Is there any benefit to Asus AC3200 over AC68 for a normal person?

[CakeMonster]

I'm considering these two routers:

Asus AC68
Asus AC3200

I can get the latter for only $60 more than the former, which is a great deal. But I'm wondering if there is any need for it. I have read on the AT forums as well as on the SNB forums, and there seems to be a consensus that the higher end Asus routers don't offer much extra value unless there are a LOT of different users connected at the same time. Is this correct?

At my place there will not often be more than two users connected. My broadband line is 150Mbit/s. I have read reviews that seem to indicate that the AC3200 has better range, but the SNB review seems to disagree when measuring speed with varying signal strengths. I'm simply confused...

The third alternative is keeping one of my old routers (and these are OLD):
Cisco/Linksys E2500
DLink 635

These max out at 100Mbit/s and I am worried that with old hardware, they may hamper my performance and response time if I do something that uses a lot of connections like P2P/torrent, gaming, etc. Am I right to worry about this?

I would love to hear your recommendations, is the AC3200 deal too good to pass on, or is the AC68 just as good and the only one worth paying for, or should I just keep one of the old ones?

 

[AnonymouseUser]

But I'm wondering if there is any need for it.

Only if you have the unreleased adapters required to take advantage of it, and even then only if you transfer large files over the LAN frequently. These are currently the fastest wireless adapters available.

The third alternative is keeping one of my old routers (and these are OLD):
Cisco/Linksys E2500
DLink 635

These max out at 100Mbit/s and I am worried that with old hardware, they may hamper my performance and response time if I do something that uses a lot of connections like P2P/torrent, gaming, etc. Am I right to worry about this?

The biggest restriction you would see is with the 150Mb internet connection as both those routers have only 100Mb WAN ports.

The Asus RT-AC68U is a solid choice that can be upgraded with third-party firmware if desired.

 

[CakeMonster]

Ok, thanks. I did get the distinct impression that things "peaked" with the AC68 for regular users, and I might as well save the additional money if I won't benefit from anything better right now (and who knows in 1, 2, or 5 years even).

But the AC68 does sound tempting just to be able to get the full 150Mbit/s. Do you think there's a chance I'll notice any other performance improvements because of the newer hardware? Or are the really old ones still up for the task for handling lots of connections for a single user or two?

 

[AnonymouseUser]

Do you think there's a chance I'll notice any other performance improvements because of the newer hardware? Or are the really old ones still up for the task for handling lots of connections for a single user or two?

Yes, as the RT-AC68U will likely have better range and throughput, even with your current adapters. It can also handle more connections and includes USB 2.0/3.0 ports for external drives which allows you to share files over the LAN and/or internet.

FWIW, the Netgear R7000 is slightly better than the RT-AC68U overall for only a few dollars extra.

 

[JackMDS]

From a Technical perspective.

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2474328&highlight=

.

 

[razel]

You will not get speed benefit from the AC68 vs the AC3200. Wireless speeds is not like MPH. Latency is your MPH. Think of the MB/s as maximum boxes carried per trip. Also that 3200 number is often a marketing term where they add 2.4G speed and 5G speed together.

You may not even get a distance benefit either. Below is a comparison I had based on the smallnetbuilder v8 charts:

2.4G @ -63db	2.4G @ -60db	5G @ -42db	5G @39db
 1.5		18		37		65		Asus RT-AC3200
		14		32		43		Asus RT-AC68 laying down
 10		22				62@36db		Asus RT-AC68 upright

Normal AC68 position has it having a stronger signal at 2.4G than the 3200, but laying down maches the AC3200 at 5ghz sacrificing 2.4G. That is just a matter of moving the antenna inches in a contained controlled environment. In your uncontrolled home both routers will perform similarly and real world performance will depend on the positioning/channel choices.

RT-AC3200 biggest problem IMO is that it is a WAVE 2 era router without wave 2 MU-MIMO support. Instead it uses two 5Ghz radios to divide work. The advantage is it doesn't require Mu-MIMO support from your wireless devices.

 

[CakeMonster]

Thanks, you saved me $60! AC68 is on the way.

I hope to notice a real difference over my current stone age network setup even on wired. It will be fun to test if I can get a signal outside my building (not that I need it or plan for it), and it will also be nice see better 2.4GHz results than my current router as well as of course maxing my internet connection with AC.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

1) Define "normal."
2) Probably not.

Thanks, you saved me $60! AC68 is on the way.

Oops, too late.

I hope to notice a real difference over my current stone age network setup even on wired. It will be fun to test if I can get a signal outside my building (not that I need it or plan for it), and it will also be nice see better 2.4GHz results than my current router as well as of course maxing my internet connection with AC.

Maaaaybe.

Thing is, just because your WAP is "loud" enough that your laptop/tablet/phone can see your wifi network with full reception, doesn't mean your laptop/tablet/phone is "loud" enough to punch a signal back to the WAP through a bunch of walls or something.

 

[razel]

To clarify how much of a marketing term AC3200 is. Asus actually defines right on the product page. Router has 3 radios. 3200mpbs = 2.4G 600mpbs + 5G 1300mpbs + 5G 1300mpbs.

1300mpbs is also the total bandwidth both ways. That's like calling Gigabit Ethernet 2Gbps. So it's 650mbps one way (from device to router). Speed charts of the fastest AC routers with 1300 is right around 580mbps.

It's not all doom and gloom with the Asus AC3200. Your router radio divides it's attention amongst devices. Having 3 radios is like having 3 routers. The AC68 has two. That helps a lot if you have many 15+ wireless devices continuously connected at home.

 

[CakeMonster]

15 devices at the same time is not the case today, the most I can imagine (and all but two would be 'passive') is maybe 6. So I found that I'll rather get the 'cheap' AC68 now and rather shell out for some super router if my needs change in two, five, or some number of years. Maybe there'll be some new cool stuff then that I can benefit from day one, which there apparently isn't with today's current high end routers..

BTW how much bandwidth or general performance do passively connected devices 'leech'? Any general ballpark number?

 

[dave_the_nerd]

15 devices at the same time is not the case today, the most I can imagine (and all but two would be 'passive') is maybe 6. So I found that I'll rather get the 'cheap' AC68 now and rather shell out for some super router if my needs change in two, five, or some number of years. Maybe there'll be some new cool stuff then that I can benefit from day one, which there apparently isn't with today's current high end routers..

BTW how much bandwidth or general performance do passively connected devices 'leech'? Any general ballpark number?

About this much:

.....

Every second or two.

Trivial. The only problem is that if your router is falling back to least-common-denominator mode to accommodate a passive device with an obsolete WiFi radio, it might slow down the rest of your wifi devices.