Asus RT-AC68U AC1900 Review

The Asus RT-AC68U AC1900 is the flagship router in Asus’s Wireless AC range. It follows on from the very popular RT-AC66U, which was well reviewed from critics and consumers alike last year. There are new features and hardware on the RT-AC68U which Asus have promised will make it the best router in the consumer router market today, in terms of speed, performance, and overall user experience.

Will these new features such as a dual-core processor, new chipset and other new tools make the difference? We’re about to find out…

Asus RT-AC68U AC1900 Main
Asus RT-AC68U sales button

Asus RT-AC68U AC1900 Features

 

The RT-AC68U has many features, some unique within the Asus router family…

7 Features of the Asus RT-AC68U Router

 

World’s Fastest Consumer Router
With the latest chipset, the RT-AC68U produces even faster 802.11ac speeds than ever before. Using TurboQAM technology, give your home wireless an extra boost on your 5GHz AC devices. Your Wireless N devices also get a boost – up to 33% faster data rates (up to 600Mbps). Concurrent data rates give an impressive total of 1.9Gbps (theoretical).

Improved Coverage
With the combined efforts ofAsus AiRadar, Beamforming and improved amplification – throughput and coverage is increased, along with greater stability for your wireless network.

Dual Core Processor
With the extra demands on our networks these days, it’s important that our routers are capable of effortlessly handling the increased data loads to ensure that user experience is kept high. The Asus RT-AC68U AC1900 router has a dual processor which helps make sure your online gaming traffic is uninterrupted, your VoIP calls don’t drop, and your HD videos don’t suffer from packet loss, pixilation or buffering.

USB 3.0 & 2.0 Ports (Centralized Fast File Sharing & Printing)
You will be pleased to hear there are two USB ports, one of them USB 3.0. Most routers ship with USB 2.0, which just isn’t good enough in this day and age for file transfers and HD streaming. The RT-AC68U comes bundled with the USB 3.0 standard for the fastest file sharing via USB. There is also a USB 2.0 port, which can be used for a network printer, or even connect a 4G or 3G dongle as Internet backup!

Dual Band Simultaneously
Whether you have 2.4GHz or 5GHz wireless devices, both are catered for here and can be used concurrently. Excellent for streaming videos, or online gaming with the 5GHz band and using 2.4GHz for everything else. The Dual Band functionality is what makes the amazing 1.9Gbps speeds possible.

Quality of Service
Protect your online gaming and VoIP traffic using the built-in QoS feature. Other users on your network can affect your experience without them even knowing it. Using QoS you tell the Asus RT-AC68U what traffic to protect and for who.

VPN Server
Access your personal files safely and securely from anywhere in the world. With extra secure encapsulation and encryption, you have the ability to conveniently access your confidential data with peace of mind.

Asus RT-AC68U AC1900 ports

Asus RT-AC68U – Other Features

 

Simple Setup
Want a router that you can set up in less than one minute? It’s possible with the RT-AC68U. Once the cables are connected, just browse to the Asus and follow the setup wizard.

AsusWRT
Using Asus’s WRT dashboard, you can control the RT-AC68U and how your network devices interact with it in one easy-to-navigate place.

Internet Multitasking
Up to 300,000 sessions support concurrently. The Asus RT-AC68U aims to avoid being the bottleneck in your path to the Internet by providing up to 20 times more capacity than most other consumer routers.

Guest Access
Using a separate SSID (wireless network), your guests can access the Internet without fear of them accessing your personal files, PC’s , laptops, phones or tablets. Give your guests access on the 2.4GHz band or the 5GHz band – your choice!

AiCloud
Connect to your data no matter where you are. Use the AiCloud mobile app or with a web browser to connect to your data on the move.

IPv6 Support
The Asus RT-AC68U AC1900 router is future-proofed with support for IPv6, so you don’t need to swap your router when your ISP swaps your IPv4 address for an IPv6 one.

Multiple SSID’s
Up to 6 Wireless LANs are supported, 3 on each band, giving more flexibility than ever.

Asus RT-AC68U AC1900

Asus RT-AC68U AC1900 Router Technical Specs

  • 802.11a/b/g/n/ac
  • IPv4 / IPv6
  • PPTP VPN server
  • 3x External Antennas
  • 2.4GHz / 5GHz
  • USB 3.0 / 2.0
  • WPS
  • WPA2 / WPA / WEP

More Technical Specs…

Asus RT-AC68U AC1900 Conclusion

 

Good

  • Fastest Router Available
  • USB 3.0 port
  • Easy Setup (no CD required)

 

Not so Good

  • Price (but boy, do you get what you pay for!)

 

Well, let’s look at performance first… It uses the Broadcom BCM4708 chip, which helps it achieve the lightning fast speeds, although not quite as fast as advertised – always the way! All router manufacturers advertise data rates, which are theoretical rather than actual throughput – which is the true speed.

The maximum fastest speed you will realistically see on a Wireless AC transfer is around 380Mbps at optimal range (around 5 to 12 meters distance from the 68U with no obstructions).

Of course, the dual CPU also has to take some of the credit for the fantastic performance speeds. The CPU will help for data & USB transfers alike, not to mention processing gaming traffic, helping to eliminate any bottlenecks or spikes. Make sure that QoS is also set in your favor to assist your gaming adventures.

Setting the Asus RT-AC68U is made very easy. No CD required, just cable up and browse to the GUI where you are given the option of a wizard for easy setup. Of course, settings can be set manually if preferred.

The ASUS RT-AC68U AC1900 looks good too. The aggressive, almost alien styling may be a little intimidating for some, but it ticks the boxes for us. The router sits on a stand for space-saving, so stands vertically rather than flat.

Final Word:

With the RT-AC68U, Asus have made a clear jump forward on their previous flagship Wireless AC router. If you have a RT-AC66U, you probably don’t need to upgrade to the RT-AC68U, but if you don’t and we are including those of you who already have Wireless AC routers from other vendors, then what are you waiting

Asus RT-AC68U AC1900 Main
Asus RT-AC68U Amazon sales button

 

Alternatives To The Asus RT-AC68U Worth Considering

 

Asus RT-AC66U Netgear D6200 Apple AirPort Exreme Base Station

3 Comments - Write a Comment

  1. howdy,

    thanks for reviewng… although your concluson on Asus AC-68U as absoute fastest one vs Netgear R7000 seems to be questionable… when z absolute value of a wirelss speed measured is naturally important but not that much as throughput of both above routers, as well as other features/parameters…

    pls take a look here: https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-reviews/32239-ac1900-first-look-netgear-r7000-a-asus-rt-ac68u

    btw, if you already digged deep into these routers, so could you pls answer of what is a difference between models with different name endings:

    1. Asus AC-68U vs Asus AC-68R;

    2. Netgear R7000-100NAS vs Netgear R7000-100PAS.

    appreciate.

    kind regards,

    Reply
  2. Netgear R7000-100NAS and Netgear R7000-100PAS are same products, but for different region ( standard ):
    R7000-100NAS: North America.

    Netgear R7000-100PAS: European countries

    Reply
  3. Boo boo!

    Since when did Asus AC68U sport the Broadcom 4709 running at 1ghz? U r confused with the Asus AC87U, aren’t u?

    Reply

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