Product Comparison: ASUS (RT-AC86U) vs NETGEAR Nighthawk X4S (R7800)

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Best Pick

ASUS (RT-AC86U) Wi-Fi Dual-band Gigabit Wireless Router

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NETGEAR Nighthawk X4S (R7800) Smart Wi-Fi Router

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General Specifications

Brand

ASUS

Netgear

Model

RT-AC86U

Nighthawk X4S (R7800)

Origin

Taiwan

China

About the Product

ASUS RT-AC86U Wi-Fi AC2900 USB 3.0 Router with AiProtection powered by Trend Micro, WTFast game accelerator inside for free, link aggregation, adaptive QoS, ASUS router app support, Dual-WAN 3G/4G support. Operating frequency is 2.4 GHz / 5 GHz

Nighthawk® X4S AC2600 Smart WiFi Router with 160MHz, MU-MIMO and Quad Stream technology delivers WiFi to multiple devices simultaneously for faster speeds. Whether gaming or streaming, you're getting 160MHz bandwidth that ensures low-ping and best stream quality.

Key Specs

Wi-Fi Speed

2900 Mbps

2600 Mbps

Number Of LAN Ports

Frequency Band

2.4 GHz, 5 GHz

Wi-Fi Speed
Number Of LAN Ports

What customers say about "Key Specs"

ASUS (RT-AC86U) Wi-Fi Dual-band Gigabit Wireless Router

Speeds are very good, my daughter gets the same download speed on Wi-Fi in her bedroom that we get via an Ethernet cable (75MB/Sec), which is an impressive result that I had hoped for, but not expected.
Great WiFi speds and throughput. Easy to set up, easy to configure and looks like it is well supported by firmware updates.
Great speed and hasn't dropped out once since I got it.
Upgraded from the Asus 68U to this one and the wi-fi range is considerably better and so are the download and upload speeds, I highly recommend it.
Much better speeds than my previous router also good design!

NETGEAR Nighthawk X4S (R7800) Smart Wi-Fi Router

The speeds of the wi-fi are very good, recommended!
The speed this thing connects is amazing. My Macbook Pro connects at nearly gigabit speeds.
The speed i'm getting is consistently fast even with 6-8 devices connected on the router.
Much quicker with than the supplied router, pages load quicker, speed tests go straight to 300Mbps, the supplied router takes a few seconds to build upto 300Mpbs.
Very fast, reliable and powerful at 5 GHz!

Size & Weight

Color

Black

Height

3.3 in.

1.97 in.

Width

8.7 in.

11.22 in.

Depth

6.3 in.

7.26 in.

Weight

1.9 lbs.

1.85 lbs.

Network

QoS Traffic Prioritization

Yes

Auto Speed Sensing

Yes

Number Of WAN Ports

Wireless Standard

Wireless - AC

Ethernet Standard

10/100/1000

Number of Antennas

Ethernet Switch

Yes

What customers say about "Network"

ASUS (RT-AC86U) Wi-Fi Dual-band Gigabit Wireless Router

This router is amazing - the WiFi is streaming perfectly all over the house - even up to our teenagers attic bedroom and halfway across our garden.
I do love this router it might not have as many antennas as others at this price point but decent range.
It has an excellent range, was easy to set-up. Recommended!
Incredible wifi coverage/range -ideal for large homes and large gardens.
The router works very well, with a very good range, nice design and color.

NETGEAR Nighthawk X4S (R7800) Smart Wi-Fi Router

Excellent coverage with no drop-outs and high-speed switching.
So this is a great router. Quick, great wifi coverage and speeds.
Range in my old house with rather solid walls is excellent, ease of setting up guest networks and managing resources makes it very versatile.
Range covers the whole house and garden and bandwidth to my Alienware laptop (Killer wireless) is almost as good as the wired connection to the desktop.
The range is surprisingly much lower than I expected.

Security

Data Encryption

Yes

Encryption Type

64-bit WEP, 128-bit WEP, WPA-PSK/WPA2-PSK, WPA-Enterprise, WPA2-Enterprise, WPS support

WPA/WPA2—PSK

Parental Controls

Yes

Security Features

Network service filter, URL filter, Port filter, VPN support

Customized free URL to set up personal FTP server, VPN support, Guest network access, SPI and NAT firewall, DoS

What customers say about "Security"

ASUS (RT-AC86U) Wi-Fi Dual-band Gigabit Wireless Router

Having devices running through the WAN or the tunnel of the VPN connection, wit ha kill switch, is very easy. As is port forwarding.
I love the fact that it comes with a lifetime subscription to TrendMicro security which checks for all types of malware etc.
Strong signal, adaptive QoS, traffic monitor, ability to break down traffic by apps/clients is a plus.
Fast, strong wireless, excellent security features.
Good security features, and the 5Ghz wireless is very stable.

NETGEAR Nighthawk X4S (R7800) Smart Wi-Fi Router

Very happy customer and at long last a router that does not require any compromise between speed, security and ease of management.
Do not trust all the reviews that forget to check how long the lists of bug fixes are and how well security is implemented.
I liked this router for its security settings. Set parental controls with OpenDNS is really easy.
There are routers that are more secure, more stable and cheaper you could buy.
The Parental controls are simply OpenDNS settings that you can do yourself for free at anytime on any router (almost).

Warranty / Certifications

Manufacturer Warranty

1 year(s)

Certifications

CE, FCC

FCC, CE

Other Information

Manufacturer

Link

Manual

Download