Wi-Fi 6 router "RT-AX3000" that cuts 20,000 yen, verified the awesomeness of maximum speed 2402 Mbps

In order to use smartphones and notebook PCs comfortably, the performance of the Wi-Fi (wireless LAN) router installed in the house is essential. The key to distinguishing between good and bad Wi-Fi routers is the corresponding "Wi-Fi standard." This is directly linked to the speed of communication. In recent Wi-Fi standards, "Wi-Fi 5" (IEEE802.11ac) is the baseline, but the number of models compatible with the latest "Wi-Fi 6" (IEEE802.11ax) is increasing. If you want to prepare or renew the Wi-Fi environment from now on, it is a wise strategy to unify the wireless LAN and devices such as PCs and smartphones to Wi-Fi 6.

Meanwhile, ASUS announced the low-priced model "RT-AX3000" of Wi-Fi 6 compatible router. Not long ago, the company's Wi-Fi 6 compatible routers were mostly high-end models with many antennas like crabs. The maximum communication speed is 4804 Mbps (theoretical value when using the 5 GHz band, the same applies below), which is super high speed, but the price is around 50,000 yen, which is not easy. On the other hand, the communication speed of RT-AX3000 is 2402 Mbps at maximum, but it is a middle class model that is sold at less than half price of less than 20,000 yen.

ASUS latest Wi-Fi 6 router "RT-AX3000".The maximum communication speed is 2402 Mbps, and the actual selling price is around 19,800 yen, which is a very easy-to-buy price range for a Wi-Fi 6 compatible router.

Currently, the mainstream Wi-Fi 5 routers are mainly 433Mbps to 1766Mbps, but the communication speed of RT-AX3000 (maximum 2402Mbps) greatly exceeds that. Now, let's examine how fast the RT-AX3000 is compared to the conventional Wi-Fi 5 compatible router.

Huge Wi-Fi router is hard to use

Wi-Fi routers, which have recently been dubbed as gaming routers, are usually large products with many antennas, such as crabs. High-speed communication requires a high-spec CPU for signal processing, and multiple antennas need to be set up. However, it is difficult to install it in ordinary households because the size increases as the performance increases.

In that respect, RT-AX3000 has four antennas and the installation area is 224 mm x 154 mm, which is compact. It has four antennas, two of which are in charge of the 5GHz band (maximum 2402Mbps) and the other two are in charge of the 2.4GHz band (maximum 574Mbps). Some high-end models can use 4 antennas in the same band and output up to 4804 Mbps, but since many models have 2 antennas on the Wi-Fi 6 compatible device (especially PC) side, the Wi-Fi 6 router side also has an antenna. It can be said that two are enough.

The antenna standing on the Wi-Fi router leads to securing the radio field strength, and the number of antennas leads to the improvement of the communication speed. RT-AX3000 is designed for 2x2 communication (2 antennas) in both 2.4GHz band and 5GHz band.

There are 4 LAN ports (for home LAN) on the back, and 1 LAN port for connecting to home wiring and ONU. All are Gigabit LAN (1000BASE-T) specifications. You can also connect an external HDD to USB 3.0 (USB 3.1 Gen 1) and operate it like a file server.

The attached AC adapter also has a small impression compared to the high-end model

Also, the strength of the latest Wi-Fi 6 compatible routers is not only the improvement of communication speed. First, Wi-Fi 6 is strong when communicating with multiple devices. Nowadays, not only PCs and smartphones, but also printers, smart speakers, game consoles, TVs and other home appliances use Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi 6 is more efficient than Wi-Fi 5 in communicating to multiple devices, so it's more powerful in situations like watching a video next to someone enjoying a game on Wi-Fi.

In addition, Wi-Fi 6 communication also incorporates a function called "Target Wake Time (TWT)" that suppresses the power consumption of the connected device, and according to ASUS, the power consumption on the device side to maintain Wi-Fi communication. Is said to be reduced to a maximum of 1/7. However, the functions in this area can show their true value by matching the device side that communicates with the Wi-Fi router to Wi-Fi 6, so not all of the functions can be realized immediately.

However, the Wi-Fi router is one of the most troublesome peripherals to replace once you start using it. In particular, changing the Wi-Fi settings of home appliances and smart XX devices is often troublesome. And there will be more and more Wi-Fi 6 capable devices in the future. That's why if you buy a Wi-Fi router now, updating to a new Wi-Fi 6 router should save you some effort in the future.

When there are multiple devices that use Wi-Fi communication, Wi-Fi 5 (left) sends data one device at a time from the router, which increases the lag, but Wi-Fi 6 (right) Data can be sent to multiple devices at the same time with one communication (excerpt from ASUS website)

With Wi-Fi 5, the Wi-Fi circuit is energized while waiting for communication, but with Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi can be put to sleep between standbys, so Wi-Fi power consumption Can be suppressed to up to 1/7

Wi-Fi 6 not only has a high communication speed, but also has a long range of radio waves. According to ASUS, the coverage area of ​​radio waves is 80% wider than Wi-Fi 5, but ...