Asus RT-AC88U AC3100 Router

The Asus RT-AC88U AC3100 router is the latest release from the computer and networking hardware giant. It’s the follow-up to last year’s RT-AC87U.

Asus RT-AC88U AC3100 Main
Asus RT-AC88U AC3100 Amazon Sales Button small


Asus have marketed the 88U towards the gamer (and video streamer), with particular attention of reducing latency, which is all-important when it comes to online gaming. There are other things to consider of course, but latency is a biggie.

Aside from QoS & MU-MIMO, Asus have bundled in a free version (without ads) of WTFast (the free GPN game accelerator), which allows one device to connect to the WTFast network (uses can upgrade to the premium service for multiple devices to connect) which includes technical support.

“Not bad” you might say, but is there anything else to coax you?

Asus RT-AC88U AC3100 Features

The big-hitting features that Asus’s latest creation offers…

10 Features of the RT-AC88U

NitroQAM – 1024-QAM Technology (AC3100)
Connections speeds are increased by up to 1.25 using 1024-QAM modulation, branded as NitroQAM.

With NitroQAM under the cover, the RT-AC88U is now far less likely to experience buffering when streaming or online gaming. The 88U ensures latency is kept as low as possible, so you don’t suffer annoying slow-down or pausing.

The 88U is an AC3100 Dual Band router over the air, combining 2.167Gbps on the 5GHz and a further 1Gbps on 2.4GHz (theoretical).

WTFast – Free GPN (Game Accelerator)
When playing online games, it’s important to keep latency down to a minimum. There are lots of factors that affect what the latency levels are. One such factor is the route the gaming data packets take through the Internet.

The RT-AC88U uses GPN (Gamers Private Network) from WTFast (What The Fast). WTFast routes your gaming traffic via it’s private network, which reduces latency significantly and helps eliminate packet loss. By using WTFast’s private network, your gaming packets traverse less congested Internet routers and takes a more optimal path between source and destination.

Works with most online games, including MMO games (World of Warcraft, League of Legends etc) and FPS.

Efficient Use Of Resources – Ai Protection
Help to free up your PC to just focus on playing games. The 88U comes with Ai Protection to protect and scan your network. Using Trend Micro antivirus, the 88U actively scans your network, so you can disable AV programs on your PC, freeing up resources for things that really matter….like playing games!

Adaptive QoS
Quality of Service is as important now as ever. Prioritize your gaming and streaming traffic to ensure that other users or programs on your network don’t hog up vital bandwidth.

If you have a single gamer/user in your network, you can activate gamer solo mode, which dedicates full bandwidth to that user.

With Adaptive QoS and the aforementioned WTFast, your gaming traffic is in good hands!

Link Aggregation (Port Bundling)
The RT-AC88U supports link aggregation, meaning it is possible to connect two Ethernet cables to one device. This is good for not just doubling throughput, but also to provide resilience to your end device, should one of the cables break or become accidentally unplugged.

Link aggregation is particularly good for a NAS box or server.

MU-MIMO Ready – 4×4 Wi-Fi Technology
With 4 spacial streams, up to 4 users can enjoy MIMO concurrently. This is a big step up from traditional MIMO, which only allows one client benefit from an optimized stream at any one time.

MU-MIMO uses more than one antenna at source and destination. The antennas ‘re-time’ signals that have bounced off walls or furniture, into an orderly flow again.

MU-MIMO also helps to extend coverage out further, and with AiRadar (Beamforming), connectivity is more reliable and stable.

1.4GHz CPU
There’s a 1.4GHz dual core processor to cope with all the advanced features on board and Gigabit networking.

There is also 512MB of memory on board.

RT-AC88U Ports

Asus RT-AC88U AC3100 Ports

8x LAN Ports & USB 3.0 / 2.0
Well, you can’t say you don’t have enough Ethernet ports! There are 8 of them on the RT-AC88U. Pretty good considering most routers out there have 4 ports.

Having the extra ports is good news if you want to do link aggregation and have multiple wired devices, like games consoles, servers or NAS storage.

You can also plug in either a USB 3.0 or 2.0 port drive (or both) for storage in a central location.

Best Ethernet cable for the gamers

AsusWRT Interface
The 88U uses the AsusWRT interface for easy and intuitive setup and monitoring.

Smart Connect
Your devices connect to the best available band using Smart Connect.

RT-AC88U Technical Specs

  • 802.11a/b/g/n/ac
  • MU-MIMO – 4×4 2.4 & 5GHz
  • 1.4GHz Dual Core CPU
  • 512MB RAM
  • 1024-QAM
  • 1x USB 3.0 / 1x USB 2.0 Port
  • 8 Gbps Ethernet Ports – Supports Link Aggregation
  • Adaptive QoS
  • WTFast

Do you agree/disagree? Why not comment below and let us know what you think…

Asus RT-AC88U AC3100 Side view
Asus RT-AC88U AC3100 Amazon Sales Button small


>>>Back to Home

One Comment - Write a Comment

  1. What is the CPU ?
    It’s a 1.4GHz dual core processor to cope with all the advanced features on board and Gigabit networking” doesn’t say much, latest almost all have 1.4GHz CPU (even 1.7GHz).

    Reply

Post Comment