ASUS RT-AC3200 Tri-band Wi-Fi Router Review

Asus RT-AC3200 Wi-Fi router is designed for homes where multiple users access internet using the wireless connectivity and eager for maximum bandwidth. The Asus tri-band router is huge and has six antennas for maximum coverage. It not only looks big, it is huge if consider other home routers. At the front etc. It also houses a USB 3.0 port behind a removable panel on the lower-right side.

It uses SmartConnect technology to direct wireless clients to one of the three bands (one 2.4GHz band and two 5GHz bands) for optimal performance and employs Beamforming technology to deliver a strong signal to each client. It also supports Dual WAN, which lets you use a secondary WAN connection as a backup to your primary connection.

The router is loaded with multimedia and management features, all of which are accessible via a Web interface. This allows you to monitor connected clients and USB devices. You can change the security settings as per your needs. There is a Guest Network section as well that lets you set up restricted access to your network for guests. It also features Adaptive Quality of Service (QoS) which enable admin to prioritize bandwidth for specific applications like gaming and video streaming. RT-AC3200 comes with Asus AiProtection feature that uses Trend Micro's Smart Home Network solution to monitor and detect malware and viruses and block malicious sites. This also has comprehensive parental control that lets you schedule browsing and app filtering.

In addition, it also includes usual wireless SSID, bandwidth, authentication method, and WPS settings. With several advanced features, including RADIUS server settings, MAC filtering, and wireless bridge settings, this router also comes with the Wireless Professional Settings. This enables you to change wireless parameters such as beacon intervals, multicast rates, and Beamforming, and the Firewall settings offer Denial of Service (DoS) protection, URL and keyword filtering, and an IPv6 firewall.

We tested the signal performance of tri-band Asus router on 2.4 GHz band using an isolated ‘N’ network with the router connected to two machines, one wirelessly and the other with cable. Using the ‘Qcheck 3.0′ benchmark we checked average throughput with a 1000 KB payload. In this test, it clocked at speed of 96 MBPS. We transferred 61 MB of data from one machine to the other and here too, the time of 13 seconds. It performed well in every test, just we were not happy with the file transfer speed. Using Wi-Fi Network Analyzer, we tested the wireless speed of the router and it resulted 86 MBPS of speed and -46 dbm of signal strength. While on 5 GHz it delivered 168 Mbps of speed using isolated 'N' network.

The overall experience of the router was really good, it can be setup easily and delivers good wireless range even at the corners of the room.