Is it a stealth bomber? Is it a sports car? Is it some sort of shrine to the Internet Gods? No, it's the Asus DSL-AC88U (catchy title, I know) and it's the router of my bloody dreams. I was first introduced to Asus routers a couple of years ago with the cute little DSL-N16, and it was by far the best modem/router I had ever used. That was until it was time for an upgrade, and I came across this bad boy.
It's geared towards the gaming market, but why let them have all the fun? Those whopping gigantic antenna feature a four-transmit, four-receive (4T4R) design, so that both Wi-Fi range and signal stability improve dramatically. Their AiRadar beamforming technology further focuses Wi-Fi signal on your devices, making your Wi-Fi faster, clearer and stronger. This isn't an empty promise either, as my WiFi network now is almost as good as ethernet and stretches all the way to the bottom of our property, no more dead spots. Seriously.
There is also the NitroQAM (1024-QAM) technology on the DSL-AC88U delivering a combined 3167 Mbps Wi-Fi speed, ensuring everyone on your network can enjoy smooth streaming and low-latency online gaming. Granted you won't necessarily get the full 3000+, but with a good enough AC adapter, you'll still feel the benefit. The reason I needed the fastest WiFi network possible is because I have my own media server on my network where I stream most of my TV shows and movies from, and regular routers just weren't good enough. I use an Amazon Fire TV Stick with Kodi to watch everything on the TV, and sadly that's WiFi only so ethernet wasn't an option (you can maybe get an ethernet adapter but that would be too easy). This beast of a router can handle streaming a HD movie to the TV, netflix on HD upstairs and still be able to browse the internet without noticing a drop in speed.
Oh, and I forgot to mention, it gave me a ~20% boost in my DSL speed which is just amazing. I was thinking about upgrading to cable soon, but there's just no need to now.
The DSL-AC88U was released in the middle of 2017 to much acclaim and praise, and for good reason. It's basically a slightly upgraded version of the RT-AC88U with a DSL modem built in. Oh, and did I mention it's cheaper than it's pure router kin? Significantly cheaper in fact. It's still by no means a cheap router at around £200, but if you're looking for something affordable with almost as much power, there is the DSL-AC68U which by all accounts is a cracking device too.
It also features two USB ports (one 3.0, one 2.0) so that you can plug in external drives and run them as a Network Attached Storage solution, or plug-in a printer for Wi-Fi printing. My only real criticism would be that the second USB port is on the front under a flap, which is somewhat inconvenient. It also has a WAN ethernet port, so if you're currently on DSL but thinking about upgrading to cable this router has you covered. In fact, you can plug in a 3G/4G dongle and use that as your internet connection, so it's perfect for us cable-cutters. There's no doubt that this router will have you covered in the home networking department for years to come, especially with it's 3 year VIP warranty.
I picked mine up from PC World/Currys here in the UK, but Amazon also have them stocked at good prices. If you're in the market for a new router, even if you don't need the modem component, I'd strongly recommend taking a look at this fantastic router.
What's your current modem/router setup like? Think you might be tempted by the DSL-AC88U? Let me know your thoughts and feelings down in the comment section and as always, make sure to follow me for the latest Cryptocurrency, Technology, Internet and Pop Culture updates. If you're a fan of strange YouTube videos, you might want to follow me on Twitter. Until next time, take it easy!
Sources: Asus DSL-AC88U Overview (https://www.asus.com/uk/Networking/DSL-AC88U/overview/)