I'm in love with my Asus RT-66U Dark Knight router. Most i've spent on a router but damn, its freaking worth every penny! I don't use alot of the feature on it anyway, even N speeds, but its nice to know i've got future room
You said it. Past experience tells us that drafts should be avoided until there's confirmation that it's final, and that Netgear tends to be underwhelming.
I just bought the RT-N66U myself. It restored my faith in Wireless N and the 2.4 GHz band, while solidifying 5 Ghz as the best option if you want speed.
Yeah, i've tried a netgear 3700N and 3800 premium routers and I just was not impressed at all. And seriously, who the hell makes a router were the status LED's don't blink to indicated traffic activity. Total fail Netgear.
My Linksys E3000 from last year only lasted several months before it started to loose connection randomly, likely cause it ran so warm. I even had it propped up on rubber legs to keep it running cooler to no avail. Then I tried a E4200 and I was bummed out that Cisco is still in 1995 GUI land, its just not acceptable by todays standards and it also ran warm even propped up.
RT-66U hasn't flinched since I got it up and running last month, it runs warm with both radios running but that big ass heatsink keeps in in check, even during my torrenting sessions.
oh, and their is a new .112 firmware that fixes the autocheck for firmware, so people can stop bitching about that now. But seriously, how hard is it to download the firmware from website, go to into router and point it to the file? Too much apparently for some peeps....
It's all about custom firmware for any router. The e3000 is great with Tomato or openwrt. A little under powered, and lacking in flash, but it works fine. And it handles far more connections than the default build.
Personally my favorite so far is the WNDR3800, which is completely open source (wireless drivers and all).
It's benefiting by getting all the latest patches, performance tuning, and buffer bloat is non-existent on it with special firmware.
What does the RT-N66U add that my NetGear WNDR3700v2 running OpenWRT doesn't have, apart from another spatial stream (300Mbps versus 450Mbps), which itself isn't a big deal since none of my 802.11n wireless devices support more than 300Mbps anyhow?
Reliable uptime is #1 for me. Which is why if I were to buy a new router I'd go with an Airport Extreme. There isn't anything that's less worry free. I too have had great experiences with Asus routers, but every now and then people do have issues with them, that usually stem from quality control IMO. This is much more so with other manufacturers of course. As for the N66U, I'm sure it'll prove great. Though it does seem a bit silly to comment on it's reliability when it's such a new device. That's something that would be proven after the 1 year mark of ownership at least for me.
Excellent range. Better than anything else I've seen. Speed is also impressive. Can't comment on uptime since I use it as an access point, but everyone is impressed with its reliability. It's also compatible with most alternative router OSes (the stock is based on OpenWRT, I think)
It is defaulted to 80mW, max of 500mW in the router config page Wireless--> Professional tab "FCC: max. 500mW for North America."
I picked up the e4300 v2 (thought it was a v1 but it wasn't, and returned it a few days later) I was disappointed by the range and wireless performance even at close range. Tried a number of things, helped, but not what I hoped for.
Got my my mom a DIR-645 (coffee can looking router). EXCELLENT range and good overall performance...but no custom firmware possible (like the linksys e4200v2)
... Unless its been available for at least 3 months. I'll never buy Netgear again unless I'm sure that it works and REVIEWS are not to be trusted unless from somewhere like Amazon or the actual Netgear support forum.
Back in the G days it was possible to find good even great routers after not too much wait or looking. With the draft-N debacle, and all the final spec N garbage that came down the pipe, it tooks years of waiting to find halfway decent gear. I think it's worth waiting a LONG time before springing for anything AC.
Those of you with RT-66U could you get by with the next lower model - 56U. It does seem like a big step with 2 Internal (vs 3 External) antennas. I've not been happy with my WNDR 3700 - had great reviews, wanted a top of the line router for streaming video to my XBox 360 - bought the microsoft External N Adapter (with 2.4 GHz N and 5.0 GHz with dual external antennas). My biggest issue is the reliabillity - have to reset the Netgear an average of every week because the XBox loses the connection. I have Gigabit lan on my WHS 2011 and expected to get top notch performance and sometimes it seems to lag when streaming HD video (my Blue Rays are actually fairly compressed at about 3.5-4.0 GB per movie - looks good enough for me on my 60 Hz 1080p 46" LCD). I've been thinking about changing routers and this sounds like the one to get (although if I can get one with this performance for backwards compatiblity AND the new 802.11ac for not too much more i'd be willing to wait). Thanks for anyone who helps.
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16 Comments
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1ceTr0n - Tuesday, May 15, 2012 - link
I'm in love with my Asus RT-66U Dark Knight router. Most i've spent on a router but damn, its freaking worth every penny! I don't use alot of the feature on it anyway, even N speeds, but its nice to know i've got future roomericloewe - Tuesday, May 15, 2012 - link
You said it. Past experience tells us that drafts should be avoided until there's confirmation that it's final, and that Netgear tends to be underwhelming.I just bought the RT-N66U myself. It restored my faith in Wireless N and the 2.4 GHz band, while solidifying 5 Ghz as the best option if you want speed.
1ceTr0n - Tuesday, May 15, 2012 - link
Yeah, i've tried a netgear 3700N and 3800 premium routers and I just was not impressed at all. And seriously, who the hell makes a router were the status LED's don't blink to indicated traffic activity. Total fail Netgear.My Linksys E3000 from last year only lasted several months before it started to loose connection randomly, likely cause it ran so warm. I even had it propped up on rubber legs to keep it running cooler to no avail. Then I tried a E4200 and I was bummed out that Cisco is still in 1995 GUI land, its just not acceptable by todays standards and it also ran warm even propped up.
RT-66U hasn't flinched since I got it up and running last month, it runs warm with both radios running but that big ass heatsink keeps in in check, even during my torrenting sessions.
oh, and their is a new .112 firmware that fixes the autocheck for firmware, so people can stop bitching about that now. But seriously, how hard is it to download the firmware from website, go to into router and point it to the file? Too much apparently for some peeps....
hechacker1 - Tuesday, May 15, 2012 - link
It's all about custom firmware for any router. The e3000 is great with Tomato or openwrt. A little under powered, and lacking in flash, but it works fine. And it handles far more connections than the default build.Personally my favorite so far is the WNDR3800, which is completely open source (wireless drivers and all).
It's benefiting by getting all the latest patches, performance tuning, and buffer bloat is non-existent on it with special firmware.
Guspaz - Tuesday, May 15, 2012 - link
What does the RT-N66U add that my NetGear WNDR3700v2 running OpenWRT doesn't have, apart from another spatial stream (300Mbps versus 450Mbps), which itself isn't a big deal since none of my 802.11n wireless devices support more than 300Mbps anyhow?1ceTr0n - Tuesday, May 15, 2012 - link
Reliable uptime for one.EnzoFX - Friday, May 18, 2012 - link
Reliable uptime is #1 for me. Which is why if I were to buy a new router I'd go with an Airport Extreme. There isn't anything that's less worry free. I too have had great experiences with Asus routers, but every now and then people do have issues with them, that usually stem from quality control IMO. This is much more so with other manufacturers of course. As for the N66U, I'm sure it'll prove great. Though it does seem a bit silly to comment on it's reliability when it's such a new device. That's something that would be proven after the 1 year mark of ownership at least for me.ericloewe - Tuesday, May 15, 2012 - link
Excellent range. Better than anything else I've seen. Speed is also impressive. Can't comment on uptime since I use it as an access point, but everyone is impressed with its reliability.It's also compatible with most alternative router OSes (the stock is based on OpenWRT, I think)
1ceTr0n - Tuesday, May 15, 2012 - link
Oh yeah, how could I forget. The 3700 range was average in my 2 story townhouse but the 66U is full crank no matter where im at, its awesome!hechacker1 - Tuesday, May 15, 2012 - link
Do you got your 3700 outputting it's maximum of 500mW?I don't know of many other routers (besides the new Airports) that can crank out that much power.
It certainty covered my whole house any my neighbors.
Souka - Tuesday, May 15, 2012 - link
I have the RT-66U.. love it.It is defaulted to 80mW, max of 500mW
in the router config page Wireless--> Professional tab
"FCC: max. 500mW for North America."
I picked up the e4300 v2 (thought it was a v1 but it wasn't, and returned it a few days later) I was disappointed by the range and wireless performance even at close range. Tried a number of things, helped, but not what I hoped for.
Got my my mom a DIR-645 (coffee can looking router). EXCELLENT range and good overall performance...but no custom firmware possible (like the linksys e4200v2)
Anyhow... my $.02
damianrobertjones - Wednesday, May 16, 2012 - link
... Unless its been available for at least 3 months. I'll never buy Netgear again unless I'm sure that it works and REVIEWS are not to be trusted unless from somewhere like Amazon or the actual Netgear support forum.http://www.amazon.co.uk/Netgear-Wireless-Gigabit-A...
It didn't work and was never fixed (as far as I can tell).
slyck - Thursday, May 17, 2012 - link
Back in the G days it was possible to find good even great routers after not too much wait or looking. With the draft-N debacle, and all the final spec N garbage that came down the pipe, it tooks years of waiting to find halfway decent gear. I think it's worth waiting a LONG time before springing for anything AC.trivor - Saturday, May 19, 2012 - link
Those of you with RT-66U could you get by with the next lower model - 56U. It does seem like a big step with 2 Internal (vs 3 External) antennas. I've not been happy with my WNDR 3700 - had great reviews, wanted a top of the line router for streaming video to my XBox 360 - bought the microsoft External N Adapter (with 2.4 GHz N and 5.0 GHz with dual external antennas). My biggest issue is the reliabillity - have to reset the Netgear an average of every week because the XBox loses the connection. I have Gigabit lan on my WHS 2011 and expected to get top notch performance and sometimes it seems to lag when streaming HD video (my Blue Rays are actually fairly compressed at about 3.5-4.0 GB per movie - looks good enough for me on my 60 Hz 1080p 46" LCD). I've been thinking about changing routers and this sounds like the one to get (although if I can get one with this performance for backwards compatiblity AND the new 802.11ac for not too much more i'd be willing to wait). Thanks for anyone who helps.1ceTr0n - Saturday, May 19, 2012 - link
If you need maximum wireless performance, pony up the extra for the 66UShuxclams - Monday, May 21, 2012 - link
I bought the ASUS RT-N66U as well, and after fixing the login page issue got it going... man alive what an nice piece of equipment