.......Can I ask how you are getting on with the Asus, I had to send the Netgear back as it wouldn't work with the BT's multicast streaming so I'm looking for another router with very good Wi-Fi capabilities - I can't figure out whether I'd be better off with the Asus 68U or if the Asus 66U would be enough.....
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Sure, here is a quick summary from my perspective although I haven't used many of its features yet. As mentioned above I kept my Billion 7800N and use it as a modem in bridge mode and 'upgraded' my network with the AC68U.
- Installation was very straightforward and the 'bridge' seems to work seamlessly, especially considering (as usual) I completely ignored the manual
- Wireless range is about the same as my Billion was, not much improvement but speed is higher. Especially at close range I have measured connection speeds 3 x higher than my old router was capable. I guess thats the 11ac.
- My network was already Gb but, the AC68U is definitely faster though, this is most noticeable when multitasking i.e. muitliple transfers it doesn't seem to slow down like the Billion did
- I set up fixed IP's, changed DNS servers to OpenDNS, set up DHCP server and port forwarding for various bits and pieces in about 10 minutes with no research due to the really good webUI which I think is one of the selling points of the router, its really nice and well laid out
Untested so far :
I haven't tried the USB ports yet, I have NAS on my network and don't really have a use for it but just for you I stuck in a USB3 memory stick and the UI does all the right stuff
VPN server - I will be using this when I am out of the country but haven't set it up yet
Third party firmware - I will be installing Merlin's fw if I can think of a reason why I need it, the base firmware is pretty good and seems to meet all my requirements
Downsides
The only thing I have to complain about currently is that I can no longer see my Billion connection stats or tweak my modem setting from the router GUI, I miss seeing the connection stats but the tweaking never gave me much anyway tbh. I suspect there is a way of doing this but I just haven't worked it out yet cba
Summary :
Can't see a downside really, its UI is streets ahead of the competition I have seen and it is working flawlessly and has a 3 year warranty. With the big user-base I am also hoping to get years of support updates (firmware etc) from Asus.
In your case if the budget is tight I suspect unless you are a heavy user or need USB3 port I doubt you will see much difference in performance from the AC66U which, superficially, seems to offer mostly similar features. Personally my 'upgrade cycle time' for stuff on my network is quite long i.e. I have been using my Billion for 7 years so I try and future proof a little by buying up-scale products.
Cheers
Chunks
