I want to upgrade my router from my 2010 AirPort Extreme. I have narrowed my decision down to these 2 as they are similarly priced and both wireless ac. Is there any reason to still go with the newest AirPort Extreme over the Asus, other than ease of use with my iMac? I am looking for best performance and range. It seems the Asus has better specs and more customization options. I run 2 computers hard wired, 2 Apple tvs, 1 MacBook Air, 1 iPad, and 2 smartphones. With my older AirPort Extreme, I have trouble getting a good signal outside on the deck which is on the opposite end of the house from the router. From what I've read, it seems the Asus has better range. Any advice?
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AirPort Extreme or Asus RT-AC68P?
- Thread starter SteelBlueTJ
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The only reason IMO to go with the Airport Extreme would be if you intend to use it with an external drive for Time Machine backups, since it is officially supported by Apple for that purpose. But otherwise, you are correct, the Asus is more full featured and has better performance. You can compare the performance of the two in reviews at Smallnetbuilder.
I switched to the Apple Airports due to reliability. I got tired of the cheap consumer routers from linksys/dlink/netgear that kept burning out on me. Also Apple Airpot ability to extend networks was far more user friendly and reliable...
The Airport AC tower thing is a very high performing router. Vast improvement over the older flat style.
That said... Since ASUS has gotten into the game. I haven't heard much bad about them. Have recommended several Android friends to go that way, and have heard no complaints.
I suspect you can't go wrong either way.
The Airport AC tower thing is a very high performing router. Vast improvement over the older flat style.
That said... Since ASUS has gotten into the game. I haven't heard much bad about them. Have recommended several Android friends to go that way, and have heard no complaints.
I suspect you can't go wrong either way.
According to usual 2-year refresh cycle, AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule are due for upgrade.
That does not mean Apple will update them, but I have a hunch that they will be upgraded to 4x4:4 MU-MIMU radio configuration.
If you don't want to wait, I would just go with TP-Link Archer C7.
Go with the Asus. You aren't stuck with Apple's proprietary interface, it has external antennas, and it spanks the AEBS on most all criteria. Go over to smallnetbuilder.com; they have a tool to compare the two. I've used Netgear, D-Link, and Aiport routers, and the non-Apples have all lasted longer, and are easier to configure and customize. I haven't used the most recent AEBS, but in the past they ignored UPnP, which made it much more of a pain to configure certain devices with it.
If you have the money, just get both from a reputable store with a great return policy and test both. Apple routers are generally the best for Apple-only houses. I had many routers from Netgear, D-Link, Asus and so on, they all died within one-two year and had issues with various Apple protocols like bonjour. I have an Extreme ac that hasn't been rebooted in 12 months and I had not had to configure anything.
Keep in mind that if you use the 5Ghz band with 802.11ac, it will have a reduced range by the nature of its radio design; the higher the frequency, the shorter the range (ac is 5Ghz) and it will have a harder time penetrating the walls, especially if the router is on the other side of the house. You will need a repeater to extend it outside of your house.
The AirPort is going to win hands down in simplicity and reliability but the ASUS will easily outperform the AirPort and offer more advanced configuration options.
Thank you for the link, there are some really good articles, comparison charts, and reviews!
That is a problem I see often with ASUS routers under serious load. They do great in benchmarks but I care more for reliability. I use an AirPort Extreme as the router for a network of 150+ daily clients at school and it works great!
Sounds like it is defective and should be swapped out. Many people have far more traffic than that on that router without issue.
That definitely sounds like a lemon or bad firmware. When I say that high bandwidth needs crash an ASUS I am talking about 50+ clients before there is a problem.