ASUS RT-AC51U Router - The Best Budget Router?

Hardware Hub Networking
1

So last month I was looking for a cheaper router to start using immediately. My searches led me to the ASUS RT-AC51U, a fantastic choice - for £30 I was able to setup dual-WAN, have a network-attached drive, or printer, alongside the numerous other features ASUS’ wonderful administration software provides.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ASUS-RT-AC51U-Dual-Band-Wireless-Multifunctional/dp/B00XUDWDZE

Having played around with it for a few hours, I decided to produce a YouTube video about my initial thoughts on the router (they were good):

Having used the router since then, I can happily say that its a great choice for anyone who needs a router on the cheap. ASUS have put a great deal of effort onto their administration software, and especially their mobile app which is not only powerful, but beautiful!

2

I will mention this here since it came up in another budget Asus Router thread, every ethernet port on that Asus is limited to 100Mbps. So the WAN connection is capped at 100Mbps, and local connections are also capped at the same 100Mbps unless you add-in your own switch.

2 Likes
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Being in the UK, I'm not too concerned about the WAN connection being capped. I can verify its the case with this router also. I can say that I've never needed anymore than 100Mbps myself though, but I can see this being an issue for others.

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Fair point, although many of the users around here enjoy using a NAS which would be handicapped by the 100Mbps local connection limit aswell. Add-in switches aren't that expensive but it would be an added expensive to an otherwise "budget" router.