Reasons to buy the AC68U compared to the AC66U_B1?

[Locoblade]

I did try searching but couldn't find a definitive comparison so could someone explain what if any benefits there are to an RT-AC68U over an RT-AC66U_B1? From what I understand they're the same underlying hardware and firmware for the 68 even works on the 66, is that correct? If so, other than the lack of detachable antennae and the horizontal form factor is there anything the AC68 offers that lifts it above the AC66U_B1 given the latter is £45 cheaper here in the UK?

thanks

 

[Murtaza12]

I did try searching but couldn't find a definitive comparison so could someone explain what if any benefits there are to an RT-AC68U over an RT-AC66U_B1? From what I understand they're the same underlying hardware and firmware for the 68 even works on the 66, is that correct? If so, other than the lack of detachable antennae and the horizontal form factor is there anything the AC68 offers that lifts it above the AC66U_B1 given the latter is £45 cheaper here in the UK?

thanks

Only thing that comes to mind is that the 66U B1 is advertised as an AC1750 router whereas the 68U is advertised as a AC1900 router and that the 68U has a slower clock speed compared to the 66U B1 according to WikiDevi.

And yes, Merlin's AC68U builds do work on the AC66U B1.

 

[bbunge]

I rep!aced a N66R with an AC66U B1. I have the router wall mounted and could not use the back connections of the AC68U. Have used Merlin firmware on the B1 but feel for my application the Asus 384 works best. And the AC66U B1 was a lot less cost.

Sent from my P01M using Tapatalk

 

[Locoblade]

Thanks both

Only thing that comes to mind is that the 66U B1 is advertised as an AC1750 router whereas the 68U is advertised as a AC1900 router and that the 68U has a slower clock speed compared to the 66U B1 according to WikiDevi.
And yes, Merlin's AC68U builds do work on the AC66U B1.

Doesn't the current 68U have the same clock speed so perhaps the Wiki needs updating? Regarding the AC1750 / AC1900 difference, I think I read that the hardware is the same its just throttled in the firmware, and Merlin software unlocked that?

I rep!aced a N66R with an AC66U B1. I have the router wall mounted and could not use the back connections of the AC68U. Have used Merlin firmware on the B1 but feel for my application the Asus 384 works best. And the AC66U B1 was a lot less cost.

Are you using the 384 firmware so you can use AiMesh? If so have you got it working yet as I read that it's borked for the 66_B1 in the current release even though the options are there in the GUI when you update the firmware?

 

[bbunge]

Not using AiMesh as I have a small house and one router works. Using the latest firmware as I feel keeping up to date is safest. For my network/DSL the Asus QOS gives me the best bufferbloat results on the DSL Reports speed test.

As for the AiMesh not working on the AC66U B1 I suspect that the failures are the result of operator error (ID10T) and failure to read the instructions!

 

[Murtaza12]

Thanks both



Doesn't the current 68U have the same clock speed so perhaps the Wiki needs updating? Regarding the AC1750 / AC1900 difference, I think I read that the hardware is the same its just throttled in the firmware, and Merlin software unlocked that?



Are you using the 384 firmware so you can use AiMesh? If so have you got it working yet as I read that it's borked for the 66_B1 in the current release even though the options are there in the GUI when you update the firmware?

Not sure about Merlins FW changing that but I plan on getting a 66U B1 since it's about 50 USD cheaper than a 68U where I am. The 1750/1900 difference doesn't really matter to me, and I prefer the way the 66U looks considering the reason for me buying one is because my original 66U was killed by my own incompetence [emoji14]

 

[Blind@Spot]

I rep!aced a N66R with an AC66U B1. I have the router wall mounted and could not use the back connections of the AC68U. Have used Merlin firmware on the B1 but feel for my application the Asus 384 works best. And the AC66U B1 was a lot less cost.

Sent from my P01M using Tapatalk

Hi how did you managed to wall mount it? Can we have some photos?

I recently bought the ac66u b1, however still not received to my hands & it'll take 2 weeks.
I love to wall Mounted router & it would be nice to get some ideas from you.

Thank you

 

[doczenith1]

The current 68U versions have the same cpu speed as the B1 at 1 Ghz. The older versions run at 800 Mhz. The exception is the more expensive Best Buy exclusive model 1900P that runs at 1.4 Ghz. More info here:
https://www.snbforums.com/threads/rt-ac68u-rt-ac68p-rt-ac1900-rt-ac1900p.35759/

For the 1900 vs 1750 I'm fairly certain it has to do with the 2.4 Ghz band. The 68U uses "Broadcom® TurboQAM™ technology" to get 600 Mbps out of the 2.4 band vs 450 Mbps on the B1.

 

[scjr]

According to Merlin, no substantial difference:

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/cant-decide-asus-rt-ac66u_b1-or-rt-ac68u.42851/#post-365693

If you can get the B1 for much less, go for it. I was strongly considering the B1, but I was able to snag my RT-AC1900P for a great deal.

 

[bbunge]

Hi how did you managed to wall mount it? Can we have some photos?

I recently bought the ac66u b1, however still not received to my hands & it'll take 2 weeks.
I love to wall Mounted router & it would be nice to get some ideas from you.

Thank you

It is located in an unfinished basement room. Piece of plywood on the studs, two drywall screws about 6 inches apart to set the router on and a piece of wire to some screw eyes to hold it to the wall. Antenna straight up. My DSL modem is next to the router.

Sent from my P01M using Tapatalk

 

[Locoblade]

According to Merlin, no substantial difference:

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/cant-decide-asus-rt-ac66u_b1-or-rt-ac68u.42851/#post-365693

If you can get the B1 for much less, go for it. I was strongly considering the B1, but I was able to snag my RT-AC1900P for a great deal.

Thanks, not sure how I didn't find that thread! Sadly Asus don't seem to sell the RT-AC1900P here in the UK otherwise that would be another good option. My only concern from that thread is the low VPN throughput of the AC68 (and therefore presumably AC66_B1), if I decide to use it as a VPN client rather than running that locally on selected devices in the house I'll need something that can encrypt at ~50Mbps

 

[scjr]

Thanks, not sure how I didn't find that thread! Sadly Asus don't seem to sell the RT-AC1900P here in the UK otherwise that would be another good option. My only concern from that thread is the low VPN throughput of the AC68 (and therefore presumably AC66_B1), if I decide to use it as a VPN client rather than running that locally on selected devices in the house I'll need something that can encrypt at ~50Mbps

Looks like the B1 should encrypt at 50Mbps per Merlin, with the encryption he mentions:

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/rt-ac1750-and-merlin.38888/#post-347487

I’ve read were folks with the new 86U get great speeds with VPN, but then you’re paying much more for the processing power of that router. Let us know what you decide.

 

[doczenith1]

I can confirm 50 Mbps vpn speeds with the 1 Ghz 68U using AES-128-CBC and SHA1. I can also confirm 200+ Mbps speeds with the 86U and same crypto.

 

[Locoblade]

Thanks, we had our FTTC switched over to the new ISP on Thursday so I was finally able to hook up the modem and set up the AC66U_B1 properly. So far so good on the performance side to be honest, I've also seen VPN client speeds to PIA of about 46Mbit (the connectin is only 50Mbit anyway so that's maxed) and everything else is working really well so I'm not sure I need anything more potent.

However, I'm still in two minds whether to buy another to give me full house coverage because of the questionable support for AiMesh on the 66_B1 even though it's in the latest firmware. Options are to buy another 66_B1 and hope Asus come through and fix AiMesh in the next firmware release, send it back and get a pair of AC68's meaning I'm buying basically the same hardware for £100 more just to get AiMesh support, or even just go all out with an AC86 and pair that with an AC68. I'll maybe delay the decision for a few weeks to see what Asus do with the firmware.