Which one should I get: AC56U or AC68U?

[dberger84]

Hi,

I want to buy one of those routers, but I am not yet sure that which one. I thought the ac68u is the "better" router, but I found quit a lot of negative postings about it's firmware, USB 3.0 Port and 2,4 Ghz issues?

On the other hand I read quit a lot of good stuff about the ac56u, I was wondering if this is really true - is it better although it's cheaper and the "smaller" model?

Basically I want to switch to 5 Ghz completely, I also have some devices that support the ac standard.

Currently I have quit a lot of issues with the wlan reception. Although its just a 3 room appartment, I have a very slow connection in the kitchen and other rooms that are a bit far away from the current router (D-Link DIR-615) - after a restart its's kind of ok. Maybe we have to much devices with wifi?

Would be nice if someone could give me feedback. Thanks!

 

[jlake]

If I were buying today, I would go with AC68. It is their flagship model and in my opinion, they will spend more time and effort on firmware. It is also outselling AC56 on Amazon, so there will be pressure on them to get it working in peak form. I'm an N66U owner so take my opinion for what it's worth. Which might not be much.

 

[VivienM]

Basically I want to switch to 5 Ghz completely, I also have some devices that support the ac standard.

Currently I have quit a lot of issues with the wlan reception. Although its just a 3 room appartment, I have a very slow connection in the kitchen and other rooms that are a bit far away from the current router (D-Link DIR-615) - after a restart its's kind of ok. Maybe we have to much devices with wifi?

I would give the RT-AC68U a try. I looked at the reviews of the 68 vs the 56, and got the sense that the 68's 3-antenna design delivered better radio performance with 802.11n clients at a distance than the 56.

I replaced a DIR-825 (which would probably be better than your 615?) with the RT-AC68U, and the difference in terms of 5GHz signal is night and day. Before, my iPhone/iPad barely could get a signal at the other end of my apartment, and a laptop there was perhaps reporting 120 megabits/sec link speed. With the RT-AC68U, that laptop gets 300 megabits/sec, transfers files as fast as if it was next to the router, and the iPhone/iPad have rock solid 5GHz connections.

(I have no idea about the RT-AC68U's 2.4Ghz performance, my only 2.4 device is an Eye-Fi card. And I'm using the RT-AC68U in access point mode, which is awesomely engineered.)

 

[Sky1111]

Definitely AC68U.
In short: few months ago when I bought AC56U, I also read positive reviews, but my experience far less positive... and to tell the truth, I regret getting it - should have waited out for AC68!!!

If you are on the tight budget, and just need a stable router with good wifi - get N56U or N65U. N56U (~$75 on Amazon) + latest Padavan firmware should cover most people needs.

However, if you are thinking that you want or need AC, and or you want to run VPN client on the router - AC68U is the only choice.

 

[ikoul]

Definitely AC68U.
In short: few months ago when I bought AC56U, I also read positive reviews, but my experience far less positive... and to tell the truth, I regret getting it - should have waited out for AC68!!!

If you are on the tight budget, and just need a stable router with good wifi - get N56U or N65U. N56U (~$75 on Amazon) + latest Padavan firmware should cover most people needs.

However, if you are thinking that you want or need AC, and or you want to run VPN client on the router - AC68U is the only choice.

Looks like a case of "the grass is always greener on the other side". Some AC56U users might feel like you do, but I bet there are a lot of AC68U users who wish they had a few months more mature firmware so they didn't have to deal with stuff like bad 2.4ghz performance.

 

[Sky1111]

Looks like a case of "the grass is always greener on the other side". Some AC56U users might feel like you do, but I bet there are a lot of AC68U users who wish they had a few months more mature firmware so they didn't have to deal with stuff like bad 2.4ghz performance.

LOL - I hear you brother

The truth is AC56 will never come close to wifi performance of AC68. The reason is that AC56 is 2T2R, and AC68 is 3T3R - as they used to say, there is no replacement for displacement. Even beamforming works better in 3T3R configuration - simple laws of physics...

 

[Injuis]

You gotta consider your needs. If maximum performance is key, you shouldn't compromise and get the AC68u. But that also means you need high performance receiver too. Otherwise, if bang-for-buck is the goal, AC56u is more ideal - not by much, though.

That being said, i think both routers have one too many major issues right now. For me and my ac56u, my 2.4 band is useless. It certainly sounds like that's the same for ac68u users, too.

 

[ikoul]

You gotta consider your needs. If maximum performance is key, you shouldn't compromise and get the AC68u. But that also means you need high performance receiver too. Otherwise, if bang-for-buck is the goal, AC56u is more ideal - not by much, though.

That being said, i think both routers have one too many major issues right now. For me and my ac56u, my 2.4 band is useless. It certainly sounds like that's the same for ac68u users, too.

Agreed. As for the 2.4ghz on the 68u, it's getting better with the latest firmwares (but it got pulled). I really think it's just Broadcom's proprietary wireless drivers being terrible and I bet Asus is riding them like a donkey trying to get a decent version out. And I've heard Netgear has been having similar issues with the R7000 firmware (and that router uses Broadcom hardware very similar to the AC68U).

 

[RMerlin]

And I've heard Netgear has been having similar issues with the R7000 firmware (and that router uses Broadcom hardware very similar to the AC68U).

I also recently read about a Kickstarter project that was going to sell a device based on the same platform as the R7000/AC56/AC68 (Broadcom BCM4708), and they had to delay the whole project due to...wireless issues with the platform.

I sure hope that all those issues aren't a low-level design flaw in the Broadcom hardware itself, but something at the software level which can be resolved. I ended up fixing a bug or two myself in Broadcom's own platform code while working on the RT-AC56U. I'm far from impressed by Broadcom.

 

[ikoul]

I thought I read that the wireless chipset was still the 4360 like the older routers... I figured the issue was the ARM drivers for it the 4708 would need to replace the more or less stable MIPS ones the 4706 used.

 

[RMerlin]

I thought I read that the wireless chipset was still the 4360 like the older routers... I figured the issue was the ARM drivers for it the 4708 would need to replace the more or less stable MIPS ones the 4706 used.

I know the SDK uses a different wireless driver for Northstar (6.37.xx) than for the older MIPS platform (6.30.xx), so it could then be something at the SDK level rather than the HW level (unless it's the reference design Bcm provides for Northstar that has issues, and all manufacturers ended up copying those same issues).