Asus ROG GS-AX5400

Strix router is bettered by ProArt equivalent

- ZAK STOREY

WE’VE GOT SOMETHING a little bit different for you—a router. For the first time in a while, we’re starting up our router reviews again. Now, you’ll have to bear with us, as this format and its associated benchmark testing is likely to change quite dramatically over the next year or so, but it’s an area that we want to iron out properly and get more into the mag.

So, what have we got here? This is Asus’s latest ROG GS-AX5400 WiFi 6 router, a somewhat premium offering, clocking in at just shy of $250. Being part of the ROG Strix lineup, it’s definitely a more ‘gaming-centric’ device and the design very much screams that.

There’s a bold holographic ROG logo on the top (thankfully not RGB), followed by some (sadly RGB) lighting running around the sides, and then four little white LED lights on the top left to indicate power, 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and WAN connectivity status. It also features four antennas to improve WiFi 5 and WiFi 6 performance, and for rear I/O, you have access to a 1Gb/s WAN port, 4x 1Gb/s ethernet ports, a USB 3.2 port, and that’s about it.