TechRadar Verdict
Class-leading performance coupled with ease-of-use, slick design and competitive pricing is a hard combination to beat.
Pros
- +
5GHz Wirless-N
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Superb Wireless-N speeds
- +
Comprehensive features
- +
Flexible UPnP and USB storage options
Cons
- -
It's not free...
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Asus has done the unthinkable with its RT-N56U Dual Band Wireless-N router, it's made it look beautiful.
As a dual-band 802.11n Wireless-N router the RT-N56U is designed to provide a complete Wireless-N networking extension to your existing wired network for both the standard 2.4GHz and newer 5GHz wireless ranges.
Asus has spared nothing in the design both technically and aesthetically, and you should be struck by both the shiny exterior case design and the shiny specification lurking below it.
Of key importance to the RT-N56U is the 5GHz 802.11n; AKA Wireless-N networking.
The theory being that using twice the frequency should boost speeds by two times too. The practical outcome however is far from that simple.
Despite the 5GHz range being far less crowded, along with the the availability of more free channels, the 5GHz frequency is hampered by being absorbed far more readily by objects.
Back it up with MIMO to compensate for that though and perhaps you'd hope for a 50 per cent increase in throughput over 2.4GHz.
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Couple these abilities with its Gigabit LAN, cable-ready WAN port and full complement of security, management and easy-to-use web interface, this should be a winning combination.
So, is it?