Asus today announced RT-AC88U, an ultra-fast AC3100-class dual-band 802.11ac wireless router with a four-transmit, four-receive (4×4) antenna configuration. This high-performance, easy-to-use router uses Broadcom NitroQAM technology to deliver a combined dual-band data rate of up to 3167Mbit/s — 2167Mbit/s on the 5GHz band and 1000Mbit/s on the 2.4GHz band. Asus RT-AC88U uses Broadcom NitroQAM (1024-QAM) technology to boost maximum Wi-Fi speeds on both the 5GHz and 2.4GHz frequency bands by up to 25%. With NitroQAM, 5GHz speeds can be improved from 1734Mbit/s to 2167Mbit/s, and at 2.4GHz speeds are boosted from 800Mbit/s to 1000Mbit/s. This gives RT-AC88U a combined total data speed of up to 3167Mbit/s for lag-free, low-latency online gaming; smooth streaming of 4K/UHD (ultra-high definition) movies and blindingly-fast file-sharing.
The four-antenna design combined with Asus AiRadar and universal beamforming ensure that RT-AC88U gives superb multi-device performance with wide, reliable and fast coverage. Online gaming enthusiasts will also appreciate the fact that RT-AC88U is the world’s first router with a built-in gaming accelerator powered by the Gamers Private Network (GPN®) from WTFast for the ultimate low-ping gaming experience. Other innovations in RT-AC88U include support for 802.3ad Link Aggregation, which allows two Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports to be combined into a super-fast 2Gbit/s wired connection.
GPN can reduce average game ping times by 30-60%, lower average speed deviations by 70-90%, and cut bad router hops by 70-90%. By routing gaming data packets automatically via the most efficient internet route, packet loss is reduced, ensuring a responsive and frustration-free gaming experience. GPN supports virtually all competitive multi-player online games, and has optimized settings for many of the most popular titles. The game accelerator is integrated into RT-AC88U’s easy-to-use ASUSWRT graphical user interface, so it consumes no system resources on the game device. This also means that the benefits can be experienced on any gaming platform — including Windows, Mac OS, Linux and game consoles — regardless of the manufacturer or operating system.
For the ultra-high-performance wired networking demanded by smart homes, RT-AC88U has eight Gigabit Ethernet network ports — twice as many as a standard router — and supports 802.3ad Link Aggregation, technology usually only found in professional networking equipment. Link Aggregation allows users to combine two of RT-AC88U’s Gigabit Ethernet ports into a single 2Gbit/s wired connection, using two network cables between the router and a compatible device. With eight Gigabit LAN ports, users can now connect even more devices to their home network without the need for expensive extra network switches.
