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ASUS RT-AC86U vs ROG Rapture GT-AC2900 Flash/Hack
OK, so I have been looking at the specs of both the RT-AC86U and the ROG Rapture GT-AC2900
As far as I can tell, they are the same Hardware with maybe an LED Controller, so in reality, the RT-AC86U could be flashed with ROG Rapture GT-AC2900 firmware to enhance gaming etc.
I am tempted to try this as never tried an ASUS ROG Gaming Router, then if it works and I like the ROG UI, I could purchase the official ROG Rapture GT-AC2900 and convert back again the RT-AC86U
I did the same with my old Netgear R7800 and flashed it with Netgear XR500 Firmware (same hardware) , I liked it so much I then brought the XR500 outright, shame updates are so so slow for the XR500, hence why looking at the ROG Rapture GT-AC2900 as an alternative
The Sales pitch does state the GT-AC2900 is “NVIDIA-certified GeForce Now recommended router” but whether this is an added chip to the circuit board or just a tick box exercise (with code) I do not know ?
In a completely sane world, madness is the only freedom (J.G.Ballard).
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what’s difference between RT and GT series ? what features does GT have that RT doesn’t ?
Trying is everything, under the hood is the same hardware, not sure if the RT-AC86U has an internal Areal that the GT-AC2900 does not, but from my Gaming perspective, I am interested in trying the NVIDIA’s GeForce NOW recommended program. GeForce NOW is a cloud gaming service that turns your PC, Mac and SHIELD TV into a powerful gaming rig, streaming games at up 1080p60 with low latency. The ROG Rapture GT-AC2900 incorporates prioritized port assignments, an automatic QoS profile that kicks in for GeForce NOW, and the ability to dedicate up to 90% bandwidth.
Like most things in life, there is the sales pitch (above) and I am keen to see just how good the ROG is for QOS, packet shaping/prioritisation/bufferbloat/queue discipline is etc. and whether there is much difference to the RT-AC86U from a Gaming perspective (PC/Console).
GeForce NOW cloud gaming and the Game Radar function to look at ping status for various global game servers is of interest to myself. (new toy to play with)
In a completely sane world, madness is the only freedom (J.G.Ballard).
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I have used the Netgear XR500 with a VPN to Germany for Gaming and also tried my RT-AC86U (Merlin) with same config VPN for gaming, the XR500 (for gaming) is far superior, as it is a dedicated gaming device, will be interesting if same VPN in GT-AC2900 performs as well as the XR500
In a completely sane world, madness is the only freedom (J.G.Ballard).
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Really, in SNB they all say RT-AC86U is good for upto 250Mb/s and so mostly limited by VPN providers.
Eric’s (RMerlin) work with his VPN’s for the RT’s is excellent, It was noticed that when we had the VPN to Germany, gameplay/response was a little Juddery/dull, as compared to the Netgear XR500 and we (Son and I) have tested over a few months (different times of day/night weekends) etc. etc. etc.
Throughput and stability of the ASUS VPN was excellent, but I assume either it was due to the XR500 being Qualcomm chipset or the que discipline for VPN traffic is different etc. etc.
Hopefully the GT-AC2900 will be as good as XR500 for VPN gameplay
In a completely sane world, madness is the only freedom (J.G.Ballard).
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I converted my RT-AC86U to run GT-AC2900 this morning (I will post a couple of images later this week) and so far the UI looks really cool, underneath it has much the same functions as say ASUSWRT, but I am liking the VPN Fusion option which allows multiple VPN servers/Tunnels to be added and then you can nominate individual clients to use whichever VPN servers/tunnel you wish, much like ASUSWRT-Merlin does via his Firmware.
GeForce Now QOS (as in attached image) is a unique QoS mode for Geforce NOW (by Nvidia) enabled devices (e.g. Nvidia shield TV). By enabling the Geforce NOW QoS mode, your router will reserve the required bandwidth, wireless mode, and QoS priority for Geforce NOW enabled devices defined by Nvidia. (taken from GeForce Now QoS)
I am yet to use this option, but does seem like the devices as defined by GeForce Now QoS are cloud based optimisation/streaming service, but unsure if devices have to be made/supplied by Nvidia ???
Also equally unsure if this means all data runs via Nvidia servers to use this Service (data harvesting) maybe, which could explain why it free to use on the GT-AC2900
But I am naturally suspicious thinking type of chap
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Yes, because I plan to convert back my RT-AC86U to run ASUSWRT-Merlins firmware, I have not modified any system files etc. etc.
So I Factory Reset RT-AC86U, then put it into recovery mode and flashed using ASUS Recovery tool with an old (first release) of the GT-AC2900 Firmware.
As long as the router is not then factory reset, it pick ups latest GT-AC
19002900 firmware when it goes online after manual configuration.At one point (I was testing) I flashed the RT-AC86U with GT-AC2900 firmware and then performed a factory reset, after the reboot and configuring the RT-AC86U, it notified me there was an update, which I applied and it resorted back to the RT-AC86U ASUSWRT UI.
Early days yet, but looks good and works well, only have noticed that the option for Game Port Prioritiation > (level 1) > there is not an option to Select “Dedicated gaming port that prioritizes network traffic to connected devices”. This maybe due to Firmware not being as good as it should be ?
But for testing purposes, very happy I am
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I have noticed Sometimes RT-AC86U after setting router to reboot does stays down, but early days for the GT (RT-AC86U) and will let you know if I see similar behaviour with modified RT-AC86U
Update: I Have rebooted the RT-AC86U three consecutive mornings and so far it starts as expected, will leave it running for a few days and see if issue appears over time and after a reboot via UI etc.
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The Flash Hacked RT-AC86U (2017 model) is still up and running, I plan to reboot tomorrow to see if it starts correctly (or not)
The Router has a few issues, Wifi / DNS etc. I assume because as Firmware was first introduced in April 2019, the firmware is still young ?
I disable the LED Controller, so this did not seem to cause any issues and for testing it is going well
Update: Well I rebooted the RT-AC86U this morning and the router rebooted as expected, I have since flashed the RT-AC86U back with ASUSWRT-Merlin as missing the options a fully functional ASUSWRT-Merlin Router
Note: Will be interesting to try this experiment in say 6-12 months time, when the GT-AC2900 firmware has matured somewhat and then I can see if it is worth buying the GT-AC2900 outright (prices may have dropped a little more also)
In a completely sane world, madness is the only freedom (J.G.Ballard).
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