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Asus TUF Gaming AX3000 Router Review: Designed For Rapid Gaming Speeds

Asus TUF Gaming AX3000 Router

With the arrival of the Asus TUF Gaming AX3000 router at our doorsteps, we’ve got yet another Wi-Fi 6 router for review. Designed for gamers, Asus TUF Gaming came up with a router that can specifically be tuned for gamers, complete with the latest Wi-Fi 6 standard. Compared to the Huawei WiFi AX3, the TUF AX3000 is a whole lot bigger, but is it better?

Test Parameters:

  • House Size: 2,372 sq. ft
  • Stories: Single story condominium
  • Locations Tested: 8 (4 Rooms, 3 Common Place)
  • Internet Service Provider: Time Fiber
  • Internet Subscription Plan: 100Mbps – RM99/month
  • Wall Thickness: 20cm

Asus TUF Gaming AX3000 Router

Asus TUF Gaming AX3000 Router
ProcessorTri-core 1.5GHz
Interface1 x WAN Port
4 x LAN Port
1 x USB 3.1 Gen 1
SecurityWPA3-Personal, WPA2-Personal, WPA-Personal, WPA-Enterprise , WPA2-Enterprise , WPS support

Firewall: SPI intrusion detection, DoS protection
Access control:Parental control, Network service filter, URL filter, Port filter

UPnP, IGMP v1/v2/v3, DNS Proxy, DHCP, NTP Client, DDNS, Port Trigger, Port Forwarding, DMZ, System Event Log
Max Speed3,000Mbps

2.4GHz – 574Mbps
5GHz – 2,402Mbps
FeaturesRouter app
MU-MIMO
Traffic Analyzer
Adaptive QoS
AiProtection Pro
Parental Control
Guest Network :
VPN server : PPTP Server, IPSec server
VPN client : PPTP client, L2TP client, OpenVPN client
NAT Pass-Through :PPTP Pass-Through, L2TP Pass-Through, IPSec Pass-Through, RTSP Pass-Through, H.323 Pass-Through, SIP Pass-Through, PPPoE relay
Mac OS Backup
Enhanced media server (AiPlayer app compatible)
AiCloud
3G/4G data sharing
Printer Server
– Multifunctional printer support (Windows only)
– LPR protocol support
Download Master
– Support bt, nzb, http, ed2k
– Support encryption, DHT, PEX and magnet link
– Upload and download bandwidth control
– Download scheduling
AiDisk file server
– Samba and FTP server with account management
IPTV support
Roaming Assist
OFDMA
Beamforming
Open NAT, easy port forwarding
WiFi StandardWiFi 6 (802.11ax)
Bandwidth20/40/80/160 MHz bandwidth
BandDual-band (2.4GHz + 5GHz)
Asus TUF Gaming AX3000 router

The Asus TUF Gaming AX3000 router promises several things:

  • 2.5x Faster Speeds
  • 4x Higher Efficiency
  • 80% Wider Coverage

Equipped with a tri-core 1.5GHz chip, the Asus TUF Gaming AX3000 router is set to deliver the highest speeds possible with the new Wi-Fi 6 standard paired with dual-band connectivity. Using the 160MHz bandwidth, on the 2.4GHz band, it can achieve a maximum of 574Mbps, whereas the 5GHz band allows you to reach a whopping maximum of 2,402Mbps.

The router also comes with a dedicated gaming port, where one of the LAN port on the rear is capable of prioritizing the device specifically for gaming. By hooking up my PC to the specific port, I’ve experienced less ping and have had no connection drop offs so far.

Utilising a Mesh system, the Asus TUF Gaming AX3000 router also performs remarkably well when it comes to home coverage. It can easily penetrate two walls and still maintain high download speeds, but the same cannot be said for upload speeds though.

Design

Asus TUF Gaming AX3000 Router

The Asus TUF Gaming AX3000 router has an aggressive bumblebee look with its black and yellow accents. When it’s placed in your home, just a glance at it, you can tell it’s ready for some mind-boggling Wi-Fi speeds.

Being a TUF Gaming router, the device is built to withstand everyday wear and tear. It’s built to be durable and will definitely last you for a while. I could immediately tell as soon as I picked it up in my hands, that sense of reliability (or maybe it’s just me) it has, which shows how good the build quality is.

The Wi-Fi antenna cannot be folded flat completely for easy storage, but it can be angled in multiple directions.

Asus TUF Gaming AX3000 Router
Asus TUF Gaming AX3000 Router

On the front, you get a complete set of LED status lights to check Internet connection, LAN port status, dual-band status, and power on/off. As for the rear, the connectivity options are:

  • 1 x WAN port
  • 4 x LAN port
  • 1 x Power Port
  • 1 x On/Off Switch
  • 1 x Reset Pin
  • 1 x USB 3.1 port
Asus TUF Gaming AX3000 Router

The LED status lights are on top of the router, but because the top surface is angled downwards, the lights will sort of face you the entire time. If you’re like me to place it right under the TV, the lights tend to blink very often and it can get pretty distracting.

User Experience

Asus TUF Gaming AX3000 Router

I was actually quite surprised with how easy it was to setup the Asus TUF Gaming AX3000 router. Compared to traditional routers where you’d need a laptop, the TUF Gaming AX3000 only needed a smartphone app. Here’s what I did:

  • Download “Asus Router” app.
  • Select and Search Router.
  • Input Broadband account and password.
  • Input Wi-Fi name and password.

It’s really that easy, just four steps and you’re all set to greater and more stable Internet speeds.

Pro-tip #1: Keep your broadband account name and password handy when it comes to setting up new-age routers. Most of them are going mobile these days, so if you have the credentials at the ready, you’ll setup even faster.

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Asus TUF Gaming AX3000 Router Review: Designed For Rapid Gaming Speeds 13

Pro-tip #2: If you don’t want to reconnect every one of your devices at home to the new router, just set the Wi-Fi connection name and password the same as the old connection. That way, all devices will automatically connect to the new router, saving you lots of time.

Pro-tip #3: If you’re like me and your home has a lot of IoT devices that depend on the 2.4GHz wireless band, split the dual-bands into their own Wi-Fi networks. This means one would be for 2.4GHz, and another for 5GHz. That way the IoT devices will know to connect to 2.4GHz, and the router can prioritize your smartphone and more demanding devices on the 5GHz band.

ASUS Router App

Once you’re done with the 4-step setup, dive deeper into the Asus Router app and explore what else you can do with it. On the mainpage, you can see real-time traffic speeds, check other networking devices connected (if any), and enable Mobile Game mode. This will enhance the connection for mobile devices especially when you’re gaming on your phone.

Apart from that, there’s also a quick settings button for you to access the preset networking profiles:

  • Gaming
  • Media Streaming
  • Work-From-Home
  • Learn-From-Home
  • Web Surfing
  • File Transferring

On the bottom menu, you can also check all the connected devices, and which band they’re on. If there’s a suspicious device on your network, you can always block it.

You can also:

  • Manage family members’ usage/schedule
  • Set parental controls
  • Perform diagnosis
  • Setup Guest Wi-Fi
  • Setup QoS
  • Set USB Settings
  • Perform OTA updates
  • Change Wifi name and password
  • Restart router
  • Set timer

The Asus Router app is really full of features, and the best part is, they can all be controlled from just one app. There’s no need for me to pull up a laptop that has an RJ45 port anymore. If I’m getting ready to game, I just need to go into the app and switch on “Mobile Game Mode”. If I’m writing articles on The AXO, i just switch to “Web Surfing” mode.

Performance

Comparing the Asus TUF Gaming AX3000 router to the Huawei WiFi AX3 router, the router does have overall better download speeds and wall penetration.

Asus TUF Gaming AX3000 Router review

Speed Test

With the same 100Mbps Time Fiber plan, the Asus TUF Gaming AX3000 router manages to maintain fast and consistent download speeds. It also shows that it has higher signal coverage in supposedly weak areas in the house. But as you can see from the speed test chart, while download speeds are high, the download speeds are a little worrying. In some spots, uploads are fine. But when it’s in farther areas, upload is dwindled down to less than 10Mbps.

Asus TUF Gaming AX3000 Router review

But once you turn on gaming mode, you’d see a significant improvement in terms of the upload speed. This is specific to the device that is doing to the speed test. But if you want to apply gaming mode to all devices that is gaming, turn on the gaming setting in the preset networking profile.

Multiple Device Efficiency

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Another thing I noticed was with the IoT devices. I have quite a few at home, and sometimes they won’t work or will face a little lag. But with the Asus TUF Gaming AX3000 router, they pick up commands and instructions almost instantaneously. I’m truly grateful for this, because it gets really frustrating when you’ve pressed on an action, and nothing happens for a while, or at all.

Wall Penetration

The master bedroom toilet and laundry area is the furthest from the router with multiple walls blocking the connection. With the Asus TUF Gaming AX3000 router, I was able to get fast and smooth connections without any problems at all. The connection has never dropped, and the device has never automatically switched me over to mobile data due to poor Wi-Fi signal network.

Conclusion

Asus TUF Gaming AX3000 Router

The Asus TUF Gaming AX3000 router has a tonne of features, and they particularly stand out if you’re an avid gamer. Regardless if you game on your mobile or on a desktop, the AX3000 is bound to prioritize the speed and stability you need to win your games. On top of having a fast and smooth connection, the router settings can all be tweaked right from your smartphone for on-the-fly network changes.

Priced at RM838, this Wi-Fi 6 router is great for large homes that have multiple devices connecting at the same time. It also future-proofs your home for when you upgrade to have more Wi-Fi 6 compatible devices.

Written By

Chief Content Developer at The AXO

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