With next-generation Wi-Fi capabilities and a high bandwidth ceiling, the
ASUS ROG GT-AC5300 will serve your home or small business for years to come.
PCMag calls the ASUS ROG GT-AC5300 "overkill" for most home users in its 4.5-star review, but serious gamers who want all the speed and optimization they can get should give it real consideration. This 4x4 tri-band router was conceived solely for the destruction of lag.
If you can't use Ethernet, the GT-AC5300 offers three different wireless bands working at the much more capable 1024-QAM spec to keep network congestion low. You get your standard cocktail of 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands supporting speeds up to 1 and 2.1 Gigabits, respectively. A third dedicated 5GHz band — also supporting up to 2.1 gigabits — is there for your most important connections.
Wireless signals are moved along with the help of eight dedicated antennas, as well as the latest wireless transmission technologies, like MU-MIMO and Beamforming. A 1.8GHz quad-core processor ensures it has enough power to handle all of this.
Of course, the best performance comes through Gigabit Ethernet, and the GT-AC5300 offers eight of those ports, two of which can be combined for 2-Gigabit performance. Two of the ports get automatic bandwidth priority over the others, allowing you to ensure your gaming consoles will always be in the express lane. Joined by them on the rear of the router are two USB 3.0 ports.
Being part of the Republic of Gamers (ROG) brand, ASUS has done a job and a half to help you fine-tune and optimize your network with ease. The "ROG Gaming Center" gives you browser- and app-based access to your dashboard that makes it easy to analyze and optimize traffic, manage QoS, use smart home automation capabilities, secure your network, and a whole lot more.
Pros: Tri-band 1024-QAM wireless, abundance of Ethernet, truly prioritizes gaming devices, great network management features
Cons: Can be costly, big footprint