ASUS introduces ROG Rapture router with Wi-Fi 6E and four frequency bands
ASUS announces its ROG Rapture GT-AXE16000 router at CES. It is a ‘gaming router’ with support for Wi-Fi 6E and the 6GHz band. The router will be released later this quarter and will have a suggested retail price of $649.
ASUS envisions the ROG Rapture GT-AXE16000 of eight antennas and four frequency bands; one for 2.4GHz, two for 5GHz and one band for the 6GHz frequency. According to the company, the 6GHz band and the two 5GHz bands each achieve a maximum theoretical speed of 4808Mbit/s. In the 2.4GHz band, the maximum throughput is 1148Mbit/s. The company’s previous ROG Rapture-Wi-Fi 6E router had a single 5GHz band and thus had three frequency bands.
The router also has a Broadcom quad-core that runs at 2.0GHz. The GT-AXE16000 will receive two 10Gbit/s Ethernet ports, four Gigabit connections and a 2.5Gbit/s connection. The manufacturer also mentions that users can combine two gigabit ports for a single local 2Gbit/s connection. According to ASUS, this can be used, for example, to connect a NAS or desktop PC.
All Ethernet connections can be further configured as WAN ports, allowing users to connect multiple Internet connections to the router, for example for load balancing or as failover. ASUS also provides the router with some ‘gaming features’, including a Game Boost feature that should prioritize game network traffic.
ASUS will release the ROG Rapture GT-AXE16000 later this quarter. The company quotes a suggested retail price of $649, also writes CNET. Converted and with VAT, that comes down to 693 euros. The manufacturer does not yet mention official euro prices. In the second quarter, the company will also release a GT-AX11000 Pro. That router does not support Wi-Fi 6E and therefore the 6GHz band is missing. Furthermore, that model is almost identical to the GT-AXE16000. Converted and with VAT, that model will cost about 533 euros.
The ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AXE16000 (left) and the GT-AX11000 Pro. Pictures via ASUS