Product: ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AXE16000 WiFi 6E Quad-Band Gaming Router
Type: Wi-Fi Router
Price: ~ $1299 AUD
Availability: Out Now
Link: ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AXE16000

No two wireless products perform the same, so no two wireless routers would perform the same. When it comes to being the hub and primary contact point for any home network, your wireless router's speed, quality, features, and reliability make it the first point where something could go wrong. And as wireless speed and latency can make all the difference in gaming, streaming, and managing multiple devices - your router can be as important as all of the bits and pieces in your desktop PC or console.

The new and powerful Wi-Fi 6E capable ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AXE16000 gaming router is a beast in terms of its wireless performance and overall customisation options. From parental controls to real-time network stats and monitoring, it also offers up two incredibly fast 10Gbps LAN/WAN ports on top of its ability to broadcast 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz bands.

It is the most feature-packed and impressive gaming router we’ve seen to date, not to mention one of the largest with its eight antennas and formidable physical stature - it is chonk, to be sure. And if you’ve glanced at the price point above, one of the most expensive too.

But with its ability to handle multiple gaming rigs, streaming devices, smartphones, and even traffic from an in-use media server, all at once and all at impressive speeds - the ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AXE16000 might be the most powerful gaming router on the planet.

The Initial Setup

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As someone who has set up more than one or two different routers in the past, I’m always hesitant about calling that initial setup “plug-and-play” because networking never being this full-proof thing where it’s always smooth sailing. That said, the setup process for the ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AXE16000 was, for lack of a better term, smooth sailing thanks in part to the stylish and intuitive mobile app that rocks that ASUS ROG look and feel.

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The new and powerful Wi-Fi 6E capable ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AXE16000 gaming router is a beast in terms of its wireless performance and overall customisation options.

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The first thing you notice about the ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AXE1600 is its console-like size and eight sizable antennas. And it’s not like ASUS is trying to hide or diminish the overall size of the ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AXE1600, as it incorporates a mirror-like finish on the top and full RGB lighting powered by ASUS’s Aura RGB. Not to mention that it weighs in at roughly 2.4 GHz.

The physical size and stature of the ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AXE1600 won’t be for everyone. Still, it's backed up by cutting-edge WiFi and wireless technology - including extending your network in a Mesh-like fashion (via ASUS’ AiMesh technology) with an additional unit and a dedicated 5 GHz band used as a “backhaul connection.”

Back to the app support, and you’ve got a clean and detailed look at the details for each WiFi band. Not to mention a look at devices connected and the ability to quickly prioritise things like gaming, media streaming, file transfers, and even work-from-home networking.

Net Code

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Perhaps the biggest selling point of the new ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AXE1600 gaming router is that you don’t need to give up performance on any existing WiFi band to maximise its capabilities. Quad-band networking with Wi-Fi 6E, two 10 Gigabit LAN ports, multiple other LAN ports, built-in security, and the support mentioned above for mesh networking, there’s a sense that what you’re getting here is a little overkill. Okay, so maybe not just a sense - it is.

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The physical size and stature of the ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AXE1600 won’t be for everyone. Still, it's backed up by cutting-edge WiFi and wireless technology - including extending your network in a Mesh-like fashion (via ASUS’ AiMesh technology).

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But when it comes to all things tech, it’s better to have headroom than have everything running at 100% capacity. And in our testing, even with half a dozen devices connected, there wasn’t a single moment when it couldn’t keep up.

ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AXE16000 WiFi 6E Quad-Band Gaming Router

• Model Name: GT-AXE16000
  
• Network Standard: WiFi 6 (802.11ax), WiFi 6E (802.11ax), Backwards compatible with 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi
  
• Data Rate: 2.4GHz AX: 4x4 (Tx/Rx) 1024 QAM 20/40MHz, up to 1148Mbps, 5G-1Hz AX: 4x4 (Tx/Rx) 1024 QAM 20/40/80/160MHz, up to 4804Mbps, 5G-2Hz AX: 4x4 (Tx/Rx) 1024 QAM 20/40/80/160MHz, up to 4804Mbps, 6GHz AX: 4x4 (Tx/Rx) 1024 QAM 20/40/80/160MHz, up to 4804Mbps
  
• Antenna: External antenna x 8 (non-detachable), Internal antenna x 4
  
• Transmit/Receive: 2.4GHz 4x4, 5GHz-1 4x4, 5GHz-2 4x4, 6GHz 4x4
  
• Processor: 2.0GHz quad-core processor
  
• Memory: 256MB NAND flash and 2GB DDR4 RAM
  
• Ports: 1 x 2.5 Gigabit WAN Port, 2 x 10 Gigabit WAN/LAN Ports, 4 x Gigabit LAN Ports, 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Port, 1 x USB 2.0 Port
  
• What's In the Box: GT-AXE16000 WiFi Gaming Router, RJ-45 Cable, Power Adapter, Quick Start Guide, Warranty Card
  
• Product Weight (g): 2425

As a premium gaming router, the ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AXE16000 has a dedicated CPU and even DDR4 memory, which is more than enough to handle security, device management, and file traffic for servers and other elements of your network setup.

Another cool and versatile feature is the detailed Family controls - something we didn’t expect to find out-of-the-box for something positioned as a gaming router, first and foremost. Here you can set restrictions and filter access based on age brackets - which is cool. And the sort of thing we love to see.

Performance and Conclusion

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At AusGamers, we’re lucky to have access to almost every gaming device you can think of. When testing the ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AXE16000, using it as the primary router and WiFi device for several weeks, we paired it with a GeForce RTX 4090 powered PC, Xbox Series X, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, gaming laptop, smartphone, LG OLED TV with dedicated streaming apps, and an NVIDIA Shield TV. Yeah, a lot of WiFi-powered devices, but also not uncommon in busy gaming households.

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Perhaps the biggest selling point of the new ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AXE1600 gaming router is that you don’t need to give up performance on any existing WiFi band to maximise its capabilities.

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Unfortunately, there wasn’t any Wi-Fi 6E on hand for testing, and Australia is slightly funny regarding certification and support for Wi-Fi 6E. Still, the 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz results were impressive nonetheless. Setting up a media server and transferring files was also remarkable, with read and write speeds similar to simply connecting an external drive to a PC via USB.

The ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AXE16000 has been built to handle more network traffic than even a high-end gaming household can throw at it - so in-game performance was also flawless, not to mention streaming, zooming, and whatnot. The only disconnect or issue experienced was due to the NBN and not the ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AXE16000 needing to catch up. It’s always ahead, on top of things, and ready to let you dig in and customise anything to suit your moment-to-moment needs.

The ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AXE16000 is a beast. But the high-end networking, VPN, security, parental controls, gaming functionality, and high-speed ports are probably more than what most people need. The price and overall physical size of the ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AXE16000 reflect this, still, you’d be hard-pressed to find a more powerful networking option in 2023.