I tested the Asus ROG Strix GS-BE18000 and this stealth gaming router punches way above its weight

At $400, Asus resets the bar for high performance gaming routers with its ROG Strix GS-BE18000. Its appearance may be plain Jane but the GS-BE18000 could be the year’s stealth gaming router with everything needed to battle the world on your terms.

From top triband Wi-Fi 7 speeds to access to gaming accelerators to 8 networking ports, it separates itself from the rest of the best Wi-Fi 7 routers. Among the first to implement Automated Frequency Coordination (AFC), it features better speed, range and reliability than competitors.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a Leaguer or Minecrafter, the ROG Strix GS-BE18000 is not only small and modestly priced but has the power to blast your gaming into another dimension. Read on to see if this is the best gaming router for your battlestation.

Asus ROG STRIX GS-BE18000 review: Price and availability

With a list price of $450, it pays to shop around for the Asus ROG Strix GS-BE18000. It’s available at Best Buy for $400, making it an excellent bargain that can outperform and outplay routers selling for hundreds more. The slightly less powerful ROG Strix GS-BE12000 also sells for $350 at Walmart.

Asus ROG Strix GS-BE18000: Design

Considering all the Asus ROG Strix GS-BE18000 can do, it is amazing that it is roughly the size of a shoe box at 8.9 x 8.9 x 3.4 inches. That’s less than one quarter the size of the company’s ROG Rapture GT-BE19000AI router with its eight antennas pointing every which way.

Available only in black, the ROG Strix GS-BE18000 is anything but intimidating looking. In fact, its boxy appearance is high on the Meh scale and not what I expect when it comes to a fire-breathing gaming router.

Still, it’s what’s inside that counts, starting with Broadcom’s BCM6766 Wi-Fi chip, a 2.0GHz quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM and 256MB of flash storage for the device’s firmware and settings. It lacks the dedicated AI hardware that graces the GT-BE19000AI router, though this 8-stream router takes advantage of 320MHz data channels, Multi-Link Operations (MLO) and 4K Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM).

It’s among the first to tap into the higher transmission power available through 6GHz Automated Frequency Coordination (AFC) for faster data speeds, longer range and higher reliability. Using AFC is rare today and only works in the U.S., Canada, U.K. and Saudi Arabia. Look for the circle to widen over time.

Able to work on all three Wi-Fi 7 bands, the GS-BE18000 features 4X4 streaming for the 5.0 and 6.0GHz transmissions, while the 2.4 GHz band is limited to 2X2 action. It adds up to a throughput rating of 18.0 Gbps.

All the router’s networking ports can handle 2.5 Gbps wired traffic. In addition to the input WAN port, the GS-BE18000 has a generous seven downstream LAN connections. There’s also a Gen 1 USB 3.0 port for running a print server, making the contents of a data drive active across the LAN or using a mobile phone as a backup Internet feed when your broadband goes south.

In the back are buttons for using the Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) for quickie client connections and turning the router on or off. It can run as a Wi-Fi router, wired access point or a wireless node in an AiMesh network. Its excellent Quality of Service protocol is integrated into the gaming features for top access to data.

It may lack the GT-BE19000AI’s window to see its components inside, but the GS-BE18000 has the router’s key specs embossed on a raised strip. There’s no info screen although its LEDs light up the ROG logo in any of seven visual effects and choice of color. Its pattern doesn’t change when the router goes offline but the stack of four LEDs below has indicators for WAN, WiFi, LAN and Power.

Passively cooled, the GS-BE18000 has innovative nanocarbon-coated aluminum heat sink fins to transfer heat away from the router’s sensitive electronic components. It draws room air in from the bottom and expels hot air from the sides and top and peaked at 103.7 degrees Fahrenheit.

The router is secured by Asus’s AIProtection security software that includes ad blocking, web filtering and malware protection. It stands out from the crowd (including Netgear’s Armor) by being a no-fee service that includes continual updates to thwart the nastiest attacks.

The three-year warranty and life of product support blow away the competition. The router’s support pages have the expected set up tips and firmware downloads, but the 32-page manual seems rudimentary if you print it. Meant for online use, it has dozens of internal links for set up and operation tips.

Asus ROG Strix GS-BE18000: Performance

Based on extensive testing using Keysight’s IxChariot networking benchmark and my HP Envy X360 notebook, the ROG Strix GS-BE18000 zoomed past competitors, making it an excellent online companion. With the software set to simulate 10 data hungry users and the router next to the test machine, the GS-BE18000 moved 2.238 Gbps of data over Wi-Fi and 4.465 Gbps over 15 feet of Cat 7 cabling. This puts it in the upper echelon of high-performance routers.

At the real-world distance of 15 feet, the GS-BE18000 delivered 2.354 Gbps of live data, putting it between the TP-Link Archer BE770 at 2.181 Gbps and the Asus ROG Rapture GS-BE19000AI at 2.580 Gbps. It’s more than enough for those with multi-gig data plans.

With the router and test system 50 feet apart, the GS-BE18000 dominated at 1.354 Gbps, ahead of the Archer BE770’s 1.239 Gbps and one-third more throughput than the GT-BE19000AI’s 1.006 Gbps. At 75 feet, its 900.8 Mbps topped the Archer BE770 (at 772.1 Mbps) and the GT-BE19000AI (528.3 Mbps).

Its 40.9 Mbps reading at 90 feet was more mundane and beaten by the Archer BE770’s 70.9 Mbps and the GT-BE19000AI’s 49.1 Mbps. Its 100-foot range should satisfy those living in mid-sized homes but is off the Archer BE770’s 130 feet.

Finally, the GS-BE18000 moved upwards of 1.309 Gbps to a room 25 feet away. That’s among the best and shows the device’s ability to efficiently fill a home with data. During my two weeks with the GS-BE18000, it showed itself to be reliable and fast, although it left a couple dead zones in the attic and basement.

While in use, it consumed 17.7 watts of electricity for an annual estimated power bill of about $27.13 if it runs all day and night and you pay the national average of 17.5 cents per kilowatt hour of electricity. By contrast, the Archer BE770 was a power hog at about $36 a year.

Asus ROG Strix GS-BE18000: Setup

It took 5 minutes to set the ROG Strix GS-BE18000 up using the Asus Router app. After I plugged everything in, I needed to pick a picture of the router, although nothing in the interface matched. The closest was “WiFi routers” and the process was automatic. I added names and passwords.

It can all be done through the router’s online interface at asusrouter.com

Asus ROG Strix GS-BE18000: Configuration

Like other Asus routers, the app is where to customize its settings. The home screen shows the current LED lighting effect as well as links to the current speed, the Internet connection status and the gaming goodies.

Below are tabs for Devices (number of online devices without tapping), Insight (for firmware updates) and Family (for Web filtering by age group). The Settings tab has everything from Diagnostics and Gaming to QOS and Wi-Fi details.

The router’s browser interface’s main page is incredibly dense. In addition to the current traffic and IP addresses, there’s the LED lighting effects too.

Asus ROG Strix GS-BE18000: Gaming

The ROG Strix GS-Be18000’s Game Mode not only shows the current latency specs and deviation, but packet loses along the way. It can be set as the top data dog in the house, making your gaming the priority.

Diehard gamers will love the global Ping map. The game accelerators can speed up the action for seven online games. They range from World of Tanks to Diablo 3.

Verdict

If the economy’s overpriced and everything has got you down, the Asus ROG Strix GS-BE18000 is a genuine bargain that can move data as fast or faster than devices selling for much more. In addition to a generous eight 2.5 Gbps wired networking ports, the GS-BE18000 uses the latest Wi-Fi tricks to deliver more than 2 Gbps available over Wi-Fi and includes an excellent AFC implementation for increasing the power and reach of the 6GHz band

At $400, it’s money well spent on filling a home with high-speed gaming data. I just wish it would menace my gaming friends more.