ASUS RT-AC66U 802.11ac 1.75Gbps Wireless Router

August 13, 2012 Andy

RT-AC66U - If you can't differentiate RT-AC66U from RT-N66U. This should help you. :) — If you cannot differentiate the RT-N66U from the RT-AC66U. This should help you

Guess what I got? Yes, it is the ASUS RT-AC66U! To those who know me, this is nothing special to them as I am commonly known as the “router guy” or “NAS guy” to them.

This RT-AC66U is the latest offering from ASUS featuring the 802.11ac wireless standard. The 5th generation 802.11ac chipset delivers concurrent dual-band 2.4GHz/5GHz for up to a blazing fast speed of 1.75Gbps (450Mbps on the 2.4GHz and 1300Mbps on the 5GHz). The speed on the 5GHz channel is almost 3 times faster than 802.11n (up to 450Mbps)!

Technical Specifications

CPU	Broadcom BCM4706
Ethernet	Broadcom BCM4706
Switch	Broadcom BCM53125
Wireless	Broadcom BCM4360 and BCM4331
CPU Frequency	600MHz
NVRAM Size	64 kb
Flash Size	128MB
RAM	256MB
Wireless Standards	a/b/g/n/ac; Support dual-band 2.4GHz and 5GHz with speed up to 450Mbps and 1300Mbps respectively
Ports	4 x Gigabit LAN (with MDI-X); 1 x Gigabit WAN (with MDI-X)
Power adaptor	19V with max 1.58A
3rd Party Firmware support	Yes; Asuswrt-Merlin
Retail price	SG$329 (as of posting)
FCC Test report	MSQ-RTAC66U

Package Contents

RT-AC66U - Nice cool looking black box for the ASUS RT-AC66U. It kind of give off the "Black Label" type of feel — Nice cool looking black box for the ASUS RT-AC66U. It kind of give off the “Black Label” type of feel

The ASUS RT-AC66U packaging looks quite nice with its dark theme, giving it a “black label” type of feel. With its price at SG$329, it is certainly considered a premium router to own. With the good past track records (from RT-N56U and RT-N66U), this should be a good router to go for.

RT-AC66U - RT-AC66U 802.1AC Gigabit Router, RJ-45 cable, Support CD, Power adapter, Warranty card and Quick start guide — RT-AC66U 802.1AC Gigabit Router, RJ-45 cable, Support CD, Power adapter, Warranty card and Quick start guide

The package comes with:

RT-AC66U Dual Band 3×3 802.11AC Gigabit Router
RJ-45 cable
Support CD (user manual and utility software)
Kaspersky CD (with 1 year license for 1 PC)
Power adapter
Warranty card
Quick start guide

Design

RT-AC66U - Beneath these icons are blue leds — Beneath these icons are blue leds

Like the ASUS RT-N66U, you will find the router status indicators at the front of the router. These tiny icons (with blue backlit LED) keeps you updated with the status of the router (left to right):

Power
LAN 4
LAN 3
LAN 2
LAN 1
WAN
2.4GHz
5GHz
USB

RT-AC66U - The ports at the back (left to right) - power, power button, 2 x USB, reset, Gigabit WAN, 4 x Gigabit LAN, WPS — The ports at the back (left to right) – power, power button, 2 x USB, reset, Gigabit WAN, 4 x Gigabit LAN, WPS

The connectors at the back are:

3 x RP-SMA connector for the antennas
Power connector
Power button
2 x USB 2.0 ports
Reset button
1 x Gigabit WAN port
4 x Gigabit LAN port
WPS button

RT-AC66U - With the stand attached at the back — The RT-AC66U with the stand attached at the back

RT-AC66U - The stand snaps on to the mounting holes at the back of the RT-AC66U — The stand snaps on to the mounting holes at the back of the RT-AC66U

With the supplied stand attached, you can place the ASUS RT-AC66U in a standing position, further reducing the real estate. Who says all routers need to lay flat on the furnitures?

Well, performance testing is next! Keep your eyes peeled for the next posting!

Picture Gallery