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When we first heard about Smart Connect, the immediate reaction was that it sounded like a gimmick. But our test results show it offers significant benefits when using wireless devices at very long range, although it does seem slightly temperamental.
At 10m it appears Smart Connect chose to downgrade our (client-to-server) speed to 802.11n, but we had better results when testing using the standard 802.11ac 5GHz network at this distance.
It’s a brand new feature, and perhaps Asus’ engineers need to refine its behaviour slightly. The user can also tweak the rules for it themselves in the setup page, although this is the least user-friendly page of settings on the router.
But otherwise the software really is brilliant. There are loads of useful things in there, many of which we’ve tried to document on the previous few pages. Our favourite is the real-time bandwidth monitor, as it’s a great way to see which machine on your network is causing download speeds to slow to a crawl.
We’d choose either the Asus RT-AC3200, or the Asus RT-AC87U for the great software alone, given both use offer a similar range of features and perform more than adequately when using a standard 3×3 802.11ac client. The real question then is, which one?
If you live in a small flat, or use your computer in the same room as the router, Smart Connect might not be that useful. But it could come into its own in a larger house.
The 4×4 speeds of the RT-AC87U are better than anything the RT-AC3200 can manage, but to get them, you’ll need to buy extra hardware. The RT-AC3200 has an advantage at range, the (server-to-client) results at 20m distance when Smart Connect is enabled are really most impressive. 350mbps at 20m distance is a great result.
Both are on pricey side for 802.11ac routers as well. You can buy a competing router for about £100 now, and performance and the built-in software will still be reasonable.
It’s entirely your choice, but regardless, the RT-AC3200 is still one of the best wireless routers money can buy.
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Pros:
- Superb software, packed with useful tools.
- Smart Connect improves performance at range.
- Adequate performance from USB storage, supported with software features to manage media server, torrent downloading and so on.
Cons:
- One of the most expensive 802.11ac routers.
- Its benefits may not be necessary for everyone.
KitGuru Says: With brilliant software and exceptional performance at long distance, it’s a tough choice between this and the Asus 4×4 RT-AC87U router.
