N66U replacement Asus ac86u or Netgear R7800 X4S

beachBOYken · 1 Dec 2017 at 15:20

hi
Thinking of replacing my Asus n66u with something newer, had my n66u a while now and it doesn’t have ac WiFi and I have a few devices that could make use of it, and generally just feel like it’s getting quite old now.
I’m looking at the Asus ac86u and Netgear nighthawk r7800 x4s.

I believe they are both fairly new so not sure which to get although the Netgear is cheaper and from what I have read so far it has good WiFi coverage.

Based on stability and general performance what would be the best choice out of the two.

It would connect to my VM super hub which would be in modem mode.

Any owners of either can advise?

Thanks

ChrisD. · 1 Dec 2017 at 15:34

If you're familiar with the Asus firmware then that seems the likely candidate.

beachBOYken · 2 Dec 2017 at 09:56

Hi

I do think the firmware support by Merlin and the likes is very good, Im also happy enough with stock firmware.

I was hoping to hear from some Netgear R7800 X4S users on here as thats been out a little longer.

Kainz · 2 Dec 2017 at 17:42

beachBOYken said:
hi
Thinking of replacing my Asus n66u with something newer, had my n66u a while now and it doesn’t have ac WiFi and I have a few devices that could make use of it, and generally just feel like it’s getting quite old now.
I’m looking at the Asus ac86u and Netgear nighthawk r7800 x4s.

I believe they are both fairly new so not sure which to get although the Netgear is cheaper and from what I have read so far it has good WiFi coverage.

Based on stability and general performance what would be the best choice out of the two.

It would connect to my VM super hub which would be in modem mode.

Any owners of either can advise?

Thanks

I can't really give advice at this early stage...

Former Asus RT56U owner here. My Asus that was purchased back in 2012 started behaving oddly last week - I couldn't access its control panel and it wasn't letting through any traffic with my Superhub 2 in modem mode.

I just fitted up an 7800 X4S to my superb hub and all is good. WiFi is very strong across the 5ghz band, yet to fully test the 2.4ghz band.

I grabbed the X4S cheap off amazon during Black Friday as it was £129. The review on smallnetbuilder was quite impressive I thought.
https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wir...ghthawk-x4s-smart-wifi-gaming-router-reviewed

Whilst the Netgear control panel looks dated, it is very functional and clear to use I find.

beachBOYken · 2 Dec 2017 at 21:32

Kainz said:
I can't really give advice at this early stage...

Former Asus RT56U owner here. My Asus that was purchased back in 2012 started behaving oddly last week - I couldn't access its control panel and it wasn't letting through any traffic with my Superhub 2 in modem mode.

I just fitted up an 7800 X4S to my superb hub and all is good. WiFi is very strong across the 5ghz band, yet to fully test the 2.4ghz band.

I grabbed the X4S cheap off amazon during Black Friday as it was £129. The review on smallnetbuilder was quite impressive I thought.
https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wir...ghthawk-x4s-smart-wifi-gaming-router-reviewed

Whilst the Netgear control panel looks dated, it is very functional and clear to use I find.

Do you use the stock firmware on the Netgear, Im still leaning towards the AC86U due to it being newer and the firmware support is good from Merlin, but I think both are similar in performance and features.

Just a tough decision.

Kainz · 2 Dec 2017 at 23:14

beachBOYken said:
Do you use the stock firmware on the Netgear, Im still leaning towards the AC86U due to it being newer and the firmware support is good from Merlin, but I think both are similar in performance and features.

Just a tough decision.

I know what you mean about the decision for a router. I loved my Asus that ran custom firmware (can't recall the name but used it for years).

I'm still using the stock netgear firmware over here and I shall stick to it for a few months I reckon. Netgear are still updating this router though as I've received 2 since I purchased it a good few weeks ago and I have one that appeared today.

First night of Overwatch gaming was a total failure tonight. The very same dropouts and lag I was experiencing with my superhub 2 in router mode for the past week still persists now. So it's either the game or the hub acting up. Time will tell I suppose.

beachBOYken · 2 Dec 2017 at 23:33

Kainz said:
I know what you mean about the decision for a router. I loved my Asus that ran custom firmware (can't recall the name but used it for years).

I'm still using the stock netgear firmware over here and I shall stick to it for a few months I reckon. Netgear are still updating this router though as I've received 2 since I purchased it a good few weeks ago and I have one that appeared today.

First night of Overwatch gaming was a total failure tonight. The very same dropouts and lag I was experiencing with my superhub 2 in router mode for the past week still persists now. So it's either the game or the hub acting up. Time will tell I suppose.

Thanks for this, so you think your issue could be the super hub 2 causing the dropouts.

Kainz · 3 Dec 2017 at 10:31

beachBOYken said:
Thanks for this, so you think your issue could be the super hub 2 causing the dropouts.

I believe so, it is many years old and whilst I can't explain it, I still believe my previous Asus router is actually ok and the hub to be at fault. I've read that the SH3 is quite dodgy though so I'm not sure what to do at the moment with regards to giving Virgin a call about it. I think I'll wait for a week or two just to see what issues arise with this new combo I have now.

beachBOYken · 4 Dec 2017 at 12:28

Got the Asus AC86u in the end, hopefully plan to set it up in the next couple of weeks.

I did like the sound of the nighthawk but Im so used to the GUI on the Asus routers and do like the support from Merlin.

Will update this thread once setup and give my thoughts on it compared to my trusty N66U.

V_R · 4 Dec 2017 at 15:30

Will be interested in your thoughts, I've got the N66U too (with Merlin FW), and feel its time to update it. The AC86U is one I'm drawn too.

Broken Hope · 5 Dec 2017 at 11:25

I went from the 68U to the 86U, I get better range on the 5GHz band and I like that it’s effectively the exact same size as my old router. Have used Merlin firmware from the start which is nice and stable.

beachBOYken · 5 Dec 2017 at 17:05

Broken Hope said:
I went from the 68U to the 86U, I get better range on the 5GHz band and I like that it’s effectively the exact same size as my old router. Have used Merlin firmware from the start which is nice and stable.

I plan to go onto merlin, would I need to set the 86u up first in stock before I can install merlins firmware.

Also has the 86u got a stable release of merlin firmware or is in beta stages still.

Thanks

TJM · 5 Dec 2017 at 19:23

V_R said:
Will be interested in your thoughts, I've got the N66U too (with Merlin FW), and feel its time to update it. The AC86U is one I'm drawn too.

I switched from the N66U to the R7800. The interface looks a bit basic but it’s a rock solid router - it was recently up to two months uptime and I have never had any connection problems that were caused by it. Install the Voxel firmware, set it up and never look at it again.

Broken Hope · 5 Dec 2017 at 19:52

beachBOYken said:
I plan to go onto merlin, would I need to set the 86u up first in stock before I can install merlins firmware.

Also has the 86u got a stable release of merlin firmware or is in beta stages still.

Thanks

You can go straight onto Merlin if you want and there is a stable release.

beachBOYken · 5 Dec 2017 at 22:21

Broken Hope said:
You can go straight onto Merlin if you want and there is a stable release.

Thank's, I need to do a reset anyway after flashing Merlin firmware.

Vimes · 5 Dec 2017 at 23:01

I have both the R7800 and the RT-AC86U.

I bought the 86U to replace the R7800.
Nothing wrong with the R7800, I needed to use a DD-WRT firmware to set up the VPN client when I used the Netgear router.

However I much prefer the UI of the Merlin firmware for the 86U. Setting up a VPN client and policy based routing is so easy.

I bought the 86U and installed the Merlin firmware from the start, did a reset and then set it up from there.

Overall the UI of an Asus based router is easier for me to manage over that of the DD-WRT on the R7800.

I keep planning to sell the R7800 but have not got round to it.

V_R · 6 Dec 2017 at 09:20

Yeah, I'm a big fan of the Asus/Merlin FW myself.

beachBOYken · 6 Dec 2017 at 11:38

Vimes said:
I have both the R7800 and the RT-AC86U.

I bought the 86U to replace the R7800.
Nothing wrong with the R7800, I needed to use a DD-WRT firmware to set up the VPN client when I used the Netgear router.

However I much prefer the UI of the Merlin firmware for the 86U. Setting up a VPN client and policy based routing is so easy.

I bought the 86U and installed the Merlin firmware from the start, did a reset and then set it up from there.

Overall the UI of an Asus based router is easier for me to manage over that of the DD-WRT on the R7800.

I keep planning to sell the R7800 but have not got round to it.

Do you use some of the features on the 86u like AiProtection?

Vimes · 6 Dec 2017 at 14:37

beachBOYken said:
Do you use some of the features on the 86u like AiProtection?

As I have only recently bought the router, and it also coincided with my change of VPN service, which didn't work out, I haven't had the time to use many of the "extra" features as yet. I do use policy based routing for the VPN client, easy enough to configure.

Overall it seems a pretty impressive and solid router for my needs, with its dual core 1.8Ghz CPU it does well as a VPN client with AES 256bit CBC encrypted data. Merlin believes that it is a pretty good performer, VPN wise.

beachBOYken · 6 Dec 2017 at 21:57

Vimes said:
As I have only recently bought the router, and it also coincided with my change of VPN service, which didn't work out, I haven't had the time to use many of the "extra" features as yet. I do use policy based routing for the VPN client, easy enough to configure.

Overall it seems a pretty impressive and solid router for my needs, with its dual core 1.8Ghz CPU it does well as a VPN client with AES 256bit CBC encrypted data. Merlin believes that it is a pretty good performer, VPN wise.

Received mine today, will have to wait till weekend to connect up, will go straight to Merlin firmware as well.