Asus RT-AC88U 5 GHz router review, is it worth it?

The Asus RT-AC88U (RT-AC88U) router released in 2015. It is powered by Broadcom BCM4709C0 @ 1.4 GHz chipset, 512 MB of RAM and 128 MB of flash. The AC3100 router is compatible with IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac standards, and the maximum speed that you can get with RT-AC88U is 1000 + 2167 Mbps. The router has 1 x 10/100/1000 Mbps WAN and 8 x 10/100/1000 Mbps LAN ports.

The RT-AC88U is a powerful and feature-packed router that caters to advanced networking requirements. The USB connectors on the RT-AC88U router add versatility to your network by enabling file sharing, media streaming, printer sharing, and other USB-enabled functionality. Asus places a strong emphasis on network security.

Table of contents:

• Asus RT-AC88U specifications
• Asus RT-AC88U pictures

Asus RT-AC88U (RT-AC88U) specifications

Body

If you have limited space available for your router, such as in a small apartment or office, the dimensions can determine whether it can fit in the designated area or not. It's important to consider the physical size of the router, including its height, width, and depth, to ensure it can be accommodated in your space. If you plan to mount your router on a wall or ceiling, the weight can influence the mounting process and the type of mounting hardware required. Heavier routers might require more robust mounting solutions to ensure stability and prevent damage or accidents.

System

The Broadcom BCM4709C0 @ 1.4 GHz CPU, combined with other factors such as RAM capacity and firmware optimization, determines the overall performance and responsiveness of the router. The 512 MB of RAM enables the router to handle multiple tasks and processes concurrently. It allows for the efficient switching and allocation of resources among different processes running on the router, facilitating multitasking and ensuring smooth operation.

The flash memory in a Asus router is different from the volatile memory (RAM) that is used for temporary storage of data while the router is powered on. Flash memory of the RT-AC88U retains its data even when the router is powered off, allowing the router to maintain its firmware and configuration settings across reboots. To upgrade the firmware of the RT-AC88U router, you typically need to visit the manufacturer's website, locate the specific model of your router, and download the latest firmware version provided. The firmware upgrade process may vary depending on the router model, but it often involves accessing the router's web-based administration interface and uploading the downloaded firmware file. The Asus provides the appropriate power supply (19 V / 3.42 A) that matches the voltage requirements of the router. The power supply unit is designed to deliver the correct voltage to the router, ensuring its proper operation.

Network

Like many modern routers, the Asus RT-AC88U supports a variety of features and technologies to enhance your network connectivity and security. The majority of networking equipment, including routers, switches, and other network devices, is designed to support IPv4. The RT-AC88U router is also compatible with IPv6. IPv6 provides a significantly larger address space and offers various enhancements and improvements over IPv4.

The RT-AC88U has 8 x 10/100/1000 Mbps LAN and 1 x 10/100/1000 Mbps WAN ports. The LAN ports of RT-AC88U router are numbered and are used to establish wired connections between the router and devices such as computers, gaming consoles, smart TVs, network-attached storage (NAS) devices, and other network-enabled devices. Gigabit Ethernet ports support data transfer rates of up to 1 gigabit per second (Gbps), which is significantly faster than the maximum speed of 100 megabits per second (Mbps) supported by standard Ethernet ports.

WAN ports are used to connect the router to your internet service provider (ISP). They typically use Ethernet cables or fiber optic connections to establish a high-speed link between your local network and the wider internet. The RT-AC88U router supports Gigabit WAN. Having a Gigabit WAN port is beneficial when your internet service plan supports high-speed connectivity, as it ensures that your router's WAN connection can handle the maximum speed provided by your ISP.

By connecting the 3G/4G USB dongle to the RT-AC88U router, you can share the internet connection with multiple devices on your local network. This allows multiple devices, such as computers, smartphones, or smart home devices, to access the internet simultaneously. The RT-AC88U comes with built-in OpenVPN client. OpenVPN is available for various operating systems, including Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS. It can be deployed on a wide range of devices, making it accessible and compatible with different platforms. PPTP creates a virtual private network (VPN) tunnel between two endpoints, allowing secure communication over an insecure network such as the internet. It encapsulates the data packets within PPTP packets for transmission.

Wireless

This router has 4 x 3 dBi, RP-SMA antennas. Many modern routers feature multiple antennas and use Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) technology. This technology enables simultaneous transmission and reception of multiple data streams, increasing overall throughput and improving the Wi-Fi performance. This router is 2.4 GHz capable. The 2.4GHz band refers to the portion of the radio spectrum between 2.400 and 2.4835 gigahertz. This frequency range is unlicensed and globally available for various wireless applications, including Wi-Fi.

The RT-AC88U supports 5 GHz signals. To optimize your Wi-Fi experience, it's often recommended to use a combination of both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands, taking advantage of their respective strengths based on your specific needs and the devices you have. The RT-AC88U Wi-Fi router offers fast data transfer speeds, suitable for demanding applications like streaming HD or 4K video, online gaming, and large file transfers.

The AC3100 is a performance indicator that represents the router's theoretical maximum speed. The theoretical maximum speed (1000 + 2167 Mbps) represents the highest data transfer rate that the router is capable of achieving under ideal conditions. The maximum TX power of RT-AC88U router is 23 dBm. Adjusting the TX power of a router can be useful in situations where you want to optimize the Wi-Fi signal strength and coverage.

The RT-AC88U router offers several security protocols: WEP, WPA, WPA2, WPS. The WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) was the first security protocol for Wi-Fi networks but is now considered weak and easily compromised. It uses a static encryption key and has known vulnerabilities, so it is no longer recommended for securing Wi-Fi networks. The WPA2 (Wi-Fi Protected Access 2) was introduced as an improvement over WEP and provides stronger security. If WPA3 is not available, WPA2-Personal with AES encryption is still considered secure.

The RT-AC88U router offers WPS. The WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup) provides a simplified and convenient method for connecting devices to a Wi-Fi network. Instead of manually entering the Wi-Fi network name (SSID) and password, users can use the WPS feature to establish a connection with the push of a button or by entering a PIN. Once the guest network is set up on your Asus RT-AC88U router, your guests can connect to it using the specified SSID and password. They will have internet access, while being separated from your private network.

Connectivity

USB ports can offer additional functionality depending on the router's capabilities. The USB 2 port has a maximum theoretical data transfer rate of 480 megabits per second (Mbps), which is equivalent to 60 megabytes per second (MB/s). The USB 3 ports provide a fast interface for external storage with data transfer rates of up to 4.8 Gbps. The RT-AC88U router has print server functionality. With a USB print server, you can manage printer settings, monitor print queues, and control access to the printer from a centralized interface. This can simplify printer management and administration tasks. The RT-AC88U router allows you to schedule automated backups of your important data to the connected USB storage device.

Administration

The Asus router setup panel is accessed through a web browser. Connect your computer to the RT-AC88U router via Wi-Fi or Ethernet cable. In the address bar of the web browser, type in the 192.168.1.1 IP address. Regularly changing the password is a good security practice to protect your network and devices from unauthorized access. It is also recommended to use strong, unique passwords for other devices and online accounts connected to your network for enhanced security. By changing the default password, you improve the security of your router and reduce the risk of unauthorized individuals gaining control over your network. It helps prevent unauthorized access to your router's settings, network configurations, and sensitive information.

The specifications above are based on the official data published by the manufacturer, but we also take user reviews into consideration. If you found an error or something lacking in the specifications above for the Asus RT-AC88U, then don’t hesite and signal the problem to us.

Asus RT-AC88U (RT-AC88U) pictures

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