recommendation for AC68U replacement

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I'm looking for a replacement of my trusty AC68U. I have seen similar posts recently, and recommendations like RT-BE86U and RT-BE88U seem more high-power than I need and more expensive than I'd like. Let me tell you about my situation; I look forward to your suggestions.

My home internet has 450 down/40 up, which is more than sufficient for my needs. Rarely if ever would I have more than 6 devices connecting at the same time (and most of the time, only a couple of devices make heavy/sustaining connections). I do not need mesh network; I do uses devices one (wood) floor above the router so good wifi is helpful. I don't use any of the asus security stuff (I run pihole + unbound on a separate device); I do use diversion and skynet on my current AC68U. I don't have NAS. I don't use vpn, although I might need to use openvpn at some point (I don't understand the significance/difference between running vpn on the router vs the actual device -- this is a question, not an argument).

My AC68U services me well, and I am looking for something that is future proof but without breaking the bank. Feel free to ask questions, and thanks for your help!

p.s. Needless to say I'd like to run merlin on the new routher!

 

[Tech9]

Nothing new will have the long support RT-AC68U had. Popular around fair price AX-class models are RT-AX86U Pro, RT-AX88U Pro, GT-AX6000. For a chance of even longer support you have to choose BE-class model, but skip RT-BE92U and expensive 4-band GT-BE98 Pro due to mixed user feedback. This leaves you with RT-BE86U and RT-BE88U, but they are not really Wi-Fi 7 in Wi-Fi performance being dual-band models. If you want true Wi-Fi 7 with 6GHz band you have to go with RT-BE96U. Good luck.

 

[SignOut]

Thanks for @Tech9's advice! I have seen various posts comparing RT-AX86U Pro with RT-AX88U Pro; what's the case for GT-AX6000? (I don't play online games).

While doing house cleaning I unearthed an unused raspberry pi 4. I also have a spare gigabit usb3-ethernet adapter. This got me thinking: What about running openwrt on the pi4, and then recycle the AC68U for wifi? What are the draw back, besides having one more device? (I'm not skillled enough to run pihole + openwrt on the same device, and I'm fine with that)

If I do go with this route: What do I need to do to turn AC68U to a wifi only device? And would the WAN port on the AC68U still work, or do I have to get more ethernet adapter for pi4 and/or get a switch? (I'd rather not do that).

THANKS!

Thanks!

 

[Tech9]

what's the case for GT-AX6000?

This one is the gaming marketing version of RT-AX88U Pro (almost identical hardware) with different shape and red ROG GUI. Sometimes comes cheaper on sale price. If the appearance doesn't bother you - the performance is identical to RT-AX88U Pro.

unused raspberry pi 4

As router RPi4 with OpenWrt will work, but I wouldn't trust USB-to-Ethernet adapters and it doesn't change the fact RT-AC68U has quite old AC Wave 1 radios from 12 years ago. It can work as AP, but you have to load custom firmware script VLAN support. Otherwise can't have simple guest network on it. Too many complications for no better than an old router Wi-Fi. Better get something new.

What about running openwrt

If you like OpenWrt there is a better All-in-One router model for it - GL.iNet GL-MT6000. I don't know your location, but the price for this one sometimes drops down to $130 on Amazon US. It run own OpenWrt based firmware and has vanilla OpenWrt images available.

Flint 2 (GL-MT6000) | High-Performance VPN Router

Experience blazing-fast VPN speeds and full OpenWrt customization with Flint 2, our best Wi-Fi 6 router yet. A new realm of power, freedom, and security.

www.gl-inet.com

[OpenWrt Wiki] GL.iNet GL-MT6000

openwrt.org

 

[Tech9]

I don't understand the significance/difference between running vpn on the router vs the actual device -- this is a question

Some people run VPN Client on the router because it allows multiple devices on the internal network to use the same VPN connection. Commercial VPN providers have limited number of devices support. The drawback is limited speed because home routers don't have very fast CPUs. This GL-MT6000 can do about 190Mbps on OpenVPN and about 500Mbps on WireGuard as an example. The same device has 2.5GbE ports and can do ~2.3Gbps without VPN.

 

[bmscott]

FWIW I replaced an RT-AC68U with an RT-AX86U Pro last year - it's been good. The new one is a bit more responsive in the UI (not as much as I hoped but...) and at least matches the old one's ability to punch through up to 5 walls in my steel-frame split level house to get to the furthest rooms. The latter 'feature' is one I didn't get with most other routers I've tried here.