watzupkenI think someone finally figured that more antennas does not mean better performance for most people/ household. The number of antennas always give people who are not that tech savvy the impression that it is going to perform well. I've overheard someone recommending more = better. In any case, I do hope they are not cutting back the antennas for the wrong reason, i.e. supply shortage.

PrEziWhy don't they introduce a router that has nice specs AND 2.5 GbE across all ports, preferably 8? I would buy one immediately.
Currently the only option is to buy additional 2.5GbE switch for that.... how big of a bullsh**t that is I don't need to tell anyone.

TheLostSwedeIt depends on what the antennas do, since some routers have dedicated 2.4GHz and 5GHz antennas, while most routers with external antennas have combined 2.4 and 5GHz antennas.
Some routers also have internal PIFA or PCB antennas, plus external ones, so you might not actually see all the antennas that the router has.
It's more important to look at the radio configuration, as a 4x4:4 router would always be better than a 2x2:2, as at least with 802.11ax MU-MIMO works, so a modern 4x4:4 router would be able to deal with four 1x1:1 devices or two 2x2:2 devices simultaneously, without having to share airtime between them. This does require the devices to have some distance between them to work properly though.
There are 8x8:8 devices too, but so far I'm not aware of any such consumer designs.
So yes, more antennas can equal better, but it really depends on the rest of the hardware and sometimes you can't tell how many antennas there are just by looking at a router.

TheLostSwedeFirst consumer router with two 2.5Gbps ports, for the few people that can get faster than Gigabit, but not a 10Gbps internet connection, this should be interesting.
$400 on Newegg.

PrEziWhy don't they introduce a router that has nice specs AND 2.5 GbE across all ports, preferably 8? I would buy one immediately.
Currently the only option is to buy additional 2.5GbE switch for that.... how big of a bullsh**t that is I don't need to tell anyone.

zlobby'boosts gaming traffic every step of the way, from the PC all the way to the game server.' They should stop lying to customers so blatantly... :mad:


Waay up to the internet server.


MU-MIMO only works if clients support it too.

MakaveliMeh I don't touch Asus routers until Merlin has a firmware available for it. And at these speeds its for Fiber users only not cable internet users. If I were to ever move up to the 1.5Gbps package my ISP offers I would take a look at this, aslong as the 3rd party firmware is there.

TheLostSwedeCost, thermals and size?
This thing is already $400. An eight port 2.5Gbps switch would add $100 to that.

newtekie1Isn't the whole point of 2.5Gbe that the switches are so cheap? If you have multiple 2.5Gbe computers, the cost of a switch shouldn't matter. Of course, buying 2.5Gbe is a waste of money anyway. Go 10Gbe or don't spend the money at all.

PrEziThanks captain obvious. I would gladly pay the additional price. Thermals shouldn't be much of a problem in a good design (have a passive 2.5 GbE switch which becomes only mildly warm).

stimpy88Why not the latest WiFi standard? Waste of a lot of money, but a promising start of seeing a little more 2.5Gb

TheLostSwedeBecause 1. WiFi 6E is not approved in most countries and 2. WiFi 6E doesn't allow for removable antennas.

PrEziI would gladly pay the additional price. Thermals shouldn't be much of a problem in a good design (have a passive 2.5 GbE switch which becomes only mildly warm).

stimpy88Thanks for the info, I did not know about the removable antenna rule. Interesting.

6E rules handle this by establishing two classes of access points: Standard Power and Low Power. Fortunately, consumer 6E products will follow the Low Power rules, which provide access to all four U-NII bands and all the channels shown above.
In return for getting access to all the channels, Lower Power APs (and routers) must be operated indoors only. To enforce this limitation, Indoor AP designs cannot:

• Have weather-resistant enclosures
• Operate solely on battery power
• Have removable antennas.

PrEzi2.5 GbE uses the exact same architecture, same cabling etc. This is literally a "free" 2.5x upgrade vs 1 Gigabit ethernet. Obviously 5 or 10 are better, but also much more expensive and complex due to infrastructure costs. So why not integrate a "full" 2.5 GbE into the router if it is so simple and cheap?

TheLostSwedeYeah, most people don't. It only applies to routers/APs though, not WiFi cards/dongles.

stimpy88Do you know the reason for this rule?