ASUS brand new ROG Rapture GT-AXE16000 is the ultimate wireless router with the best specifications in the market now. That’s not an understatement as the GT-AXE16000 is the first Quad-Band Wi-Fi 6E AXE16000 router and it will be really fast with the Wi-Fi 6E 6GHz band and dual 5GHz network.
Everything about the GT-AXE16000 is optimized for performance and speed. It has dual 10G ports which is the fastest speed possible with LAN cables. There’s also a really fast 2.0GHz Quad-Core CPU and 2GB RAM. It’s essentially the best possible specifications that ASUS can fit into a consumer level product.
I really liked what ASUS is doing with the design of the GT-AXE16000. It looks and feel really premium in hand. Well, for RM3,488, I have high expectations and ASUS definitely passed. The looks of the infinity mirror and the halo effect of the ROG eye logo feels futuristic and properly premium.
Of course, the ROG division have not forgotten about adding some RGB into this product. The ROG eye logo lights up in a soft vibrant glow which looks really good at night. It’s possibly the best RGB they ever put on their wireless router. The lighting effects can be selected on the ASUS Router app or the web interface.
The GT-AXE16000 comes with eight antennas that are non-detachable. It is really solid with the upgraded tilt mechanism which is a welcomed improvement over the antennas on the GT-AX11000 that keep getting loose. There are also 4 additional internal antennas totalling 12 antennas for the quad-band Wi-Fi network.
Hardware and Specs
The GT-AXE16000 is a monster when it comes to specifications. It uses Broadcom’s BCM4912 SoC which comes with a 2.0GHz Quad-Core ARM A53 CPU and a whopping 2GB RAM. While that doesn’t sound like a lot, it’s one of the first consumer grade wireless router that comes with 2GB RAM.
I’m impressed by the comprehensive selection of ports including dual 10G Ethernet WAN/LAN ports, a single 2.5G port and 4x Gigabit Ethernet LAN port. There’s also two USB ports for file sharing features if you wish to use the router as a NAS file storage server.
By default, the 2.5G port is designated as the WAN port. It is possible to designate the 10G port as the WAN port or use dual WAN on this router. ASUS also provided a high quality CAT6 shielded Ethernet LAN cable with the product inside the box.
How fast is 6GHz?
The ROG Rapture GT-AXE16000 supported the 6GHz Wi-Fi band. Although availability is limited, it’s available on newer devices like the Samsung Galaxy S23 and the ROG Strix Scar 17 gaming laptop. Wi-Fi 6GHz is really fast and given the right condition, it might be faster than a Gigabit Ethernet connection.
When running speedtest at a short distance on a Wi-Fi 6E supported laptop, the 6GHz band is 20% faster than the 5GHz band on the GT-AXE16000. That’s probably because there are more than ten 5GHz Wi-Fi network around my home which is causing congestion to the 5GHz band.
Unlike the 5GHz band, the 6GHz Wi-Fi band is not shared with weather and military radar. This means when running on 160MHz bandwidth, it doesn’t need to use the slower DFS channels. There are also more channels on the 6GHz band which means it is less likely to become congested in the future.
Moving on to the 5GHz network long distance speed test, the GT-AXE16000 is faster than everything we’ve tested, including the ROG Rapture GT-AX6000 that performed really well. The GT-AXE16000 can provide a relatively good Wi-Fi speed even after 2 walls distance from the router on the 5GHz Wi-Fi network.
The performance on the 160MHz band is really impressive as well, bringing it really close to the speed of a physical Ethernet LAN cable over Wi-Fi even after 2 walls. If you are upgrading from the GT-AX11000, you’ll notice a rather significant improvement in speed and quality of the connection.
From a quality perspective, the Wi-Fi stability of the GT-AXE16000 is excellent. I do not notice any hiccups during my test period. However, some devices marketed with Wi-Fi 6E in the market do not actually support the 6GHz band. Software or driver updates might be required if your device cannot see the 6GHz network.
10G Speed Test
The GT-AXE16000 comes with dual 10G Ethernet ports. That’s definitely one of the first wireless routers with two 10G ports. And, ASUS will allow you to use one of them as the WAN port if you happen to have a 10G Internet connection in some countries like Japan or South Korea.
While I do not have a 10G Internet connection, I have 10G capable devices. The GT-AXE16000 can support up to 9.29Gbit/s on a local LAN to LAN iPerf3 speedtest. That’s on par with 10G switches which means the GT-AXE16000 will be a great combination with high-end NAS server.
I am unable to test the 10G WAN to LAN performance as I do not have a 10G Internet connection or the right equipment to simulate it. However, the LAN cable provided by ASUS in the box is able to support up to 10Gbps speed reliably.
USB Performance Test
I also tested how fast can the router share files on the network with a USB SSD connected to the router. The router will be using the Samba file sharing protocol supported natively by Windows and MacOS. My Windows desktop will be connected to the router with the 10G port.
The GT-AXE16000 USB file sharing speed is really fast. In fact, it is the fastest router that I’ve tested. This might be even faster than some entry level NAS servers. It’s actually feasible to use the GT-AXE16000 as a basic non-critical file storage server with this level of performance.
ASUSWRT Features
Being a gaming router, the most important features is how the router enhance the experience of playing games. And, the ROG Rapture GT-AXE16000 does not disappoint. It comes with several features to enhance gaming experience. I’ve tested some of them and they are not gimmicks.
The most important feature is the game acceleration feature. It’s basically an extension of ASUS AdaptiveQoS where it ensures gaming traffic is always prioritized. It can provide a lower, more consistent latency and prevent other devices from competing for bandwidth from the target device.
While it sounds really gimmicky, it does the job pretty well during my testing period. I tried to game while downloading files on another computer and it does not affect the latency or consistency of the game. On some routers, it might result in ping deviation but the GT-AXE16000 prevented that.
If you happen to own a ROG gaming laptop, desktop or motherboard, the router will automatically recognize them and prioritize them. This will ensure your gaming devices are always prioritized, preventing any potention congestion that might cause an increase in the latency or reduction in stability.
The router also comes with AiProtection Pro, a security suite powered by Trend Micro. It offers real-time protection against online threats such as malware infected websites and scam pages. Throughout my testing period, it has blocked several pages and showed a warning message.
Another part of the AiProtection Pro suite is the parental control feature which will offers content filtration based on category for selected devices and time usage limitation. Plus points to ASUS for providing the AiProtection Pro feature for free without requiring a monthly subscription.
As for network management, ASUSWRT is the most comprehensive among all consumer wireless routers. Apart from the usual affair, there are things like VPN routing for selected devices and even support for Wireguard VPN right from the router.
Closing Thoughts
ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AXE16000 is a truly impressive Wi-Fi 6E wireless gaming router. ASUS made a huge step up in performance with a new CPU and the addition of dual 10G Ethernet ports. If you are looking for the absolute best wireless router for home, the GT-AXE16000 is your best choice now.
ASUS continue their legacy of making wireless router with great performance and being really stable at the same time. While the GT-AXE16000 introduced Wi-Fi 6E technology, it is stable and reliable. That’s important for competitive gaming or just anyone who wants their home Wi-Fi network to be smooth and seamless.
ROG Rapture GT-AXE16000
9.8
Tubi Rating
pros
- Impressive Wi-Fi and USB file sharing performance
- Plenty of ports including dual 10G Ethernet and a 2.5G WAN/LAN port
- Great Wi-Fi stability on all quad-band network
cons
- Price
Hi blacktubi,
I was planning to buy this router, the Asus gt-axe16000 from amazon as its cheaper than the Malaysian vendors by around Rm700.
Since Amazon always uses US sockets, is this router socket detachable from the power adapter? Can i just buy a UK power cord in Malaysia for this router?
Or is the power cord and power adapter inseparable?
And will buying from Amazon, due to routers from different countries having different requirements from power etc. Will that be a problem in using the router in Malaysia?
Thanks if you can answer.
Yes, you should be able to remove the AC cord from the power brick and swap it with a UK plug instead. You probably have some of them already as it’s the same type of AC cord used by many laptop chargers. While the power brick provided by ASUS should support 110V/240V, it’s better to double check when you bought it from Amazon. The last thing you want is plugging in an 110V only power brick to 240V power outlet. The performance should be similar but the only diffference is probably the warranty.
-Kelvin
Thanks for the reply.
The local manufacturers warranty is definitely an important factor but the prices on amazon is sometimes too hard to pass up.
Keep up the good work!
Zyen