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ASUS RT-AC68U REVIEW
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ASUS RT-AC68U REVIEW

by May 7, 2014
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The ASUS RT-AC68U is the world’s fastest Wi-Fi router, with combined dual-band data rates of up to 1900 Mbps. 1300 Mbps 802.11ac at 5 GHz gives Gigabit wireless data rates, while Broadcom® TurboQAM™ technology super-charges 2.4 GHz 802.11n performance from 450 Mbps to 600 Mbps with compatible devices.

Powered by a dual-core processor, the RT-AC68U eliminates the performance drops that plague other routers with busy networks. So even on the busiest home networks, HD video streaming is always smooth, the latency low for online gaming and VoIP calls, and file downloads are never interrupted.

The RT-AC68U also features dual USB ports for file, printers and 3G/4G modems sharing and a USB 3.0 port for up to ten times faster data transfers than USB 2.0.
ExclusiveASUS AiCloud transforms your home networking into your personal cloud for easy streaming and sharing to smartphones, PCs, and tablets. Router-to-Router sync also makes it simple to sync files on USB-connected storage with other compatible ASUS routers for hassle-free sharing of large files with family and friends.

The easy-to-use ASUSWRT graphical user interface unlocks the power of the RT-AC68U giving robust control to optimize your network for you. 30-second set-up and easy traffic management means even network newbies can enjoy its sophisticated features, while power users will love its IPv6 support, multiple wireless SSIDs and secure VPN access.

For more information about the RT-AC68U Specification and Feature Visit http://www.asus.com/Networking/RTAC68U/

Picture With comparison between RT-AC68U and RT-AC66U

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Overall build quality of RT-AC68U is solid amazingly good , if you look in the picture RT-AC68U is slightly bigger than RT-AC66U , RT-AC68U only can be place vertical position and it doesn’t need a back stand like RT-AC66U because it got a large base to support its body . RT-AC68U have with 4 Gigabits Ethernet port , 1 Wan port , and USB port 2.0 and 3.0 , in addition to the design ASUS put a small nice looking LED illumination panel that can be turn on/off .

WiFi Perfomance Test

Test Enviroment

floorplan ac68u

PC 1 Specification

  • Intel Core I5 2500k
  • ASUS P8Z68 Deluxe Gen 3 motherboard
  • 8GB RAM
  • WIN 7 OS
  • ASUS USB-AC56 WiFi Adapter

Laptop Specification

  • ASUS K46CM
  • 2GB RAM
  • 1GB Ethernet port

Storage Specification

  • Fujitsu Aluminum External HDD
  • Size 1TB
  • USB 3.0

what i gonna do is to test LAN file transfer Between PC 1 to LAPTOP that connected to RT-AC68U via cable and also test out up/down speed of USB 3.0 storage attached to RT-AC68U

RT-AC68U Firmware Version:3.0.0.4.374_262

2.4 GHz Channel

  • Wireless Mode : N only
  • Channel Bandwidth : 40 MHz
  • Control Channel : 13u
  • Authentication : WPA2-Personal

5 GHz Channel

  • Wireless Mode : N + AC
  • Channel Bandwidth : 80 MHz
  • Control Channel : 153
  • Authentication : WPA2-Personal

Test Software

  • LAN Speed Test (Lite) v1.3.1 (Free}
  • http://www.totusoft.com/downloads.html

INTERNET SPEEDTEST

speedtest

Result LAN file transfer speed PC1 to LAPTOP

2.4GHz

2.4 test

For 2.5GHz result you can see that i achieve around 20MBps for upload and 25MBps for download , i was Using ASUS USB-AC56 that is rated 300Mbps Wifi throughput for 2.4GHz . for your information Wireless performance will not achieve it maximum rated speed , what you can get is only half of its rated speed because of interference with the signal from other device , judging from the 2.4GHz result what can i say is it does perform very well and 20MBps to 25MBps for file transfer speed is what i expecting for 2.4GHz in 10 meter away from the router.

5GHz

5.4GHz Test

When it comes to 5GHz you need a direct line of sight of the Router and the WiFi adapter , so in my case USB AC-56 is not in direct line of sight and 10 meter away of RT-AC68U and i still get the maximum of wireless rated speed for USB AC-56 that is “867Mbps” . The result show that i achieve 42MBps for upload and 43MBps for download and averaging in between 45MBps to 47MBps . The result is very good and it was spot on what i was expecting . even in 5 meter away from RT-AC68U the maximum Transfer speed i get is around 47MBps.

If you looking for more performance and speed you can look into PCE-AC68 wireless card rated 1300MBps ( 1.3Gbps) and easily can achieve up to 50MBps of File Transfer Speed or even more with “Turbo QAM” enable

RESULT USB 3.0 STORAGE

AC 5GHz

USB3.0 AC

averaging around 22MBps transfer speed to USB3.0 storage attached to RT-AC68U , i got nothing to say about the speed from what i know the current Firmware of RT-AC68U right is a bit wonky , so i hope there will be an improvement in USB3.0 speed in future Firmware . Judging from NETGEAR AC router USB 3.0 performance can achieve up to 35MBps there absolutely something wrong with USB 3.0 performance of ASUS RT-AC68U

DUAL WAN FEATURE

Here another great Feature that available in ASUS RT-AC68U Dual WAN configuration , if you have a multiple ISP connection , you can use this feature to make use of your multiple WAN connection in just “One Router”

To enable the DUAL WAN feature all you have to do is click on WAN tab on the left side then click DUAL WAN tab on the upper menu , after that just turn it on and select your primary WAN and secondary WAN , you can choose between 2 mode either Fail over mode or Load Balancing mode . Fail over mode meaning if either one of your WAN connection is fail it will use the second WAN connection . Load balancing mode will use both of your WAN connection to balance the workload of traffic going in and out of your WAN connection.

dual wan 1

After you enable DUAL WAN to setup your secondary WAN connection go to Internet Connection in the upper menu tab then select you secondary WAN either USB or LAN port then just fill up the information your ISP

dual wan 2dual wan 3

KNOWN FIRMWARE ISSUE Version:3.0.0.4.374_262

  • QoS Rule set only affected on UPLOAD
  • minidlna issue ( cannot not access media server in LAN )
  • sometime stuck Loading APP List at USB Application tab
  • poor USB 3.0 performance

Should I buy the Asus RT-AC68U?

If you have a busy Home Network that require top performance on wireless network well ASUS RT-AC68U powered by a dual-core processor will eliminate any hiccup in your network traffic , plus with Cloud feature that you can share your media file at home from outside .

ASUS RT-AC68U is the ultimate router on the AC line product , if you interested in other AC product you can check ASUS AC router and AC adapter lineup in picture below

asus router

About The Author
Super Daddy
A proof that the real fun does not actually ends, but rather begins when you become a daddy. Enterprise Application Co-ordinator, Web Developer, Hardware Enthusiast, Gadgets lover, Android Evangelist, Desktop and Consoles Gamer, Metal Music Guitarist, Audiophile, Networking Freak, Radio Controlled Toys rat, Ferrari Crazy and above all - a daddy in every kid's dream.

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