New Asus Router

Today I picked up a new ASUS RT-AC88U Wireless AC3100 router to replace my ageing Cisco WRT310N router. The Cisco has done a great job for many years but it was having real problems streaming 4k movies to several rooms at the same time so I bit the bullet and went for an upgrade. My entire wired network is CAT6 so a good router will hopefully be able to run at its top rated speed and all my wired network connections are 1Gb and that also helps.
Good routers are not cheap and I didn't anticipate spending quite so much but I figured when I bought my last Cisco one that although it was about $100 dearer than the rest at the time, when you divide that extra $100 by the 8 years I have been using it then it has been a bargain and money well spent as it never gave any trouble and is still working (just not fast enough).

This time round I was looking at TP Link, Netgear and LinkSys but the ASUS won on its features and wireless coverage and because it has 8 ethernet ports and the others only have 4 ports. I nearly got the ASUS RT-AC87U to save a few $$$ but it is a slightly older design and the extra 4 ports on the AC88U was very attractive and also the higher data throughput was a bonus.

Setting up was a breeze and apart from setting passwords and SSIDs the darn thing did everything else all by itself. I was expecting to bring it home and my network would be down for the afternoon until I tweaked it into working but everything was up and working in about 15 minutes and this included unboxing and then plugging everything in. It was so easy that I didn't have to read the instructions nor did I even need a bourbon and coke to help the brain cells think ..... but I had one anyway while I sat down to streaming a 4k movie in the family room while my son watched something else streaming in 4k in the home theatre room.
http://www.scorptec.com.au/product/Networking_-_Wireless/Routers/61376-RT-AC88U

 

Looks nice. I recently got the netgear C7000 NightHawk, mostly because of limited desksapce since it can stand up. But, I like the look of yours better.

 

I came close to picking the NETGEAR R8000 Nighthawk X6 Wireless AC3200 Router but the extra ports on the ASUS got it over the line. The Nighthawk would have saved me about $100 but it wasn't really about the money. A mate has the Nighthawk so I know it is good and if it had 8 ports then......