, I will post the results tonight.
As part of my testing, I may experiment with fw 266 a bit and may also experiment a little more with 5GHz TX power adjustments (not going over 120 mW to avoid adverse interference effects Asius noted can occur above 120 mW).

By the way, it was nice to see an 866.5 Mbps link rate! The only thing is that my accompanying LAN Speed Test results were a lot lower than I expected.
Going to have to watch the youtube clip Asus posted again wherein they showed the transfer rates with the USB-AC53.

 

[mgunner76]

I have one of these arriving to my house today to connect to my AC66U. I won't be able to play with it until tomorrow. I have no issues currently with my internet speed in any of my locations. The problem I have is with file transfer rates across the network. That's really the only reason I decided to try this out. My main location of concern is about 20 feet away total, going from the second floor down to the first. I figure the USB 2.0 bottleneck will be mitigated by the distance I am away from the router.

 

[njweb]

Update - Will post my AC66U test results tonight.
Timing is everything - Been going through some changes at work and very busy personal life recently.

I have decided to sell my N66U (will post a listing here in the 'for sale' forum) and keep the AC66U given my experience with it so far.

 

[njweb]

AC66U results added. All tests are with a USB-AC53 adapter

AC66U tests run as well now.
Results added to the spreadsheet for comparison purposes. All tests were performed with a USB-AC53 adapter