Should I upgrade?

[gobble]

So recently upgraded with my ISP to their 1.1Gb tier and for the first time the speed at the front is over and above what my internal devices can handle.

I currently run a R7800 on Voxel firmware, which has been my trusty router for years now and can achieve 640ish Mbit on wireless and in my limited testing 900+ Mbit on the LAN ports (not sure if that's burst or sustained). It got me thinking about upgrading routers, although when I sat and thought about my Wi-Fi 6 devices - I have 2 phones and 1 PS5 (which is wired anyway).

Either way, I had a look and should I pull the trigger have settled on an ASUS AX86U, which looks well reviewed and comes with Merlin. The has a 2.5Gbit port and as my ISP is currently trialing a router with a 2.5Gbit LAN to WAN port, which I'd assume I'd be able to get from sometime next year, that would mean I could squeeze out every drop of that speed - so there's some future proof. I did review Wi-Fi 6e given it's the latest and greatest, but I can't help but think I'm years away from devices in my home being able to use it and current routers just don't look great.

So other than the future proof of the 2.5 Gbit port and potentially some nice features, is there any other reason it would be worth upgrading or do I continue the wait...? Would the AX86U likely give the same decent coverage of Wi-Fi as my R7800 (potentially better)?

 

[bbunge]

Sure. The AX86U is a great choice!

 

[Tech9]

although when I sat and thought about my Wi-Fi 6 devices - I have 2 phones

You have answered your own question. Upgrade, but not now. Due to chip shortages and supply chain disruptions the availability is low and the prices are very high at the moment. Your older Wi-Fi devices will be still limited by own radio capabilities.

 

[L&LD]

Given that I haven't used an R7800 for a very long time now, so can't comment on what difference to expect when upgrading to an RT-AX86U (but have no doubt, it will be an upgrade, for throughput and lower latency at the same or greater range).

RT-AX86U vs. RT-AX88U

The link below shows what difference AX class routers bring even from the once king, RT-AC86U. And, keep in mind this is just a change to an RT-AX68U, not the RT-AX86U which is the correct model to consider in your case with 1Gbps + ISP service.

Report - 2x RT-AX68U upgrade over 2x RT-AC86U in wireless backhaul mode

Report - 2x RT-AX68U upgrade - Followup questions/answers

You can use the older technology for as long as you can (and save money doing so). But know you are missing the advancements that have been forged in the Wi-Fi space since that model was fresh.

If your budget allows for this upgrade, it will be the better match to your ISP speeds today. Waiting for the 'perfect' router is a form of paralysis. And don't forget, after actually experiencing this in your own network/environment, you still have a choice to return it too (from most suppliers), if you really feel it isn't as much of an upgrade as you expected.

 

[TheLostSwede]

I would hold off the upgrade for now, since there will be better routers out next year that have multiple 2.5Gbps ports, which means you can actually connect wired 2.5Gbps in your home as well, not just get the fast speed to your router and then stop there. We might not see more than two 2.5Gbps ports to start with, but at least that allows you to use a switch for more ports and 2.5Gbps switches are slowly coming down in price.
Also, I doubt you'll actually get 1.1Gbps, as your ISP is most likely just using the 1.1Gbps number to beat the 1Gbps competitors.

 

[gobble]

Thanks for all the responses. Glad I'm not the only one with confliction in my brain

On the 1.1 Gbps, my ISP actually has the config set as 1.2 and the Samknows speedtest (if it can be believed) comes back as around 1145Mbit directly on the router. Would I notice this little extra, probably debatable. Either way, they actually market is with the name "Gig 1", but in the finder details says it's higher... it's like they wanted to beat the competitors, but then forgot when the named it.

Will think on it - Still tempted if I can sell my router!

 

[TheLostSwede]

Thanks for all the responses. Glad I'm not the only one with confliction in my brain

On the 1.1 Gbps, my ISP actually has the config set as 1.2 and the Samknows speedtest (if it can be believed) comes back as around 1145Mbit directly on the router. Would I notice this little extra, probably debatable. Either way, they actually market is with the name "Gig 1", but in the finder details says it's higher... it's like they wanted to beat the competitors, but then forgot when the named it.

Will think on it - Still tempted if I can sell my router!

Is this a cable connection? As over Ethernet that would be impossible.
Most Ethernet based devices top out at 987Mbps, some top out at around 940Mbps.
DOCSIS 3.1 is obviously different and can go much higher.

 

[gobble]

Is this a cable connection? As over Ethernet that would be impossible.
Most Ethernet based devices top out at 987Mbps, some top out at around 940Mbps.
DOCSIS 3.1 is obviously different and can go much higher.

Yeah, this is a DOCSIS 3.1 (downstream anyway, they've not quite got to upstream yet), so that's why I think it is doable to hit those speeds with the overprovisioned config.

Right now the mainstream hub they use for my config only has 1gbit ports and a poor AC wifi. I'll take my 940mbits peak sacrifice using my own router for now, but when they do bring out the newer router with the 2.5Gbit port I thought it would be good to be ready

 

[degrub]

you may have to wait for the rest of the internet to catch up......

 

[TheLostSwede]

Yeah, this is a DOCSIS 3.1 (downstream anyway, they've not quite got to upstream yet), so that's why I think it is doable to hit those speeds with the overprovisioned config.

Right now the mainstream hub they use for my config only has 1gbit ports and a poor AC wifi. I'll take my 940mbits peak sacrifice using my own router for now, but when they do bring out the newer router with the 2.5Gbit port I thought it would be good to be ready

If it's a router, why not just connect a 2.5Gbps switch to it and use your current router as a wireless AP? Much cheaper solution.

 

[gobble]

If it's a router, why not just connect a 2.5Gbps switch to it and use your current router as a wireless AP? Much cheaper solution.

I did think about that, but there's a fine line in my house between function and presentation and I don't always have the loudest voice

I've managed to hide the ISP router and get my R7800 in a good spot whilst keeping it mostly hidden. I'd never get away with one those routers that looks like a spider in my house.

One of the lads at work who put me on to the ax86u is borrowing me it to test out. I can pickup one quite reasonable 2nd hand with 24 months warranty and have someone who would buy the R7800, so it makes the costs quite reasonable and should see me for a few years. I do think 6E is the future, but I don't see me getting technology that will support it too soon.

 

[hornedfrog]

So, what did you do? Thanks.