Asus RT-BE88U: WiFi 7 router for gamers with many fast Ethernet ports and SFP+

Even the most powerful hardware is useless in multiplayer games without an adequate network connection. Accordingly, network products such as routers or corresponding WiFi modules have also become the focus of various companies who cater to video gamers in their product range. The RT-BE88U is one such new router that is likely to be aimed at video gamers in particular. As usual, other users can also benefit from a high data transfer rate and quality.

The router is said to be able to achieve a data transfer rate of 7,200 MBit/s, which is to be understood as a maximum specification across all bands; the theoretically possible performance is generally not fully available in practice. Up to 1,376 MBit/s can be transmitted on the 2.4 GHz band and 5,766 MBit/s on the 5 GHz band. The router is equipped with four external and clearly visible antennas, which should conduce to high transmission quality.

The router is connected to a wired network via an Ethernet WAN port with a maximum data transfer rate of 10 GBit/s. Alternatively, an SFP+ connection with an identical data transfer rate is also possible. There is also the 2.5 GBit/s WAN connection, which can also be used to connect other devices, as well as three 2.5 GBit/s LAN ports and four Ethernet ports. Lastly, a USB 3.2 Gen 1 port is on board, which can be used to connect external storage media.

At 2 GB, the RAM is generously sized for a router. Various functions will reportedly benefit from AI support, including virus protection. The RT-BE88U will be launched in China on March 24; no information is yet available for other markets.

A possible alternative: Buy the TP-Link Archer BE550 at Amazon.