Is it awesome or awkward when your router has more grunt than your notebook? Well, depending on how old your laptop is and your fondness for $700 networking hardware, this unusual dream can be yours via ASUS’ upcoming Rapture GT-AC5300.
Packing a 1.8GHz, quad-core Broadcom BCM4908, it has more than enough power for all your Wi-Fi and ethernet needs… and then some.
Currently available for preorder for a June release, the GT-AC5300 supports all the expected standards: 802.11n and 802.11ac for Wi-Fi (and link aggregation via 802.3ad) with quadrature amplitude modulation over eight — yes, eight — antennas. A single 2.4GHz and a pair of 5GHz radios complement the setup.
The GT-AC5300 doesn’t skimp on ports either, with eight gigabit ethernet sockets and two USB 3.0 plugs just waiting to be used.
The Australian RRP is $729, however a quick search on Staticice shows you can get it for $698. I think for the majority, a gadget like this is overkill for regular home networking loads.
But, if your current gear is running hot with torrents utterly honest streaming and downloading activities and you need a few extra milliseconds on your pings, the GT-AC5300 looks like it’ll handle it all without breaking a capacitor.
It also resembles some sort of futuristic bear trap, so in a pinch it’s good to know you can handle time-travelling dwarven cavalry.
[ASUS]