Time to replace ac68u?

[Briant73]

I have an Asus ac68u that does ok though it’s WiFi signal doesn’t seem great in my house for 5ghz bands. I have read the 86u and R7800 are both nice routers and am wondering if I should consider them or something else with all the sales going on.

Current setup
20 clients both wireless and hardwired
100/10 internet speed (hopefully going to 300 soon)
Running rmerlin with qos enabled (fq) for bufferbloat
Trendmicro enabled and other dns features.

Currently I don’t use a vpn, file sharing and other features with the router.

 

[wesbez]

I just got my 86u and it’s a beast. I suppose they are both good routers but because I’m used to ASUS and Merlin I’ll stick with ASUS.

The 86u and put your old router in AP mode connected via Ethernet for stability. That would be the best combo to have seamless Wi-fi.

Older devices struggle to find the 5GHZ band in my case on the 86u because it’s new tech (the router is new) but it’s been ok because I’ve been able to use 5GHZ from my old router.

Look up the specs on the 86u and reviews. It’s very impressive.

 

[wesbez]

Also if you’re not using VPN why not stick with ASUS wrt instead of Merlin and then you can use AImesh. Merlin doesn’t have access to the code to tie it into his FW.

 

[RMerlin]

I wouldn't expect a big coverage difference between the RT-AC68U and RT-AC86U. Your best solution would probably be to add a second node to cover more space.

 

[Briant73]

Also if you’re not using VPN why not stick with ASUS wrt instead of Merlin and then you can use AImesh. Merlin doesn’t have access to the code to tie it into his FW.

I like the QoS features and other things Rmerlin does with his firmware and it just seems to run better. I have read a bit about Asus mesh and it sounds like a nice feature if using multiple units though.

 

[Briant73]

I wouldn't expect a big coverage difference between the RT-AC68U and RT-AC86U. Your best solution would probably be to add a second node to cover more space.

Thanks, I have read a few people say the 7800 from netgear has great range compared to other routers but wasn't sure how the 86u compared to it.

 

[sfx2000]

I have an Asus ac68u that does ok though it’s WiFi signal doesn’t seem great in my house for 5ghz bands.

I would wait a bit - let's see where 11ax lands, and the impact to pricing in the AC1900+ class (Wifi5)...

Your limited range on 5GHz is more physics and client performance, so changing out an AP for another likely isn't going to improve things much.

 

[Briant73]

I would wait a bit - let's see where 11ax lands, and the impact to pricing in the AC1900+ class (Wifi5)...

Your limited range on 5GHz is more physics and client performance, so changing out an AP for another likely isn't going to improve things much.

I also am wondering if my area goes to 300/400 download will the 68u have the horsepower for that with QoS enabled.

 

[scjr]

I also am wondering if my area goes to 300/400 download will the 68u have the horsepower for that with QoS enabled.

I’m on Spectrum 400/20 and always get my over-provisioned speeds of 460-480/23 on my 1900P. 68U should easily handle those speeds.

 

[Briant73]

I’m on Spectrum 400/20 and always get my over-provisioned speeds of 460-480/23 on my 1900P. 68U should easily handle those speeds.

Thanks, are you using QoS? (i hear that can cause a performance hit)

 

[RMerlin]

Thanks, I have read a few people say the 7800 from netgear has great range compared to other routers but wasn't sure how the 86u compared to it.

Check Tim's test results to compare them:

https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/tools/charts/router/view

 

[scjr]

Thanks, are you using QoS? (i hear that can cause a performance hit)

Hi Brian,

I don’t use QoS, but I average a ‘B’ for bufferbloat on dslreports without it. In my environment, without multiple heavy users accessing the internet at same time, I don’t need it.

I’m unsure if turning it on will hurt overall speeds. I think turning it on disables NAT acceleration, but don’t quote me on that. I’m sure someone with more experience and knowledge will confirm.

I was debating between my Asus and the 7800 a year ago. Merlin and frequent firmware updates convinced me to go with Asus. I’m unsure swapping out your Asus for the 7800 will solve your coverage issue. You may want to go with what Merlin recommend.

 

[RMerlin]

I’m unsure if turning it on will hurt overall speeds. I think turning it on disables NAT acceleration, but don’t quote me on that.

Adaptive QoS only deactivate the second level of hardware acceleration. Unless you're on a gigabit connection, it should still be able to keep up.

 

[Briant73]

Thanks to everyone for their replies sounds like unless I see a great deal on a new router, that my 68u should do ok for the time being. The current deals are decent but not what I'd call great.

Without QoS I get D or worse bufferbloat scores. I believe when I tested directly connected to the modem from the client the scores were A or Bs.

As for coverage I had a 66u that did very well, then the on/off button failed and the replacement Asus sent seemed flaky and did not perform as well. My 68u seems to have a bit less coverage than the original 66u hence why I wondered if a different router would help.