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Most of our readers are familiar with the ASUS Republic of Gamers line, which includes products for PC gamers and overclocking enthusiasts. These devices not only have a bright design with indispensable RGB lighting, but also offer a reinforced element base that allows you to set aggressive speed modes for increased performance. However, the ROG model range is quite expensive, so for those users who are looking for reliable and durable gaming devices at an attractive price, ASUS offers the TUF Gaming series. It includes motherboards, laptops, desktop computers, cases, keyboards and much more. Each of the devices in the TUF Gaming series offers gaming features, stands out with an original design and is subjected to rigorous quality tests, which ensures their durability, hardware compatibility and aesthetic harmony. In particular, the TUF Gaming line also includes network equipment, such as the ASUS TUF Gaming AX3000 V2 (TUF-AX3000 V2) wireless router. It should be noted that this is already the second version of the rather successful TUF-AX3000 model, which was introduced in the spring of 2020.
Among analogs, this device, which belongs to the AX3000 class, stands out with a number of design features aimed at increasing reliability and a set of functions designed to accelerate the traffic of computer games. Readers will be able to learn about these and other features during today’s review after reading the ASUS TUF-AX3000 V2 specifications.
| Model | ASUS TUF-AX3000 V2 |
|---|---|
| Product page | TUF-AX3000 V2 |
| Modes of operation | Wireless Router, Access Point, Media Bridge, Repeater, AiMesh Node |
| WAN connection | Dynamic IP address, static IP address, PPPoE (with MPPE support), PPTP, L2TP, USB 3G/4G |
| Network standards | IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax, IPv4, IPv6 |
| Data transfer speeds | 802.11a: 6; 9; 12; 18; 24; 36; 48; 54 Mbps 802.11b: 1; 2; 5.5; 11 Mbps, 802.11g: 6; 9; 12; 18; 24; 36; 48; 54 Mbps 802.11n: 300 Mbps (up to 400 Mbps for 256QAM devices) 802.11ac: 866 Mbps 802.11ax (2.4 GHz): up to 574 Mbps 802.11ax (5 GHz): up to 2402 Mbps |
| Antennas | External, 4 pcs |
| Operating frequency range | 1 x 2.4GHz, 1 x 5GHz |
| Band width | 20/40 MHz (2.4 GHz band) 20/40/80/160 MHz (5 GHz band) |
| MIMO technology | 2 x 2 (2.4GHz/5GHz band) |
| Encryption | WPA/WPA2/WPA3-PSK, WPA/WPA2-Enterprise |
| Firewall and access control | Firewall: SPI intrusion detection, DoS protection Access control: Network service filter, URL filter, Port filter Parental control |
| Cyber protection functions | AiProtection Pro, Router Security Assessment, Malicious site blocking, Two-Way IPS, Infected Device Prevention and Blocking |
| VPN server | PPTP, OpenVPN, IPSec |
| VPN client | VPN Fusion (PPTP, L2TP, OpenVPN) |
| System functions | UPnP, IGMP v1/v2/v3, DNS Proxy, NTP client, DDNS, Port Trigger, Port Forwarding, DMZ, Wake on LAN (WOL), SSH, System Event Log |
| Processor | 1700 MHz, 4 cores, ARMv7 architecture |
| Memory | RAM: DDR3 512 MБ, Flash: 256 MБ |
| The ports | 1 x RJ45 10/100/1000/2500 BaseT for WAN 4 x RJ45 10/100/1000BaseT for LAN 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type A |
| Buttons | Power, Reset, WPS |
| Game functions | Game Boost, OpenNAT (Game Profile), Gaming port |
| Additional functions | Додаток ASUS Router, Adaptive QoS, Bandwidth Monitor, Bandwidth limiter, Traffic Monitor, Traffic Analyzer, Website history, MU-MIMO, OFDMA, RADIUS Server, Beamforming: standard-based and universal, IGMP snooping, IPTV support, LAN Link Aggregation IEEE 802.3ad, WAN Aggregation, L2TP/ PPTP/IPSec Pass-Through, USB 3G/4G Modem, AiCloud, Download master, AiDisk, Media Server, Time Machine, Samba Server, FTP Server, Shared Folder privileges, AiMesh, Alexa skills, Smart Connect |
| LED indicators | 1 x Power, 1 x Wi-Fi 2.4 GHz, 1 x Wi-Fi 5 GHz, 4 x LAN, 1 x WAN, |
| Power supply unit, W | 18 (external) |
| Dimensions (LxWxH), mm | 265 x 175 x 60 (190*) |
| Mass, Mr | 547 |
| Cost | 4739 hryvnias |
* — height, taking into account the length of the antennae
Supply set
In the retail network, a wireless router is sold in a large cardboard box. In our case, the appearance of the packaging suffered during the logistics process, however, the device itself and the delivery set remained intact. On the front side of the box, on a black and gray background, ASUS TUF-AX3000 V2 is depicted and the name of the model is applied, and the TUF Gaming and Wi-Fi 6 logos signify belonging to the series of the same name and support for wireless networks of the IEEE 802.11ax standard.
The back of the box details the product’s 2.5G high-speed Ethernet port for 2500Mbps ISP connectivity, AiMesh support, and Open NAT functionality, which will be mentioned in the guide.
The TUF Gaming AX3000 V2 package includes:
- paper user instructions and warranty card;
- 1 m long Cat-5e patch cord;
- network power supply unit S18Y1X-120A150-C4 with a power of 18 W with an output voltage of 12 V at a current of 1.5 A;
- a pair of “Type C” and “Type G” interchangeable plugs.
Design
While the design of the RT-AX82U case is reminiscent of a spaceship from the “Star Wars” saga, the appearance of the ASUS TUF Gaming AX3000 V2 creates associations with a futuristic sports car. The sharp lines that cross the top cover form complex shapes, and the wide ventilation grille further enhances the sports car resemblance. The body is made of black rough plastic, the only bright element — the TUG Gaming logo — is located along the axis of symmetry of the top cover closer to the back panel. The wireless router has dimensions of 265x175x60 mm, the antennas in the working position increase its height to 190 mm, and the weight of the product is 547 g.
Closer to the front edge of the top cover, there are about eight LEDs that signal the presence of power, the activity of wireless networks in the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands, the status of the use of four LAN ports and one WAN. LEDs emit white light of moderate brightness, and if desired, the indication can be completely disabled from the settings menu.
The side faces are symmetrical and devoid of any controls, however, they carry ventilation grilles for access of fresh air.
On the back panel there are hinges for four Wi-Fi antennas — two for each of the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequency bands. The antennas are made integral with the case, according to the manufacturer, this increases the reliability of the design, but, on the other hand, it does not allow connecting external antenna-feeder devices with standard SMA RF connectors. In addition to the antennas, there is a socket for connecting an external power source, a power button and a USB 3.2 Gen 1 connector on the back panel. This is followed by four Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports, and the first and second can be combined in 802.11ad mode to double the bandwidth , as well as a WAN connector in the RJ-45 design for connecting to an Internet provider. The WAN port supports a speed of 2500 Mbit/s, which promises to become a widely used standard in the coming years. It should be noted that the network ports have metal cases, which also has a positive effect on durability. Finally, on the back panel there are WPS buttons to activate the function of quick connection of wireless clients and Reset to reset to factory settings. By the way, the WPS button in the control menu can be assigned to turn off radio transmitters or control the LED backlight.
The lower cover is covered with a continuous lace of ventilation grills, everywhere air freely enters the body, and closer to the back panel, a plastic sticker with official information is visible. Under it, there are visible holes for attaching the wireless router to the wall, and closer to the corners are rubber pads that play the role of legs.
Unlike many modern devices, the ASUS TUF-AX3000 V2 does not prevent attempts to get inside, for this it is enough to carefully remove the rubber feet and unscrew the screws hidden under them. Most of the internal space is occupied by a printed circuit board covered with a black metal plate of the cooling system. The manufacturer promises the presence of a “nanocarbon” coating to improve heat dissipation, and although this design looks rather modest, the temperature of the central processor during testing did not exceed 63°C even in the most difficult modes. Most likely, the energy-efficient platform, whose energy consumption was from 6 to 9.5 W, depending on the load level, contributed to such results.
On the reverse side of the PCB there is also a small aluminum plate that serves for additional heat dissipation.
As for the hardware, the TUF Gaming AX3000 V2 uses a Broadcom BCM6756 SoC with a clock frequency of 1700 MHz, which is accompanied by 512 MB of DDR3 RAM and 256 MB of SLC NAND Flash ROM. The BCM6756 contains four computing cores with ARM-A7 architecture, a 16-bit RAM controller of DDR3 and DDR4 standards, as well as two USB interfaces. “System-on-a-chip” provides operation of one Gigabit Ethernet port (LAN1) and two communication interfaces HSGMII and RGMII with speeds of 2500 Mbit/s and 1000 Mbit/s. The MaxLinear GPY211 physical level controller is connected to the first of them, which is responsible for the operation of the WAN 2.5G Ethernet port, and the second serves for the operation of the Broadcom BCM53134 switch, to which the LAN2–LAN4 ports are connected. In addition to the SoC listed above, the BCM6756 includes two Wi-Fi radio modules, and both of them are compatible with IEEE 802.11ax with support for beamforming, MU-MIMO and OFDMA technologies to improve performance when multiple clients work simultaneously. Wireless modules operate in MIMO 2T2R mode, which provides Wi-Fi 6 bandwidth for the 2.4 GHz frequency at the level of 574 Mbps, while in the 5 GHz band, thanks to the support of the 160 MHz band, the speed can reach 2402 Mbps. However, the real speed will be shown by testing, which readers will be able to familiarize themselves with after reviewing the control software.
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