Networking

ASUS RT-AX86U WiFi 6 Gaming Router Review

Performance: 5GHz Wireless

5GHz is a more recent addition to the consumer WiFi specification, and on this frequency, we find both 802.11n and AC standards on offer. We note that 802.11n is the only standard to run at both 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies and this is the most common standard for ISP routers to feature. Unlike the 2.4GHz band, 5GHz radio waves and solid brick walls do not go that well hand in hand, so while it does support a much faster throughput speed, its range is decreased in a dense operating environment.

Fixed Block Size

To test the maximum throughput a connection can handle, a fixed block size of 16384 Bytes is sent from the client to the server over a period of five minutes. The higher block size will allow the transfer rate to stay as high as possible which is a scenario that you know from file copies. A single large file is a lot quicker to move than lots of small files with the same total size.

TCP Performance

UDP Performance

Variable Packet Size

In a real-world situation, the blocks of data that pass through a wireless adaptor are not of the same size each time, so to give a more realistic impression of how an adaptor performs, the adapter is once again tested at each range for five minutes. This time, however, the block size will vary from 32 Bytes up to 16384 Bytes in increasing steps of 148.7 Bytes each time.