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RT-AX88U vs RT-AX86U Differences in SOC

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sanke1

Senior Member
There was a similar comparison back when RT-AC86U was released w.r.t. RT-AC88U and people like me found out that AC86U was overall faster.

So what's up with RT-AX86U ?
 
My guess? The RT-AX86U should prove to be the better router, if/when it gets RMerlin support.

Why? Because they'll have had 2 years to improve it. :)
 
So if I currently have two ac86u routers and I get one new ax86u and use the two existing as nodes, will I get all the benefits of the new router, or should the nodes also be ax86u?

also I have an issue where I need to move my modem to a wall closet where the house HomeRun is. I also need to move the router there to make it work. But I have an Ethernet that runs from the HomeRun to an office and have a switch with bunch of devices on it there. Is it a waste to get the ax86u and put it in the closet with WiFi turned off doing routing and then have ac86u in bridge mode in the office serving the wireless function?
 
What is the 'house HomeRun'?

If you're just doing this 'just because', the whole 'upgrade' is a waste, IMO.

I would not mix AC and AX routers/nodes myself if you want to see the benefits of the better router along with the reliability and stability of the network too.

 
What is the 'house HomeRun'?

If you're just doing this 'just because', the whole 'upgrade' is a waste, IMO.

I would not mix AC and AX routers/nodes myself if you want to see the benefits of the better router along with the reliability and stability of the network too.


Sorry for lack of explanation...’house homerun‘ is the central panel in a closet where coaxial comes in and is also a central location for all ethernet cables running through the house (I re-purposed phone lines to be ethernet since it was cat 5 cable used)...i have xfinity gigabit internet.

Part of the reason I was looking into doing this is there seems to be an issue with the coaxial i am currently using in my office where there’s a lot of noise in the line...indicating some sort of cable damage in the wall somewhere...so I’m seeing a lot of errors in the MB6800 modem when logging in
 
Both RT-AX86U and RT-AX88U have the same Broadcom BCM4908 1.8Ghz Quad Core SoC. They have similar level of CPU performance (VPN, file transfer and etc). Contrary to popular belief, the RT-AX88U uses the BCM4908 instead of BCM49408.

Both routers have the same BCM43684 for the 5Ghz radio. From visual inspection, both of them got the same Skyworks 85743 FEM. They do perform similarly in test.

The only difference is the 2.4Ghz channel where the RT-AX86U uses an inferior BCM6710 chip and it does show in performance testing. RT-AX88U 2.4Ghz performance is superior especially in high interference environment with the BCM43684 radio.
 
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Both RT-AX86U and RT-AX88U have the same Broadcom BCM4908 1.8Ghz Quad Core SoC. They have similar level of CPU performance (VPN, file transfer and etc). Contrary to popular belief, the RT-AX88U uses the BCM4908 instead of BCM49408.

Both routers have the same BCM43684 for the 5Ghz radio. From visual inspection, both of them got the same Skyworks 85743 FEM. They do perform similarly in test.

The only difference is the 2.4Ghz channel where the RT-AX86U uses an inferior BCM6710 chip and it does show in performance testing. RT-AX88U 2.4Ghz performance is superior especially in high interference environment with the BCM43684 radio.
This is interesting.

I have a ton of IOT/Smart home devices/Cameras that can only use the 2.4Ghz spectrum. Was considering replacing my AC86U's with AX86Us. May re-consider - we'll see how the Boxing Day sales are.
 

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