ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AC2900 Gaming Router review - Introduction

ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AC2900 Gaming Router

We review a rather dandy ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AC2900 Gaming router, this premium gaming router is compatible with an up-to AC standard aka WIFI 5. So what is the router about, is it a redressed RT-AC86U with stunning looks or is there more to this release? This dual-band 5000 MHz (160mhz on 5 GHz) and 2400 MHz router now receive an NVIDIA seal of approval. Meaning that it has been optimized for game streaming. 

Routers these days you can purchase a dime a dozen and most of them end up all being the same, as such the more predominant manufacturers continuously seek to add new features to their products in order to differentiate themselves in the market. And that's difficult as there aren't many extras you can add to a router really, you are tied to industry Ethernet and WIFI standards, you can make sure the throughput of the devices is good enough for modern age high-bandwidth file throughput and you can make the firmware as sexy as possible with a nice GUI and extensive feature set. The ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AC2900 Gaming router is a 802.11ac spec router that includes optimizations for Nvidia GeForce NOW and supports three-level game acceleration, simple port forwarding, AiMesh for entire home WiFi and AiProtection Pro for network security.

I already mentioned it, but if you have your router closeby in the vicinity, hey .. it is equipped with Aura lighting on the front, which in addition to a color or color effects can also be set to display the status of the network. GT-AC2900 offers dual band wifi connectivity and offers up to 750 Mbit/s on the 2.4 GHz band and up to 2167 Mbit/s on the 5 GHz band. You are going to notice three antennas but is also has an internal antenna. The device supports Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS), so as not to interfere with other systems. Touted being a gaming router the GT-AC2900 comes with three levels of game acceleration to boost game traffic during every step. While it is a bit gimmicky, you're going to spot a ROG gaming port that allows gamers to prioritize the device(s) connected to it. Then there is the familiar Game Boost, an adaptive QoS that is tuned for gaming and gives priority to all the gaming traffic that passes the GT-AC2900. Finally, there is a built-in Gamers Private Network (GPN), powered by wtfast , which ensures the shortest possible connection between the home network and the game server, for minimal ping times and the lowest latency (you do need a paid subscription for that though).

Much like any ASUS router these days, there is mesh functionality meaning you may connect to other ASUS AiMesh-compatible routers to form a mesh WiFi system. The router is equipped with AiProtection Pro, powered by Trend Micro, to protect the network against external attacks and threats. AiProtection Pro would also protect devices that cannot install antivirus software - such as game consoles, smartphones, and IoT devices. A fun feature, if an attack is detected the RGB lighting on the router can be set to alert you when that attacks occur.

The Rapture GT-AC2900 fitted with a 1.8 GHz dual-core processor (Broadcom BCM4906) that is paired with 512 MB ram and 256 MB flash memory storage. In addition to a WAN port, there are four LAN ports, one thus which can be used as a dedicated gaming port. Also present are a USB 2.0 port and a USB 3.0 port. Have a peek at the product and then let's dive into the review. 

First dibs, this first router with a Mohawk ;)