ASUS has a number of routers doing the rounds currently that are aimed at the gamer, with the ‘dead spider' (or AC5300) being the iconic one in terms of design. While the RT-AC88U that we got our hands on does not have the looks of the aforementioned router, it is itself no ugly duckling, and does...

ASUS fanbois have been all worked up about the RT-AC88U, judging from SNBForums discussions. But neither our chamber nor real life tests provide reason for such excitement, at least on the basis of wireless performance. What Forum posters seem most excited about is that the router just works .

On balance, the Asus RT-AC88U is near impossible to beat. It's blazingly fast, relatively easy to set up and use, and about as feature-laden a router as you are likely to find. In addition to terrific wireless performance, its support for wired networking is superb.

Fast data transfer rates; Good range; Feature packed; Easy to set up and use

Relatively pricey; Could be overkill if you have a slower Internet connection

Australian firmware loaded.

ASUS is one of the leading networking products manufacturer in the world, but its span does not stop there, as it also had great success with its smartphones, tablets, laptops and computer hardware (especially the motherboards). This shows how much the Taiwanese Company has grown over the years.

Great WiFi Performance; Great Coverage; Attractive Design; Great Interface; Dual-WAN

Expensive; Lack Of Clients To Fully Use the Router's Capabilities

The RT-AC88U is an impressive router, but it is a bit expensive for what is essentially a dual-band AC1900 router. It's very fast overall though, and has great admin software both on the desktop and for mobile devices, and I like that it has gaming-specific Quality of Service too.

Purchased 2/15/17; Worked great out of the box

As of 6/14/17

No doubt the Asus RT-AC88U is a pricey router but it also offers great features with MU-MIMO technology support. This could be a preferred choice for people looking for a secure router with good wireless speed.

Eight superfast Gigabit LAN ports; speedy Wi-Fi performance and lots of useful features; Smart Web interface; 5GHz throughput support; MU-MIMO-enabled

Expensive

when open bag notice that box damage all way round, no seal, parts 'flying loose' inside, no plastick wrap on anything, cable bags open, dust - clearly used item or long laying displayed, some manuals missing (checked on internet for unboxing same router). Returned as damage and faulty

Worked well for about 3 hours, then lost all WiFi. Updated the firmware, lost 1 WiFi channel but the WiFi was fast for about 4 days and then slowed to a crawl. Unplugged it for a couple of days, got both WiFi channels back but WiFi was still slow.