Page 4 - Performance Tests
For the tests, the ASUS ZenWiFi XD6 wireless router was placed on the main floor of my colleague Aaron Lai's house. His media PC with a Gigabyte UD Pro 256GB SSD was connected to the router via a CAT5e cable on a Gigabit Ethernet connection. On the client side, a 2018 13" HP Envy 13 with an Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX200 network adapter card installed running Totusoft's LAN Speed Test application was used to transfer 500MB test files to evaluate real-world throughput. In our results, "upload" is defined as data transfer from the client to the server via the wireless router; conversely, "download" is defined as data transfer from the server to the client via the wireless router.
Since wireless channels are generally characterized by path loss, large scale fading, and small-scale fading, the router was tested in six different locations described above to comprehensively measure its true throughput performance. This includes a combination of line of sight and non-light of sight spots, different distance and positions relative to the router, as well as shadowing caused by objects between the laptop and the router. In order to overcome inconsistencies due to small scale fading, a relatively large 500MB test file was used. Furthermore, movement of people and objects within the vicinity of the devices during testing was eliminated whenever possible. As the ASUS ZenWiFi XD6 is a mesh unit, the primary one was in his living room, where the single-unit routers sat, while the second unit was placed in an adjacent room with direct line of sight between both nodes. This should allow for better coverage on the other end of his house.
A brief description of the test locations is as follows:
- Location 1: Line of sight to router, approximately 2m distance
- Location 2: Non-line of sight to router, bedroom, one floor up
- Location 3: Non-line of sight to router, bedroom, one floor up, end of house
- Location 4: Non-line of sight to router, bedroom, one floor down
- Location 5: Non-line of sight to router, patio balcony, same level
- Location 6: Non-line of sight to router, attached garage, one floor down
Compared Hardware:
- ASUS ZenWiFi XD6 (Single) (AX5400)
- ASUS ZenWiFi XD6 (Double) (AX5400)
- ASUS ROG Strix GS-AX5400 (AX5400)
- EnGenius ESR580 (Single) (AC2200)
- EnGenius ESR580 (Double) (AC2200)
- D-Link DIR-X5460 (AX5400)
- TP-Link Archer AX6000 (AX6000)
- TP-Link Archer GX90 (AX6600)
- TP-Link Deco X90 (Single) (AX6600)
- TP-Link Deco X90 (Double) (AX6600)
Location 1 is usually where routers demonstrate the maximum upload and download speed. This is part of the test design, as this is the only location with direct line-of-sight, not to mention a very close proximity. In this case, the ASUS ZenWiFi XD6 had very competitive upload speed in both configurations. Its download speed virtually tied with the ASUS ROG Strix GS-AX5400, another AX5400 router, and about what was expected for its speed rating. Results from Locations 2 and 4, which are almost just above or below the router, respectively, showed the antenna array strength when the laptop is above or below even if it did not have direct line-of-sight. It seems the ZenWiFi XD6's antenna array strength suffered only minimal, if not no losses when you are directly below than above it. As with Location 1, the XD6's upload speed in both configurations was consistently strong in Locations 2 and 4 -- scoring second and third place -- in our charts. Its download speed was a bit slower than the D-Link DIR-X5460, but marginally faster than the ROG Strix GS-AX5400, all AX5400 routers.
Location 5 is outdoors and separated by a sliding glass door, but is generally still close to the router. Despite the horizontal distance, its speeds remained very competitive. Speaking of which, Locations 3 and 6 are trickier regions, as they are the furthest away from the router and not directly above or below. Location 3 showed reasonably good upload and download speeds, but only in single configuration. In single configuration, the XD6 had very reasonable losses compared to Location 1 and competitive against other routers on the list considering its speed class. However, in dual configuration, we saw a significant performance loss. This is because the laptop was connected to the second XD6, so the second XD6 was using half the wireless capacity to communicate with the laptop and the other half for backhaul to the main router. You may get better overall performance if there are more connected clients to the router and there is backhaul traffic aggregation, but this shows the limits of using a wireless backhaul, which is an unfortunate intrinsic limitation to any mesh system design.
Location 6 was the furthest distance from the router while being one floor below. Both upload and download slowed by a good margin compared to its peak, but the ASUS ZenWiFi XD6 continued to perform consistently with a lower loss than routers like the DIR-X5460 and Archer AX6000 in single configuration. Again, we saw a bigger performance loss when operating in mesh mode for the reasons explained above. It was surprising to see that the router performed worse in double configuration than single, but it makes sense given the XD6 in single configuration is significantly faster than other mesh wireless routers in single configuration. I have also retested it multiple times with the same results. It came in second place for download and third place for upload in single configuration, and a distant fourth for download in double configuration.
Overall, the ASUS ZenWiFi XD6 delivered good and consistent wireless throughput from short to long range as a single unit. Its performance was surprisingly strong, considering it has no external antennas. In single configuration, its peak download numbers of 716.39Mbps, while never dipping below 571.14Mbps at any location, was great especially considering its AX5400 speed class. Although its peak speed was not the fastest, its minimum speed was far from the slowest, which shows a lot about its throughput consistency. Its mesh performance leaves a bit to be desired, but as always, this is intrinsic to any mesh router when using a wireless backhaul.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Hardware
3. Configuration and User Interface
4. Performance Tests
5. Conclusion
