We're back again with another ASUS Router review, this time we're reviewing the much more reasonably priced AX5400 which comes in at a very affordable $399 as opposed to the ROG AX6000 which we reviewed previously that will set you back around $799.
This one doesn't quite have all the bells and whistles that the AX6000 does, but it will be a massive improvement over your ISP router and is, in my opinion, probably one of the better value for money routers on the market. For starters, the AX6000 simply uses better hardware, it is capable of handling much higher speeds and will give you a much more reliable connection. That's not to say that the AX5400 isn't also rather impressive.
Let's talk about the technical stuff. The AX5400 features WiFi 6 to allow for speeds of up to 5400 Mbps, a dedicated wired “Gaming Port” which it will auto detect and will actually prioritise the device connected to that port to allow for a faster more stable connection. It is capable of east 3-step port forwarding and AiMesh support for a better all round home internet if used with compatible AiMesh routers. What all that boils down to is just a better all round connection with gamer specific features and that dedicated gaming port that actually makes a real difference.
First of all, let's look at this thing… It looks awesome. I love it, you may not, but I think it looks damn cool. It has all those gamery lines and corners without being over the top and too flashy like my AX6000. Unlike the AX6000, this router could probably sit on your kitchen counter or somewhere similar and not stand out quite as much as the AX6000 does.
One thing I noticed over my stock standard router was just how much coverage the AX5400 has. ASUS boasts a massive 80% wider coverage over WiFi 5 devices and honestly, I'd say it's every bit of it. My standard router reaches almost all of my house due to its placement smack bang in the middle, however, as you get to the furthest rooms, the connection becomes very slow and sometimes even non-existent, and forget about trying in the garden etc. The AX5400, I have had set up in my gaming room which is the very back corner of the house. Despite being super far away from my lounge room, I am able to still get a near perfect connection on my TV, and multiple phones as well as a couple of google smart devices all at the same time. This is a game changer as it allows me to have my entire gaming room connected via LAN cables and still be able to provide good speeds to the rest of the house.
Much like the AX6000 one of the best features of the AX5400 is the mode switching capabilities. What I mean by this is, with the click of a button via your web browser, you can switch what type of connection you'd like your router to prioritise, be it gaming, web browsing, file transferring, media streaming etc. You get to control who gets what at any given time. SO basically, your kids are watching the wiggles in glorious 4K on netflix, your partner is online shopping with almost instantaneous response, yet you're getting massive ping and annihilated in COD MW2. Activate gaming mode and the router will automatically send more bandwidth to your gaming devices and your kids will have to watch the wiggles in 1440p rather than 4K.
Look, I don't claim to be some networking wizz, I also don't have the capability to sit and test every aspect of the router against the claims that ASUS makes, all i know is that on paper there's a lot to like about the AX5400 and in reality that translates to much improved connection and speeds compared to your standard ISP provided router. So if you're looking to upgrade your current router, this one will impress you.
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