Quick, feature packed, affordable, and now TUF. We set our recent WiFi 6 upgrade to one side to try out the TUF Gaming AX5400 in our latest review.
It’s barely been a hot minute since we swapped out our old wifi hardware for a sleek WiFi6 compatible piece of kit. However, in the unrelenting heat of summer and intense workload of work from home, we might have found another option from this hardware house. The TUF Gaming AX5400 is a slightly different brand of router from Asus. Coming in at anywhere from £125 – $150 and featuring many of the same headline specs, it’s difficult to immediately tell the difference between this and the obviously more expensive Asus RT-AX82U. Just check out the specifications below:
Specifications
- WiFi: 2.4GHz 2×2 / 5GHz-2 4×4:
802.11a : up to 54 Mbps
802.11b : up to 11 Mbps
802.11g : up to 54 Mbps
WiFi 4 (802.11n) : up to 300 Mbps
WiFi 5 (802.11ac) (1024QAM) : up to 4333 Mbps
WiFi 6 (802.11ax) (2.4GHz) : up to 574 Mbps
WiFi 6 (802.11ax) (5GHz) : up to 4804 Mbps
- Operating Frequency: 2.4G Hz / 5 GHz
- Wireless Speed Enhancements:
OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access)
Beamforming: standard-based and universal
1024-QAM high data rate
20/40/80/160 MHz bandwidth
- LAN: 4x 1 Gigabit Ethernet (aggregable to 2Gbps)
- WAN Internet connection Type : PPPoE, PPTP, L2TP, Automatic IP, Static IP
- Ports: RJ45 for Gigabits BaseT for WAN x 1, RJ45 for Gigabits BaseT for LAN x 4, USB 3.2 Gen 1 x 1
- Processor: 1.5 GHz tri-core processor
- Memory: 256 MB Flash / 512 MB RAM
- Operating system : ASUSWRT
Out The Box
Once you unhinge the packaging on this router, the differences are a lot more obvious. Getting into the TUF Gaming AX5400 is just as easy as any other well thought out bit of kit. The outer carboard shell doesn’t take much time to get into and the contents aren’t going to surprise. It’s really the design of the AX5400 that stands out. Rather than pull together angular edges and stay lows like our last Asus router, the TUF variant stands tall and incorporates some more gaming nods with a much more solid set of lines. The front of the TUF derived router still has an angular aesthetic, but rather than feel like it’s going to cut through the air, the flared edges that dart out below the V shaped RGB slot threaten to simply plough right through anybody standing in its way. The stockier build and threatening aura are standard for a hardware range that exude a rugged capability, and this is fully matched below the hood. The AX5400 comes with a plastic outer shell with a very obvious airflow configuration, an internal aluminum heatsink, an impressive 6 fixed antennas, and a range of stress certifications that mean that this should still perform when pushed outside ambient environments.
That heavy duty exterior still seems to have plenty of room for decent connectivity, however. Turn around the AX5400 to find a USB 3.2 Gen 1 port, a Gigabit WAN port, and 4 Gigabit LAN port nestled below the 6 moveable antennas. These also include an option to aggregate the available ports to push both the LAN and WAN connections beyond the individual 1 Gigabit limits.
Initial Setup
Simply put, AX5400 is a breeze to setup. With networking hardware, you generally get what you pay for and that is very true for the Asus setup process. While the £125 price point might seem expensive compared to the rebadged boxes bundled from your local ISP, the weight of expertise behind this router shows. The process of getting online is as simple as connecting to the WiFi SSID and opening up your personal web browser, whether that’s chrome or the RGB integrated Opera GX. The whole affair is identical to the Asus RT-AX82U and simply requires any new owners to connect, select the basic security settings, and ensure that the right cables are attached. The complimentary quick start guides and on-screen instructions mean this isn’t just quick, but very difficult to get wrong. Added extras, like the Asus Router app’s interoperability and ability to take over this process just make the process even easier to complete and jump straight into more advanced configuration
Further Configuration
Basic setup doesn’t give new owners a ton of options and if you want to do more than simply get online then you’ll need to delve a little further than the first few setup screens. This isn’t nearly as difficult as it sounds, however. For those used to logging into the local router admin, it’s consistent with our experience across other Asus networking equipment. The majority of the obvious settings, WiFi, connection status, and other high level options are front and center. With just a few clicks this browser log in provides everything from WiFi band settings, DNS changes, subnet setup, and other advanced configuration.
While this TUF Gaming Router slots seamlessly into my already established WiFi 6 enabled setup, the more budget conscious end of the Asus lineup doesn’t appear to make any obvious compromises. The detailing and design of the advanced router config might be a little less appealing than the sleeker looking equivalents, but it all works and makes sense. Modifying more advanced features like remote access, 160Mhz channels, 802.11ax mode, and the internet protection options are all easily located under obvious menus, across the left of the screen. Yes, the menus are absolutely crammed with options, but barely any of these are superfluous and there’s an astounding amount of options for almost every type of potential use case. Again, the aforementioned mobile app provides quick access to these tweaks and a great middle ground between plug and play and the maze of advanced drop down menus, so changes like RGB configuration, network diagnostic tools, and the parental controls are just a small selection of the buttons that all slot nicely into a touch screen interface.
Some of the other options in the advanced computer setup include options for shaping traffic and prioritizing ports, extensive network tools, a built in firewall, Open and IPSec VPN integrations, supe simple local and internet connected storage USB storage setup, as well as AiProtection, which uses Trend Micro’s cloud database to identify and block known malicious sites, preventing infection even before you click
Performance
You’ll need to learn to navigate these more advanced features if you want to unlock the full potential of the TUF Gaming Router. Bizarrely, 802.11ax mode is not enabled by default, meaning my workstations capped out at WiFi 5 speeds on an early Cloudflare speed test. Thankfully, after switching on increased bandwidth and fiddling with the easy to modify QoS configurations we got down to testing.
Our kit for testing includes my normal test rig, a Gigabyte GC-WBAX210, a Gigabit fiber line, and the AX5400. For testing general reliability around our residence, we used a Moto G200 5G packed with a WiFi 6 capable Snapdragon 888+. Initial tests on Cloudflare’s speed test site initially looks at any obvious bottlenecks caused when trying to get out on the internet. At 671 Mbps, this shows little difference to previous testing with the RT-AX82U. These numbers aren’t only impacted by the router but can fluctuate based on the real life speed of an internet connection on a given day. Therefore, we’d say that this wireless throughput of and wired result of 902Mbps is as fast as we might expect.
More useful is comparing a set of network throughput tests against other routers we’ve tested. To do this we boot up Iperf3 on a standalone server PC, connected by a WIFI 6 card, and roam our residence using the handheld Moto G200 5G to check both speed and consistency of signal. All tests are an average and intended to give us an idea of real life usage expectations rather than pitch perfect lab results. It’s also the same way we tested the RT-AX82U so we will be comparing. Initial results over WiFi and using IPerf3 in its default configuration show a throughput as follows:
All results are in Mbps and at 834Mbps, there’s little to complain about when sitting right by the router. This impressive behavior continues when comparing against the RT-AX82U. This time we toured the house again but tweaked the packet size to 2MB to match the methodology taken when we initially plugged in our WiFi 6 kit. While the numbers aren’t indicative of the throughput as you’d see it on popular speed test sites, this gives us a comparison.
Unsurprisingly, the results are almost interchangeable, with a tiny bit of variation that we’d tend to discard day to day.
In the event that you need to go even faster, or you need to prioritize your own activities to get the most out of a busy network, then Asus has a fantastic QoS facility. If you have a cable then a dedicated gaming port provides high speed action by prioritizing traffic though a singular connection, while a quick tap on the paired smartphone app can quickly set the router to prioritize gaming, media streaming, web surfing, work from home apps, learn from home systems, file transfer, or boost mobile gaming.
For anybody who wants to extend coverage as much as speed, the TUF Gaming Router includes support for the Asus Airmesh system. This is notable just due to the sheer number of compatible Asus devices between different Asus routers and Access Points an old Asus router can, in many cases, be slotted in as part of a larger network. We tried this with the RT-AX82U as new node and thanks to the simple setup routine, I was able to nip across to the pub less than 5 minutes later without losing WiFi. Unless you’re looking to play League at the bar then this probably isn’t the intended use, but it’s a great way to avoid junking your old router.
Our Experience
In the end, the TUF Gaming Router isn’t exactly a subtle addition to any household, but it’s certainly a solid one. Where the Asus RT-AX82U was something of a budget beast, the TUF variety of this router fares very similarly. Despite some different branding and an imposing facade, the TUF AX5400 Router is a great piece of consumer kit. It has all the capacity to elevate your home network and keep a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X playing at full speed and give you much more accessible control over the traffic flying around the air than the bottom of the barrel routers that your ISP provides.
That same bandwidth might not be as blistering as the as well as the Mi Router AX9000that we I also have on hand, but it’s also a fraction of the price. Unless you are looking to connection hundreds of IoT devices or have a large family of fully connected gamers then this router is going to crush the performance of most devices at a similar price point. The addition of extras like a gaming port, bondable network ports, and the ASUS mesh compatibility mean that there’s plenty of life in this device after initial setup. This is certainly a consumer focused device but for your hard earned cash, you’ll get a router that performs within striking distance of the best consume kit and comes crammed with options that will elevate you network without having to splurge out on a whole set of separate specialist kit.
This isn’t going to make you any better at PUBG, and you definitely won’t be able to blame your crappy route, but the TUF Gaming AX5400 is an excellent addition to any home network that’s looking to get the best out of fibre. The TUF Gaming AX5400 is available now at major retailers for around £125 / $150. Find out more on the official Asus website now.
