Are you confused in choosing between Asus RT-AC5300 and Netgear R8500? Well, a lot of people have met the same problem. These two router models are being sold at similar prices. They both also come with similarly attractive features and specifications. No wonder; the manufacturers are giants in the router market. Most probably, if you are looking for the best routers, then the top of the list will be filled by Asus and Netgear routers. So, between Asus RT-AC5300 and Netgear R8500, which is the one that you should choose?
Design
Asus RT-AC5300 and Netgear R8500 are certainly very different from each other. Asus RT-AC5300 has eight external antennas, and, if you are very, very bored, you can turn it upside-down and play it as if it is a robotic spider. Okay, that was just a joke, but still, Asus RT-AC5300 has a very distinctive, unique, futuristic design. As an Asus ROG router, it is given the typical crimson red hue. At the contrast, Netgear R8500 also has a total of eight antennas, but four are internal while the rest are external. The model has sky blue indicator lights. (see also: Asus RT-AC5300 vs. Asus RT-AC88U)
Performance
Both of them are tri-band routers that already support the latest Wi-Fi technology. Each of them possesses one 2.4 GHz and two 5 GHz wireless signal channels; all frequencies can work simultaneously. Also, quite coincidentally, each model also offers 5334 Mbps total bandwidth, which is divided into 1000 Mbps for the 2.4 GHz frequency and 2167 Mbps for each of the 5 GHz frequencies. In terms of maximum speed, Asus RT-AC5300 and Netgear R8500 are equal. They also have similar coverage area, as they are both described by the respective manufacturers to be able to cover a very large home.
Both of them also support the beamforming technology, which allows a router to focus its wireless signal projection to the directions of connected devices. This way, each device can receive optimum, stable network performance.
Features
Nevertheless, you will choose one out of these two choices due to the different additional features. Asus RT-AC5300 boasts a game accelerator feature. It has built-in access to the WTFast Gamers Private Network, a group of route-optimized servers that can provide you super-low and stable ping times for the ultimate gaming performance. On the other hand, Netgear R8500 comes with more connection ports. Netgear R8500 offers one WAN and six LAN Ethernet ports, plus one USB 2.0 and one USB 3.0 ports. Asus RT-AC5300 only has one WAN, four LAN, one USB 2.0, and one USB 3.0.
Asus RT-AC5300 vs. Netgear R8500
If you are a regular gamer, you will benefit the most from Asus RT-AC5300. The game accelerator feature is very powerful for your online games. However, if you don’t play games, and you require more Ethernet ports, then Netgear R8500 is a very good alternative.
