Review: ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AC5300 router (+AIMesh)

I expected more tbh

 

€400 for a wireless router? Go get yourself a couple of UniFi access points and an edge router or USG... If you're going to pay pro prices, get pro gear not this abomination of a device.

 

HH, out of curiosity what do you think is better, getting one of these big strong routers or getting Mesh wifi or powerline adapaters to cover dead house areas

 

Same here, at this price pont range its way better to get dedicated enterprise level components from Ubiquity.
Unifi AP + Edge router + HP passive mangeable switch.

@Hilbert Hagedoorn
fully agree wit you there, powerline adapters are
- unreliable,
- expensive (at least for gigabit speeds)
- do not work over different phases (in my case 3-phase home electricity distibution, each room different phase)
- do not work well or at all over UPS, power line conditioner, surge protection or filter.
- vulnerable to security attacks from any point on same power line.

They should be as last resort when nothing else works.

 

At this price, I think it should flip and walk around to ensure everyone has good signal. It looks like bug anyway.

 

any repeaters/mesh that you could recommend, it's quite a big house i'm moving too with quite a few dead points even just the floor above the router. Sadly cause its private property i cannot run any wires through it so looking for alternatives...or even a router like the nighthawk?

 

An Asus router without support for Asuswrt-Merlin is a waste for power users and tinkerers.

https://www.snbforums.com/forums/asuswrt-merlin.42/

 

I currently have an N900 router (WNDR4500 v3) that is on the 2nd story of my house with effective wireless reception all the way to the basement, garage, back deck, front porch, anywhere I expect it to reach. It covers a large area even without a load of antennae hanging off of it in every direction. The router covers everything inside; some outside.

I don't like anything that calls itself a mesh network system for home (unless you live in a mansion or castle it doesn't make sense). They want you to buy multiple units so they nerf the range of each and tell you you need another unit for each floor to have effective coverage.

Also, unless people are consistently doing large file transfers on their home networks requiring Gbps speeds, most people are over-buying network functionality from both the electronics shop and their ISPs. Consider a 1080p stream only requires 6Mbps while a 4K is around 4x that (24Mbps). Gaming and music require far less for each connection.

 

I think it's closer than you think - the GT-AC5300 goes for $380 on Amazon currently, in order to get similar WiFi/Port specs with Ubiquiti you'd need a UAP-HD ($287) & ER-8 ($302.61) or USG ($108 + $25 8 Port TP Link switch or something)

The AC5300 has a more user friendly interface/setup procedure for a non-techie and is one unit vs the 3 if you go with the USG. The ubiquiti system is probably more reliable and slightly better performing but overall I think the price point on the ASUS is fair for the general consumer, given the specs. For someone more advanced I'd probably recommend the Ubiquiti. I personally use a pair of nanostations for a long range run from my main house + 2 UAP's for various Wifi around the property although I've been thinking about getting some Unifi Mesh AP's for outside - I've been really happy with their devices and deploy them in commercial environments all the time - but overall the ASUS GT isn't a bad device.

 

over-priced and ugly as sin. no doubt it's effective, but having one of these means searching for a hiding place, more of them? no way.
in any case, that "back-to-the-future-Aztec" look is really inappropriate for a router, even for a ROG enthusiast.
it certainly has kept me from buying many fine pieces of Asus kit.

 

Frickin headcrab.

 

Longtime reader, first-time poster. Forgive me if I’ve missed it somewhere else in these articles...When can we expect 10GbE on these WiFi routers? I don’t understand the ridiculous WiFi speeds, and then the skimpy hardline speeds. I just built a 5000 sq ft house and wired it with 12 Cat7a copper lines to all the major areas to future proof it to the best of my ability. MoBo’s are finally starting to get at least 10GbE on-board, but very little advancements in this area with routers. Best deal I can find for my needs so far is Netgear’s XS512EM for around $900.

 

If you own one of these... Do NOT invite Freeman over!


P.S: Hilbert Hagedoorn page 10, second chart image. write/read in the chart image got mixed.

 

Why would you need UAP-HD plus ER8 ? That combination easily wipe floor with enterprise $5k+ CISCO router with $1.5k CISCO AP.

UniFi® nanoHD with EdgeRouter™ Lite and decent switch like HP 1820 8G cost less, around $360 (179+99+79) and offer more.

 

I'll bet someone ends up attacking it with a crowbar.

 

Key part is "similar WiFi/Port specs" - honestly the nanoHD would be plenty of bandwidth for most people but the GT outperforms it by quite a bit when all the bands are aggregated. Either way my point isn't x or y is better but that the ASUS isn't a bad deal for the price.

The ER8 was an option - you left out the "or + cheaper stuff" - but again now you have 3 different devices instead of one. Which for some consumers who just want a singular unit in their home, taking up minimal space and not having various cables + PoE stuff everywhere, the ASUS isn't bad for the price. That being said the ASUS looks hideous so there's that.

 

@hh screenshot above... 594mb/sec. 10.2 GB estimated download time: 20 seconds.

That's just obscene! I don't even have a an SSD that could write that fast. (or read?)