Wireless network performance

First, let's look at the apartment that was used in our testing and how it is set up. You can see that the router is placed in the living room. With most wireless routers, the signal strength is not that high in places like the Kitchen and the Medium balcony.

Our testing was done using a fast 1 Gigabit Internet connection that is capable of uploads on the internet of up to 500 Mbps. We used an HP Spectre 13 laptop and a Lenovo Yoga Book for our measurements and several software tools.

To get a better idea of the performance offered by ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AX11000, we compared with two other wireless routers:

1. Netgear Nighthawk X10 R9000 - a high-end wireless router with support for the 802.11ad - another new wireless standard that so far has seen limited adoption
2. ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AC5300 - the predecessor of Rapture GT-AX11000, and one of the fastest wireless routers with support for the 802.11ac Wave 2 standard. We chose it to see if there is any meaningful difference between generations of the same brand.

We analyzed the 2.4 GHz band first and measured the signal strength with NetSpot. You can see below how the signal strength evolved from room to room. As you can see, ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 behaved similarly to the wireless routers we compared it to.

Next, we used SpeedTest to measure how fast the internet connection offered by this router is when using 2.4 GHz wireless network. You can see that the download speed reported by SpeedTest was significantly better when using the new ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AX11000.

When evaluating the upload speed, the differences were not as significant, and ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 had a lead only in two rooms.

Continuing our measurements on the 2.4 GHz wireless network, we used the PassMark Performance test to transfer data between two computers connected to the network. Rapture GT-AX11000 once again offered us the fastest downloads on the 2.4 GHz band.

When we measured the upload speed, Rapture GT-AX11000 kept its lead, but not in all rooms.

ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 is a very fast router when using the 2.4 GHz wireless band.

We then analyzed the performance of the 5GHz wireless band. We looked at the evolution of the signal strength, from room to room. This time too Rapture GT-AX11000 behaved similarly to the wireless routers we compared it with.

To see how fast the internet connection is when using the 5GHz band, we used SpeedTest. To view the maximum potential of this router, we used the world's only PCI-Express network card with support for 4x4 MU-MIMO. When we used this network card, we obtained a maximum speed of 706.51 Mbps for the download and 407.32 Mbps for the upload. These are high speeds for WiFi, confirming that ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 is a powerful router with plenty of potential. We would like to repeat this test when wireless network cards with support for 802.11ax are available on the market.

To get back to earth, and everyday devices people use, we took our laptops and measured the download speed with SpeedTest, in every room of our test apartment. In a couple of rooms, Rapture GT-AX11000 was the fastest router in our comparison. In others, it was outperformed by its predecessor - ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AC5300.

When evaluating the upload speeds, the speed differences between Rapture GT-AX11000 and Rapture GT-AC5300 were not significant in most rooms. However, the older model performed much better in the room furthest from the router.

For the last measurements on the 5GHz wireless network, we used the PassMark Performance test to transfer data between two computers connected to the network. ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 was the fastest wireless routers in the rooms that had direct line of sight to the routers. In the other rooms were walls interfered, its predecessor was faster.

When we measured the upload speed the older Rapture GT-AC5300 was faster than ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 in most rooms.

When network clients have a direct line of sight to ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AX11000, this router delivers excellent download and upload speeds on the 5 GHz band. However, when one or more walls get in the way, previous high-end 802.11ac wireless routers outperform it.

Wired network performance

To test the quality of the wired Ethernet connection, we used a desktop PC equipped with an AMD Ryzen 5 1600 processor, running at 3.20GHz, 16GB of RAM, a fast Samsung 850 Pro 512GB SSD, and a Lenovo IdeaCentre 610s mini PC.

We measured the speed of the internet connection when using a 1 Gbps Ethernet cable, using SpeedTest. The download speed offered by ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 was similar to that of the routers we compared it to, while the upload speed was a bit slower.

Then, we ran a network transfer between the two computers, using the PassMark Performance test. Rapture GT-AX11000 offered speeds that were higher than 900 Mbps both for the upload and the download.

Unfortunately, we did not have a network card available to test the 2.5 Gbps port on the Rapture GT-AX11000. When we do, we are going to update this section of the review with the appropriate data and measurements.

As a conclusion, the 1 Gbps Ethernet ports on this router work as expected, and deliver transfers at speeds between 900 Mbps and 1 Gbps, on a constant basis.

USB performance

We connected a portable SSD drive to the USB 3.0 port of the ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AX11000. Then we ran a few transfers from a desktop computer to this drive and back. We measured a speed of 700 Mbps for the download and 672 Mbps for the upload.

Rapture GT-AX11000 offers fast USB 3.1 ports that are suitable for connecting fast storage devices to the router.

Features for gamers

ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 bundles many advanced features that are not found on competing routers. On this specific model, there are many tools and features designed for gamers. First of all, we have RGB lighting through Aura Sync. At launch, the lighting can be configured only from the firmware. However, ASUS told us that they are working on an app that allows users to personalize the lighting of this wireless router.

Another useful feature is WTFast GPN - you get the option to create a WTFast account, for optimized online gaming through a unique VPN service. You get access to some free features but, for the full service, you need to pay extra to WTFast.

GameBoost is a one-click optimizer that enables Adaptive QoS to optimize inbound and outbound traffic for online gaming. If you want the best online gaming experience, you should enable this feature. This feature is complemented by Game Profile, a tool that allows gamers to quickly set power forwarding rules for their favorite games. The router offers the best settings for a games like FIFA, Call of Duty, Left 4 Dead, Assassins Creed, CS Go, World of Tanks, and more.

Through the Game Radar feature, ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 automatically verifies the availability and the ping reply to all the servers of popular online games like DOTA 2, League of Legends, Overwatch, World of Tanks, and more. As a result, you can see which server works best, without having to open your favorite game.

ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 bundles features aimed at gamers, that you do not get from wireless routers of other brands.

Other features

Security tools are a significant addition offered by ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AX11000. The AiProtection module is the one that manages them:

• A comprehensive Router Security Assessment tool which verifies where your router's settings are secure. When it finds problems, it proactively informs you and takes you where you need to be to fix things.
• Malicious Sites Blocking - an efficient cloud-based module that blocks malicious websites on all the devices that are connected to your network.
• Two-Way IPS - a two-way intrusion prevention system that protects all your network from spam, DDoS attacks, network attacks and more. Additionally, it also scans the packets that are sent from your network to the internet.
• Infected Device Prevention and Blocking - if your network devices get infected, and they become zombies in malware networks, they are automatically blocked by your router, and you are informed about this problem so that you can fix things.

Other features offered by the ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 wireless router include:

• Wi-Fi Radar - a set of unique tools that can be used to discover nearby wireless access points, gather statistics about the wireless radio signals in your area, troubleshoot problems, and improve the settings of your wireless network.
• Integration with Amazon's Alexa voice assistant and IFTT (If This, Then That) - a service that automates tasks that might otherwise be repetitive or unable to talk to each other. With the help of these services, you can do things like say "Alexa, ask ASUS ROUTER to upgrade the firmware" or get an email when your child gets home and connects his or her smartphone to the home WiFi.
• Guest Network - you can enable up to three wireless networks for each band, with individual security and access settings.
• Traffic Analyzer - offers visual traffic statistics which give you a clear picture of how your network is used and by which devices.
• USB Applications - apps that are designed to work with all kinds of devices that you can connect to the router using USB: external hard disks, printers, and 3G or 4G dongles or modems.
• AiCloud 2.0 - a mobile app that keeps you connected to your data wherever and whenever you have an Internet connection. With it, you can access the folders shared in your home network from your Android or iOS smartphone or via a personalized URL
• IPv6 - support for IPv6 addresses that are going to replace IPv4.
• VPN - you can set the router to work as a VPN server, and you can also use it to turn your network-connected devices into VPN-enabled clients, without additional VPN software required.
• Network Tools - for analyzing the network and identifying what's wrong. They are useful when you need to troubleshoot problems.
• Dual WAN - excellent for both small businesses and professionals who require always-on internet connections. You can also use a dual WAN to improve the quality of your internet connection and get the best possible performance.
• DDNS - a service that allows you to connect to the router from the internet, even if your internet provider gives you a dynamic public IP address.

The ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 wireless router packs many premium features and tools that are going to be useful to its users.

What is your opinion of the ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AX11000?

Now you know our opinion about the ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 wireless router, and what this premium device has to offers. Before closing this review, let us know what you think. Is this router a model that you would consider buying? Are you a gamer and you love its RGB lighting features? Comment below and let's discuss.