Asus RT-AX82U Review
If you’re looking for a great gaming router that will not disappoint in its features and speed, the Asus RT-AX82U router is the best choice. It’s designed for gamers and it has excellent features like a gaming port, OpenNAT, and adaptive QoS not forgetting its cute design that you will love.
As a gamer, you might think that the best gaming router is one with the best performing hardware and a huge RAM with bandwidth speed for your connection to help you with big downloads and simultaneous access for multiple gamers. However, for high-speed online games, you’ll need low latency which is the time it takes an electronic signal to go from your computer or gaming console to the router server that’s hosting the game and vice versa or a ping. With a better router, you can improve the latency to a certain degree.
Table of Contents
RT-AX82U router review and breakdown
- New-generation WiFi 6 router: Ultrafast speeds up to 5400 Mbps with the latest WiFi 6 (802.11ax) and...
- Mobile Game Mode: Minimize lag and latency for mobile gaming with just a tap on the ASUS Router app
The Asus RT-AX82U is a fancy trapezoid-shaped dual-band wifi 6 router that will allow you to enjoy fast and smooth games, especially mobile gamers who are looking for an ultrafast and stable gaming network. It can deliver ultrafast speeds of up to 5400 Mbps and it’s designed with advanced technology including low latency, energy-efficient, longer range, faster speeds, and mobile game mode for a lag-freegaming experience. It has a futuristic design with beautiful Aura RGB dynamic lights with a not too big or bulky frame and 4 non-removable antennas at the back. Between the antennas are 4 gigabit LAN ports, a gigabit WAN port, and a USB 3.0 port. This router is best suited for an open area so it can add some disco party effect to your surrounding with its flashy light effects.
The Asus RT-AX82U is a muted version of the Asus RT-AX86U with less processing power, wifi specs, and no multi-gig port so you can’t get more than 1GB of network speed out of your router. The Asus AiProtection Pro with parental controls will provide full protection for all connected devices including your gaming smartphone. The router also supports AiMesh technology that allows you to use it in a mesh network with other compatible AiMesh routers to create a seamless home network.
What we liked
- An adaptive QoS that prioritizes network traffic
- Low latency wifi
- Has a mobile game mode
- Multi-color mode with a variety of lighting effects
- Longer range
- Unique mesh-networking technology
- Advanced parental controls
What we didn’t like
- Doesn’t have a multi-gig network port
- Can’t be wall-mounted
- No support for WTFast gamer VPN
Asus RT-AX82U specs
Model |
Asus RT-AX82U |
Type |
Wireless router |
Wireless class |
AX5400 |
Processor |
Broadcom BCM6750 1.5 GHz triple-core processor |
RAM |
512MB |
Flash |
256MB |
Ports |
One USB 3.2 Gen port, 4 LAN gigabit ports, one WAN port ( 10/100/1000) |
Wireless technology |
Wifi 6 (802.11ax) |
Wireless security |
WPA-Enterprise, WPA2 encryption, WPA2 enterprise, WPS3-persona, WPS |
Wifi network frequency |
2.4 GHz, 5 GHz |
Quality antennas |
4 |
Availability |
Asus RT-AX82U features
Ultra-powerful wifi 6
The Asus RT-AX82U is a gaming router that can deliver all the benefits of the new wifi 6 standard with full compatibility with other wifi devices. The wifi 6 technology provides faster speeds, longer range, higher network efficiency, and longer battery life for all your connected devices. The wifi 6 in Asus RT-AX82U uses 160 MHz channels to give you a combined overall speed of up to 5400 Mbps. The wifi 6 also combines with MU-MIMO and OFDMA technology to provide increased network efficiency and capacity in different devices in your home and better wifi signal coverage range. This will reduce the wifi dead spots to give you a more reliable wifi connection for all the devices in your home and uninterrupted downloads and streaming.
Security protocol
When you have multiple devices connected to your network, you must get home network security, especially if some of your devices don’t have anti-virus capabilities like your smartphones. To ensure maximum security, the Asus RT-AX82U supports the latest WPA3 wireless security protocol that comes with a free Asus AiProtection Pro subscription for lifetime to provide commercial-grade security and advanced parental controls. It will protect all the devices that are connected to your network even your smartphones. You can use the built-in AiMesh in Asus RT-AX82U as a mode or controller in your mesh network with other compatible routers to provide your entire home with good wifi coverage, seamless roaming, and eliminate dead spots.
Bold gaming design
The Asus RT-AX82U has a very attractive design that gives it that full-on gaming vibe with its sleek geometric lines and 4 non-removable antennas at the back. At the front are Aura RGB lighting effects that come with multi-color modes with hundreds of colors that you can customize to align with specific modes to create a personalized experience. You can also set it at a static pattern if you want a calmer mood.
Unlimited games
The dedicated game networking port can help to increase the network priority of your wired devices. It doesn’t have any complicated settings, you just need to connect your gaming console or computer to the special LAN port and you’re set to enjoy a fast and stable connection and ensures all your connected devices are always in front of the queue.
Low latency gaming experience
The adaptive quality of service (QoS) feature will allow you to keep the network working smoothly by prioritizing your network traffic. This means it will ensure that it allocates bandwidth to all the prioritized tasks and applications. This feature requires minimal work and is very effective. It also comes with a bandwidth monitor in case you want to keep an eye on who’s using the most internet and the web history to show the sites visited. The bandwidth limiter will allow you to set limits for the download and upload speeds. You can also increase the priority of various applications like games, streaming videos, and web surfing. This will eliminate network hurdles so you can enjoy a low latency game that is lag-free.
Wifi coverage for your entire house
The Asus RT-AX82U supports AiMesh network technology which is very unique because it allows the use of multiple Asus routers to form a mesh network for your entire house making it easier to play mobile games in any room in your house. It will provide you with seamless roaming capabilities and a very simple centralized control so you don’t need to be a professional to build, connect, and configure the settings of the existing AiMesh router. You can rest easy knowing that there will be no dead zones with your wifi signal.
Eliminate wifi congestion
The Asus RT-AX82Uis a dual-band router that uses both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, bands. When you connect your devices to the 5 GHz band, you avoid the frequent congestion in the 2.4 GHz band and you enjoy faster speeds on the 5 GHz band. Also, the dynamic frequency selection (DFS) feature can release up to 15 channels that won’t be congested on the 5 GHz band which will give you more gaming bandwidth.
Who is it best suited for?
The Asus RT-AX82U is a pretty decent gaming router that would suit your home if you prefer to control your home network through a dedicated mobile application. The application is available on both your iOS and Android devices. With the mobile game mode, you can lower your latency for mobile gaming and ensure you get a smoother gaming experience that is lag-free. This will be the best router, especially when your friends come to your home to play some games together.
Are there any alternatives to the RT-AX82U?
Among the best alternative gaming routers that you’ll find in the market apart from the RT-AX82U include the RT-AX88U, RT-AX86U, and the GT-AX11000. These 3 gaming routers have excellent performance, great features, and powerful software that will make your gaming experience more enjoyable.
Features of the alternative wifi 6 routers
Model |
RT-AX88U |
RT-AX86U |
GT-AX11000 |
Type |
Wireless router |
Wireless router |
Wireless router |
Speeds |
AX6000 |
AX5700 |
AX11000 |
LAN ports |
8 |
4 |
4 |
Antennas |
4 |
3 |
8 |
Processor |
Quad-core 1.8 GHz |
Quad-core 1.8 GHz |
Quad-core 1.8 GHz |
Features |
MU-MIMO, traffic analyzer, link aggregation, adaptive QoS, WTFast gamer private network |
MU-MIMO, adaptive QoS, link aggregation-802.03ad, traffic analyzer, parental control, router app, AiProtection Pro |
WTFast gamer private network, adaptive QoS, link aggregation, traffic analyzer, MU-MIMO, AiProtection |
Connectivity technology |
USB, wireless, wired |
Wifi and wired |
USB, wireless, wired |
Availability |
Final verdict. Should you get the Asus RT-AX82U?
Yes, you should. The Asus RT-AX82U is a pretty good gaming router with excellent performance and the mobile game mode is an added feature that will ensure you experience a better gameplay experience. Also, its powerful processor and other gaming features allow you to utilize the router to its full potential.
FAQ
Which Asus router has the best range?
The RT-AC88U is a standalone router with the best range of up to 5000 sq. feet of coverage, a ton of ports, and adaptive QoS features to prioritize gaming. This router has all the features you need for your home network.
Do all Asus routers support AiMesh?
AiMesh can only work if you already have an Asus router that supports it.