Asus RT-AX88U AX6000 Dual Band WiFi 6 Gaming Router

Asus RT-AX88U AX6000 Dual Band WiFi 6 (802.11 ax) Router supporting MU-MIMO and OFDMA technology, with AiProtection Pro network security powered by Trend MicroTM, built-in wtfast ® game accelerator and Adaptive QoS

Asus RT-AX88U AX6000 Router Feature:

Next-Gen WiFi 6 Standard – 802.11 ax WiFi standard for better efficiency and throughput.
Ultrafast WiFi Speed – 6000Mbps WiFi speed to handle even the busiest network with ease.
Wider Usage and More Convenience – 4 antennas + 8 LAN ports to support more clients all at once.
Commercial-grade Security – AiProtection Pro, powered by Trend Micro ™, blocks internet security threats for all your connected smart devices.
Better Partner with Mesh System – Compatible with ASUS AiMesh WiFi system for seamless whole-home coverage.
Smart Home Ready – Control your RT-AX88U by linking your Amazon Alexa to it with simple voice commands.

Asus RT-AX88U AX6000 Router Spec:

Model Name	ASUS RT-AX88U
Network Standard	IEEE 802.11a IEEE 802.11b IEEE 802.11g WiFi 4 (802.11n) WiFi 5 (802.11ac) WiFi 6 (802.11ax) IPv4 IPv6
Product Segment	AX6000 ultimate AX performance : 1148+4804 Mbps
Data Rate	802.11a : up to 54 Mbps 802.11b : up to 11 Mbps 802.11g : up to 54 Mbps WiFi 4 (802.11n) : up to 600 Mbps WiFi 4 (802.11n) (1024QAM) : up to 1000 Mbps WiFi 5 (802.11ac) : up to 3466 Mbps WiFi 5 (802.11ac) (1024QAM) : up to 4333 Mbps WiFi 6 (802.11ax) (2.4GHz) : up to 1148 Mbps WiFi 6 (802.11ax) (5GHz) : up to 4804 Mbps
Antenna	External antenna x 4
Transmit/Receive	2.4GHz 4×4 5GHz 4×4
Processor	1.8 GHz quad-core processor
Memory	256 MB Flash, 1 GB RAM
Operating Frequency	2.4G Hz / 5 GHz
Boosts speed	OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access), Beamforming: standard-based and universal, 1024-QAM high data rate, 20/40/80/160 MHz bandwidth,
Ports	RJ45 for Gigabits BaseT for WAN x 1, RJ45 for Gigabits BaseT for LAN x 8, USB 3.1 Gen 1 x 2
Power Supply	AC Input : 110V~240V(50~60Hz) DC Output : 19 V with max. 2.37 A current

 

Asus RT-AX88U AX6000 Router Performance:

On the 5GHz close-proximity (same-room) test, the Asus RT-AX88U AX6000 Router delivered an impressive 943Mbps, which is slightly faster than what we saw with Netgear’s AX router, the Nighthawk RAX80. On the 30-foot test, the ASUS RT-AX88U Router garnered 461Mbps, beating the Nighthawk RAX80 by 45Mbps and the Archer C5400X and the Rapture GT-AC5300 by more than 130Mbps.
It’s important to note that these speeds are the result of 160MHz channel bandwidth and not 802.11 ax technology. I expect to see even faster throughput speeds when I test this router using a system that supports Wi-Fi 6.
I also tested the Asus RT-AX88U AX6000 Router using our usual 802.11 ac Wave 2 laptop which supports 20/40/80MHz channel bandwidth, but not 160MHz. Its score of 90Mbps on the 2.4 GHz close-proximity test was a bit faster than the Netgear Nighthawk RAX80, but not nearly as fast as the Asus Rapture GT-AC5300. The TP-Link Archer C5400X managed 113Mbps. On the 30-foot test, the ASUS RT-AX88U’s score of 69Mbps was faster than the Nighthawk RAX80, but not the Rapture GT-AC5300 or the Archer C5400X.
Operating on the 5GHz band, the ASUS RT-AX88U Router delivered a score of 527Mbps, which is more than decent, but not quite as fast as the other routers. The Asus Rapture GT-AC5300 holds the record with 601Mbps. At 30 feet, the ASUS RT-AX88U’s score of 384Mbps led the pack.

Asus RT-AX88U AX6000 Router Advantage:

Warp-speed WiFi
Asus RT-AX88U AX6000 Router is a 4×4 dual-band WiFi router that supplies 160MHz bandwidth and 1024-QAM for dramatically faster wireless connections. With a total networking speed of about 6000Mbps– 1148Mbps on the 2.4 GHz band and 4804Mbps on the 5GHz band– ASUS RT-AX88U is 2.3 X faster than 802.11 ac 4×4 dual-band routers.

Built for Multi-device Households
With a revolutionary combination of OFDMA and MU-MIMO technology, WiFi 6 (802.11 ax) provides as many as 4X greater network capacity and efficiency in traffic-dense environments. Previous-generation WiFi 5 (802.11 ac) can only handle one device at a time on each network channel, which is an inefficient use of available bandwidth. OFDMA support in the WiFi 6 divides each channel into small sub-channels, allowing signals from multiple devices * to be bundled together and transmitted simultaneously, reducing latency for a smoother, more responsive WiFi experience.

Better Battery Life for Your Devices
Target Wake Time (TWT) allows Asus RT-AX88U AX6000 Router to schedule designated intervals for devices to transmit data. This allows them to sleep when there is no need to wait for a router signal, reducing power consumption by up to 7X for significantly improved battery life

WiFi that Goes Farther
With the newest WiFi 6 (802.11 ax) featuring OFDMA technology, ASUS RT-AX88U provides an increased WiFi signal range and better coverage by dividing each channel into smaller sub-channels. These sub-channels have a smaller bandwidth that enables them to travel up to 80% farther1, resulting in a better WiFi connection throughout your home

Give your Online Gaming a Double Boost
Asus RT-AX88U AX6000 Router’s Adaptive QoS prioritizes game packets for smoother online play. It also has built-in wtfast ® to seek out and secure the shortest possible path between your gaming device and the game server, reducing game ping and lag

Commercial-grade Security for your Home Network
Asus RT-AX88U AX6000 Router has lifetime free AiProtection Pro, powered by Trend Micro ™ with automatic, regularly updated security signatures to protect your devices and personal data from internet threats. This strong security offers advanced parental controls, including the ability to block specific websites and mobile app types.

Wired or Wireless. The Choice is Yours.
Eight Gigabit LAN ports make Asus RT-AX88U AX6000 Router the ideal solution if you have multiple wired devices, just like NAS systems, PCs and switches. And, if you ever want to host a LAN party at home, ASUS RT-AX88U makes it possible.

Wireless that’s as Stable as Wired Ethernet
Enjoying the stability of a wired network connection is usually impractical or impossible when you are far away from your router. With specially designed antennas, AiRadar beamforming and RangeBoost technology, Asus RT-AX88U AX6000 Router provide wide coverage and a stable signal, letting you enjoy a reliable and smooth connection for gaming or work anywhere in your home.

Powerful Whole-home Wi-Fi System.
Your Asus RT-AX88U AX6000 Router can deliver smooth, reliable Wi-Fi to every part of your home. ASUS AiMesh is an innovative new router feature that fixes these problems: it creates a whole-home Wi-Fi network using multiple ASUS routers. AiMesh is powerful, and flexible and you can use a mix of ASUS router models– protecting your investment!

Extreme Power with 1.8 GHz Quad-core CPU
Asus RT-AX88U AX6000 Router features a top-of-the-line 1.8 GHz 64-bit quad-core CPU that is more powerful than many desktop processors. With its incredible performance, ASUS RT-AX88U maximizes throughput for the best networking performance, accelerates USB data transfers and more.
In addition to LAN port aggregation, RT-AX88U Router supports WAN port aggregation, which combines gigabit WAN and LAN ports to deliver internet speeds of over 1Gbps *. This eliminates the 1G bottleneck from WAN port, a great choice if you have over 1Gbps internet from the internet service provider.

Verdict

it was inevitable that I would test the Asus RT-AX88U AX6000 Router and it’s a fine device, one of the most powerful Gigabit routers that Asus has released so far. At the same time, you do get excellent wireless performance on both WiFi 6 and WiFi 5 clients (just stay away from PCIe WiFi cards from Asus), the software is great (there is support from Merlin), so, if you have at least a few powerful WiFi 6 devices, the necessity for more than 4 LAN ports and a hefty budget, the ASUS RT-AX88U Router is a solid option.