Computex 2014: The ASUS RT-AC3200, a six-stream 802.11ac Router with MIMO
by Ian Cutress on June 2, 2014 11:00 AM EST- Posted in
- router
- Asus
- 802.11ac
- Computex 2014
Part of the market in WiFi communications is calling out for more bandwidth. The advent of high-resolution video and the limitations of gigabit Ethernet mean that in an environment where media consumption is priority, bandwidth is a key element in that equation. Current 802.11ac devices are shipped with either a single or dual stream module (perhaps the odd one with a three-stream), which in return requires a receiver with a similar number of streams as a minimum to have the best connection. So at this point, ASUS has announced the RT-AC3200, a six-stream 802.11ac router capable of up to 3.2 Gbps.
The router also features tri-band MIMO, allowing the device to give full bandwidth to more than one device at a time as well as act as a repeater. Additional features on the router include beam-forming to strengthen connectivity, SmartConnect to adjust to the best band for clients and Adaptive QoS for traffic optimization. AiProtection with Trend Micro will provide protection from external attacks, and the RT-AC3200 is accessed via the ASUSWRT interface.
As the number of streams increases in routers, what I would like to see is a similar increase in devices that use 802.11ac WiFi, especially in the desktop PC segment. This could be either as a PCIe card or as a built-in module, however someone will have to design a smart antenna in order to incorporate the whole thing at the rear of a desktop.
Everyone loves knowing pricing and availability, which I hope to obtain later this week when visiting the ASUS booth.
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jjj - Monday, June 2, 2014 - link
This sounds a lot like the Broadcom BS marketing so maybe try to get more details on what chip they are using and how much of that 3.2 Gbp is ac.winterspan - Monday, June 2, 2014 - link
MU-MIMO support?steven75 - Monday, June 2, 2014 - link
I'll check back on this model in a year when the inevitable 1.0 software bugs have all been worked out. You could say I'm *not exactly* confident in software from a company that shipped a product with FTP enabled by default with no password.http://gadgets.ndtv.com/internet/news/asus-router-...
azazel1024 - Monday, June 2, 2014 - link
From all that I have heard/seen, no MU:MIMO, which makes it kind of worthless.It is Broadcom Xstream in it. From all that I can tell, unless you can bridge between another similar "AC3200" router, its totally wasted. At best you might find a client with 3:3 setup.
There is some talk of 2 5GHz radios and 1 2.4GHz radio...though really that should be 6 and 3. Though I get the feeling reading some of the marketing speak on it ("detects older wifi devices and keeps them from slowing down your new stuff" paraphrased) I am wondering if it is tri-band. 2.4GHz and two seperate 5GHz bands. So you can have it running on, say, channel 36 AND a seperate one running on channel 153 for example plus 2.4GHz.
That could possibly leverage some of that by being able to connect devices on seperate bands/frequencies and sure interesting, but not MU:MIMO. Also, Asus, terrible marketing speak. "Penta core processor"...no its a dual core and you are claiming the pair of 5GHz and 2.4GHz "radios" are part of the processor. They are likely signal processors and don't have a lot to do with the actual CPU itself, which is dual core and a 1GHz design.
AMv8(1day) - Monday, August 25, 2014 - link
To be honest, if they are running at the reported 2.96GHz, I don't care if it IS a badly worded dual core. This thing will still be easily the most powerful router on the market, especially considering Asus' new/current flagship; the RT87U only runs at a dual core 1000MHz.B.James - Monday, June 2, 2014 - link
3 radios... 1x2.4ghz, 2x5ghz... I also bet they had to put hard filters to prevent the DFS channels from being usable.Jay77 - Monday, June 2, 2014 - link
Ya sure that isn't a set piece from Game of Thrones?jdrch - Tuesday, June 3, 2014 - link
I'm expecting a $300 price tag.jdrch - Tuesday, June 3, 2014 - link
I'm expecting a $300 price tag.I am as mad as hell - Thursday, June 26, 2014 - link
only 4 LAN ports, hmm..... that would be an issue for me!