ASUS RT-AC66U Wireless-AC Dual-band Router - Thrilling Media Streamer

Play To Kill

Once a dark horse in the networking trade, ASUS has pushed themselves to the forefront with a series of astute efforts, starting with the RT-N16U which marked a nice turning point for the Taiwanese firm two years ago. That said, ASUS' latest super weapon comes in the form of the RT-AC66U, a successor to the RT-N66U (codenamed "Dark Knight") launched earlier this year. The new dual-band router's fearsome weaponry includes 802.11ac support, which translates into top speeds of 1.3Gbps on the 5GHz spectrum, and 450Mbps on the 2.4GHz band. Trends do indicate that many network hardware makers are undoubtedly taking to the "clouds" in recent times, such as D-Link and Linksys for instance. Now, the RT-AC66U also happens to be the launchpad for AiCloud - a "personal cloud server" service from ASUS which enables users to access data on connected devices via external networks and mobile gizmos. AiCloud is said to be compatible with most operating systems, including Windows, OS X, and Linux. 

According to ASUS' marketing collateral, other perks of the stylish RT-AC66U include a 30-second setup, six guest SSIDs (three on 5GHz, and another three on 2.4GHz), and fancy cooling solution like the "high-density aluminum fins" built into the unit. Enthusiasts might want to know that the router is powered by a similar main chipset used by the RT-N66U, or more specifically, the Broadcom BCM4706 with a clock speed of 600MHz. On the wireless side of things, the device carries the Broadcom BCM4360 and BCM4331. As for retail matters, the RT-AC66U will make its official appearance during COMEX 2012. If you're planning to grab one, note that the router will be sold at its standard retail price of S$339 during the show without any discounts. Looking back, the slightly older RT-N66U did produce decent throughputs on both bands, although it somehow failed to outshine the RT-N56U by comparison. On the note, we're hoping the RT-AC66U will be capable of breaking the speed barriers established by the 802.11n dual-band routers, and hopefully leave the RT-N56U and RT-N66U behind in its wake.

Dressed To Kill

The RT-AC66U, how ever you look at it, is a spitting image of the RT-N66U. In fact, the gold ASUS logo brandished at the top right corner of the router is the only physical mark which sets them apart. Observably, the AC version carries the same crisscross patterns on the top of its hood as well, and they're only visible at the right lighting and angle. On that note, even the blue status indicators are identical with the N66U, with dedicated LEDs for each LAN port as well as the 2.4GHz and 5GHz wireless bands. The RT-AC66U is a stylish effort by ASUS on the whole, although we would have preferred it better without the unsightly antennas. A bundled bracket enables you to position the router in a semi-vertical fashion, otherwise, you may simply place the unit flat on the table or hang it up on the wall with nails or other mounts via the two "cross-holes" positioned behind the product. And apart from the customary installation disc, ASUS has thrown in a copy of Kaspersky's Anti-virus 2012 into the package too. The license is valid for one year. 

Yet again, the RT-N66U's back panel is almost identical to its N66U sibling. There are four Gigabit LAN ports (coded in yellow), a single Gigabit WAN (internet) port, two USB slots (with 3G support), and a DC power inlet. There are three buttons for the following functions: power, reset, and WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup). Likewise, the RT-AC66U comes with three detachable antennas similar to the RT-N66U. Although it's not a major concern, the ASUS RT-AC66U is probably the heaviest router we've handled. This can be attributed to the "high density" aluminum cooling fins, as mentioned on the previous page. Flip the router over, and you'd find a label indicting the firmware's version (3.0.0.4.140). For our tests, we've updated the firmware to 3.0.0.4.164 since a new version is available. On that note, do keep in mind that we're reviewing the router weeks ahead of its official launch, so it's best to check ASUS' site for updates after you've purchased the RT-AC66U.

Features

We won't go through the basics of the ASUSWRT Dashboard again since it's a similar, albeit more comprehensive interface to what we've covered during our RT-N66U review. You may, however, read up our previous assessment. Now, let's assess some of the relatively new options. Upon first logging into the router's web interface via its default IP address (192.168.1.1), a "Quick Internet Setup" wizard would prompt you to configure various network settings, like the admin password and SSIDs for example. This mandatory feature wasn't available on the RT-N66U's firmware previously, and it'll take just a minute or two before the device is connected to the web. To bypass this wizard, enter "http://192.168.1.1/index.asp" into the URL field. The RT-AC66U continues to support various networking functions; namely as a router, access point, or media bridge mode. The latter enables you to connect multimedia devices to the RT-AC66U's Ethernet ports, as the unit acts as a wireless bridge to your home network. Interestingly, there's also an IPTV selection (found under the LAN setting) with the different ISP profiles such as Singtel's mio TV for instance.

There are two QoS network prioritization modes available: Automatic and User-defined rules. The former prioritizes online gaming and web surfing traffic automatically, while the latter enables more savvy users to configure their own QoS rules, such as the service's name, source IP, destination port, and protocol, etc. On the Wireless page, there's Auto, N-only, and Legacy (for older wireless standards) selections available on the 5GHz band. To enable the router's 802.11ac mode, choose "N-only", then go to the Channel Bandwidth field and select the "80MHz" option.

The USB Application tab houses features such as AiDisk (file-sharing services on the cloud), print server, and 3G backup mode (uses your 3G USB adapter instead of the broadband modem). For AiDisk, there's also an option to create your own storage domain via ASUS' DDNS services, or you may choose to configure the FTP settings manually. Although we did not face any issues accessing our shared drive over our own local network, the application kept returning an "invalid IP address" error whenever we tried to create a unique storage domain name using ASUS' DDNS service. Also, we're unable to fiddle with the AiCloud mobile aspect as yet, since the mobile apps aren't available at this point in time.   

Test Setup

To simulate a wireless network scenario, our routine test setup includes a desktop PC, the reviewed router, and a wireless client. The desktop system (with a Gigabit Ethernet port) is designed to simulate a host machine, while the router in question acts as the gateway. And lastly, an external dual-band 802.11n USB adapter plugged into a notebook fulfills the role of a wireless remote client. However, since the RT-AC66U is an 802.11ac-based router and there aren't any viable 802.11ac wireless adapters as yet, we'll be testing the device's throughput speeds with another RT-AC66U configured in "media bridge" mode. This secondary RT-AC66U will act as a stand-in adapter for the 5GHz AC band.  

To gauge the router's peak potential and to prevent any possibility of varying wireless standards used, the evaluated router is locked down at the 802.11n-only mode for both bands. Typically, channel bandwidths of 40MHz, and 80MHz (for 5GHz AC band) are selected where applicable. The QCheck application measures the wireless throughput (TCP) and streaming (UDP) finesse between the host and client endpoints based on a 1MB data packet. On the other hand, NetIQ's Chariot benchmark offers a more detailed account with average throughput and response time readings recorded over 30 seconds, based on a High Performance throughput script. Range is determined by the distance between the router and wireless client. Now, let's run through the results proper.

Chariot and QCheck Performance Testing (2.4GHz Band)

Before we proceed, do note that we've clamped the router's channel bandwidth to 40MHz to derive the best possible data rate from the networking device. Now, let's look at the RT-AC66U's average downlink measurements.  A quick glance of the router's 2.4GHz throughput results below would tell you that it wasn't too impressive, with only an middling performance to show at best. However, we have to admit that the numbers are a little puzzling, given that the it shares similar hardware to the RT-N66U apart from the 5GHz chip. At 2 meters, for instance, the N66U clocked 72.108Mbps, and this figure was closely matched by the Edimax and Trendnet routers. The AC66U, however, only managed to scrimp by with 35.515Mbps, which was just about half of what its predecessor achieved. Given its theoretical top speed of 450Mbps, it's quite a shame that the router did not come anywhere near it. The same pattern was repeated with WPA2 encryption enabled. At 10 meters, the RT-AC66U finished with an average result of 30.646Mbps, although it did offer a better signal range at 25 meters than the Edimax and Trendnet offerings. The router's uplink performance was also comparable to its downstream results, finishing at 53.836Mbps at 2 meters, and 31.504Mbps at the farthest distance of 25 meters. Although the general rule of thumb states that a minimum bandwidth of 25Mbps is required for HD streams, we wouldn't recommend using the RT-AC66U's 2.4GHz band for such a purpose just yet. It would suffice, however, for your day-to-day surfing needs.

Chariot and QCheck Performance Testing (5GHz Band)

They say that every dark cloud has a silver lining. And the ASUS RT-AC66U's redeeming trait can be credited to its astounding 5GHz performance. True that this is our first 802.11ac router, but still, the wireless results acquired by the AC66U practically blew all the older 802.11n-based routers away. In a nutshell, ASUS' offering managed a laudable average downlink speed of 160Mbps (and above) for our tests, measured at 2 meters, 10 meters, and 25 meters. This is a mighty impressive record, considering that it clocked an average of 162.310Mbps at the furthest range of 25 meters as well. The router's excellent flair on the 5GHz band was similarly translated into its data transfer speeds. For example, to took only 31 seconds to transfer a 1GB file from the host computer to the notebook client situated two meters away, with the AC66U acting as a gateway. The router hardly broke a sweat when the distance was increased to 10 meters, with a recorded time of 32 seconds. This was about 6.5x faster than what the 2.4GHz band could achieve.

Likewise, its uplink performance was equally notable. At 25 meters, the 802.11ac router almost doubled the data speeds of what the other N-based routers could manage. ASUS' promise of "high-powered amplification and beam packaging" seems to have paid off as well, judging by the almost lossless UDP streams sustained from 2 to 25 meters. And assuming that 802.11ac adapters are as capable in receiving wireless transmissions like the secondary AC66U configured in bridge mode for our test scenario, this router's AC-mode is most definitely one to watch, and definitely one which would serve your HD video streaming needs well. 

The Final Word

Essentially, ASUS' flagship RT-AC66U is a mixed bag of tricks if we had to put our finger on it. Design wise, there isn't much to rave about since we've seen it all before on the RT-N66U. However, this doesn't imply that the AC66U suffers from a hardware deficit. There's a nice spread of Gigabit WAN and LAN offerings to begin with, plus two USB ports with excellent network support for printers, storage devices, and 3G adapters as well. The upgraded ASUSWRT interface is also a positive touch. We like its attractive layout, and its features are also comprehensive enough to satisfy the demands of networking enthusiasts. And best of all, ASUS did not sacrifice user-friendliness along the way. For example, applications which require the use of USB-based devices in some form are situated under the main "USB Application" tab. This includes AiDisk (file sharing via the cloud), Network Print Server, plus Media Server involving iTunes, FTP, and Samba. The pre-loaded IPTV profiles and user-defined QoS rules were useful too. However, our attempts to create an ASUS DDNS domain name was unfortunately met with an "invalid IP address" error. We also encountered a few issues with the older 3.0.0.4.140 firmware. For example, our host system was unable to detect the router after powering the AC66U on a few instances. As such, it's best to update the firmware if yours is shipped with the previous copy.

At the performance end, the AC66U proved to be a classic example of the "Jekyll and Hyde" metaphor. For starters, its throughput on the basic 2.4GHz band was poor, and we'd call it average at best. Results came up to 35Mbps at 2 meters, and 25Mbps at 25 meters. Being so, even rival 802.11n models like the Edimax BR-6475nD and Trendnet's  TEW-692GR managed to trounce it, and yes, including its own RT-N66U sibling. As mentioned during our review, this is quite a strange phenomenon since the AC66U and N66U both share the same Broadcom chipsets for the 2.4GHz band.

It is quite a different story when we unleashed the router's AC mode on the 5GHz band. With a consistent average throughput of 161Mbps at 2 meters and 25 meters, it was the AC66U who won the last laugh this time. So how would we rate the AC66U? Well, we'd love to give it an Editor's Choice award, but somehow, we can't get past its middling 2.4GHz performance. On the other hand, the AC66U packs a generous mix of networking functions and cloud features, plus its stellar performance on the 5GHz band is a big lure for users into HD streams or huge file transfers. As a parting shot, get the RT-AC66U if you can spare S$339, and if you want a gateway more for media streaming purposes. However, you might want to consider the RT-N66U and the rest of the N-routers if it's a better throughput performance you desire on the 2.4GHz band.

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