We have not seen a new ASUS router for a really long time. That’s not a surprise considering the pandemic caused global chipset shortage and affected the release schedule of many tech products. Thankfully, ASUS recently launched their new TUF-AX5400 WiFi 6 Gaming Router.
The star of the show will be the gaming features on the TUF-AX5400 router. ASUS told us that they optimized the hardware and software on the router for gamers. This will improve gaming stability and reduce the ping latency during extended gaming session.
The TUF-AX5400 comes with a really aggressive design. It certainly fits the gaming theme with the extensive ventilation holes and 6 external antennas. ASUS also added a RGB light on the TUF logo which can be adjusted on the setting page or ASUS Router app.
I’ve tested the TUF-AX5400 extensively for two weeks and it does not disappoint. The WiFi coverage and signal is a big step up over previous WiFi 5 routers. I also really like the Game Booster feature which greatly enhanced the gaming consistency and reduce the ping latency.
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Taking it at face value, the router is fairly priced at RM838 with a high performance AX5400 WiFi 6 radio, robust gaming features, and a really good support policy that will see it receiving security updates for at least 3 years. That’s a pretty good deal.
ASUS TUF-AX5400 Hardware and Specs
| Wireless 2.4Ghz | Wi-Fi 6 up to 574Mbps (40Mhz 2×2) |
| Wireless 5Ghz | Wi-Fi 6 up to 4804Mbps (160Mhz 4×4) |
| WiFi Features | OFDMA, MU-MIMO, Beamforming, WPA3, AiMesh |
| CPU | Broadcom BCM6750 1.5Ghz Triple-Core with 512MB RAM |
| Ethernet Ports | 1x Gigabit WAN port + 4x Gigabit LAN port |
| USB | 1x USB 3.1 port |
The specs of the TUF-AX5400 is decent with Broadcom’s 1.5Ghz Triple-Core CPU and 512MB RAM to provide great performance even on a really congested network. WiFi is handled by the Dual-Band WiFi 6 radio that support a combined speed up to WiFi 6 AX5400.
ASUS reserved one of the LAN ports to be the dedicated Gaming Port. The router will prioritize the traffic from the Gaming Port on the router. I also like the fact that ASUS used metal-shielded Ethernet ports to reduce interference which should help with stability.
As for the USB port, it can be used for many features on ASUSWRT firmware. In addition of the usual USB file sharing feature, the router also offers printer sharing, USB 4G modem and TimeMachine backup function for MacOS users.
ASUS used a heat spreader instead of heatsink on the TUF-AX5400. There are 2 heat spreaders, one on each side of the PCB. In reality, the router barely heats up with just a slight warm on the bottom even after stress testing it.
ASUS TUF-AX5400 Gaming Features
Fancy a little more performance for your mobile games? There’s a built-in mobile game booster on thee ASUS Router app. When enabled, the router will give priority to the phone for better gaming stability and lower ping time. It will also analyze the connection automatically on the app.
For PC devices, I will recommend the AdaptiveQoS function. While there are multiple profiles to choose from, the Gaming profile is definitely the one you should use if you’re a gamer. When enabled, the QoS engine will prioritize gaming connections to ensure stability and consistency.
If you’re a PS5 or XBOX console player, the OpenNAT feature is definitely for you. Even the latest PS5 or XBOX consoles are prone to port forward issues, resulting in strict NAT. The OpenNAT feature can prevent this and make sure your console is getting the best connectivity for hosting games.
TUF-AX5400 WiFi Performance
Wi-Fi signal strength and performance of the TUF-AX5400 is really good even on long distance. On short distance, I can obtain more than 800Mbps consistently on my iPhone with a Gigabit Internet connection.
On the long distant test, the TUF-AX5400 does not disappoint. It has a really good WiFi speed and very good stability on my laptop with the Intel AX200 WiFi adapter. Strangely, the TUF-AX5400 is performing better than the RT-AX82U that we tested previously.
How much faster is 160Mhz?
Since the TUF-AX5400 supported 160Mhz, I manually enabled this feature for a faster WiFi speed. However, bear in mind that there’s really not much devices that supported WiFi 6 160Mhz. It’s better to disable it unless you have a 160Mhz device as it doesn’t benefit 80Mhz WiFi devices.
When 160Mhz is enabled, my WiFi speed increased by 18% on my ROG Gaming Laptop. That’s rather significant which could make a huge difference when downloading game updates or streaming. The additional capacity will be helpful for more simultaneous connections.
Good 2.4Ghz Performance
The TUF-AX5400 is also doing really well on the 2.4Ghz WiFi performance on my ROG Gaming Laptop with good WiFi speed. However, don’t expect too much on 2.4Ghz as this is an obsolete technology and should only be used for smart home devices. Try to use 5Ghz whenever possible.
AiMesh Compatibility
Need a stronger WiFi coverage on a bigger house? The TUF-AX5400 is an AiMesh Mesh Router which means you can add-on any AiMesh router and it will form a link wirelessly to boost the WiFi coverage for the entire house.
There’s no need to purchase another mesh WiFi system as the router can communicate with a mesh node directly. However, this is only limited on AiMesh products released by ASUS and it wouldn’t work with mesh WiFi system from another brand.
ASUS Router App
The firmware has always been the strength of ASUS router and it remains really solid here. The TUF-AX5400 is compatible with all major Internet services in Malaysia including Unifi, Maxis, TIME and more. The setup process is also really simple and shouldn’t take longer than 5 minutes.
AiProtection Pro Security and Parental Control
For those looking for more control over their home WiFi network, the AiProtection Pro parental control is very handy. It can perform content filtering by category and set daily usage time limit for every devices easily on the ASUS Router app.
ASUS AiProtection Pro enterprise grade antivirus feature will also protect WiFi devices from website containing virus or malware. The router also comes with the latest WPA3 WiFi security right out of the box.
Closing Thoughts
The TUF-AX5400 is a powerful router for gamers to enhance their gaming experience. It’s also a really good router for power users thanks to the great performance and stability toughened by ASUS TUF division. The end result is a router that’s extremely robust and flexible for all usage scenario.
If you are looking for a product with great support, then the TUF-AX5400 really isn’t a bad choice. ASUS security update track record, great overall performance and robust gaming function make it one of the best options from ASUS right now.
ASUS TUF-AX5400
9.2
Tubi Rating
PROS
- Extensive amount of gaming features to improve gaming performance
- Solid WiFi performance and strong WiFi coverage
- Easily expand WiFi coverage by linking it to another AiMesh router
CONS
- Only one USB port is included
- Does not comes with 2.5G WAN port
Hello hello,
I have had a router tested by the Lord for 2 months. I am trying to cover as much space as possible with it. I’ve noticed that setting the antennas at different angles has an impact on the Wi-Fi range. Looking at the drawing without the top cover, could you please indicate which antenna is from which frequency? Regards Michael
If you look at my teardown pictures, the 2.4Ghz antennas are connected with the black cable. The remaining antennas belong to the 5Ghz radio.
For wifi internet, would you recommend the TUF-AX5400 or the tp link AX73 considering pricing is almost the same in my country? Internetspeed is 1.2 gbps
If they cost almost the same, I would recommend the ASUS TUF-AX5400 as the specs is better than the Archer AX73. It also comes with more features as well.
Can you give me advice if I should choose between tplink ax73 or tuf ax5400? I want to bought it to play games on my pc (by lan cable). I want low ping. In actual use, will it be differrent between this two product?
The ASUS TUF-AX5400 comes with gaming booster function that’s the same like their expensive ROG router. So you are technically getting a bargain despite being a TUF series product.
I am currently using Netgear Orbi RBR50 with 500mbps unifi. It is starting to give me issues so is thinking of replacement config. Just wondering if TUF 5400(main) + TUF 3000(Ethernet backhaul mesh) is sufficient or twin TUF 5400 is more suitable?
I will suggest going for the same model to minimize any potential problems that might arise.
HI! I want to build a home network with 3 tuf ax5400.
One as the main AiMesh router
and the other two I connect with cat6 and use them as AiMesh Node’s.
My question: if I connect my gaming pc with a cable to one of the nodes, can I also prefer the gaming pc in the network?
Thanks in advance
Yup, you are able to do that with the AdaptiveQoS feature.
Thank you for your fast reply!
Would you recommend TUF-AX5400 or RT-AX88U or RT-AX86U ignoring the price difference?
thx Toni
The RT-AX86U is definitely the best WiFi 6 router in ASUS router lineup now. The RT-AX88U is released 2 years back and it does not receive the latest radio-frequency technology updates unlike the RT-AX86U despite being more expensive.
Hi! I m considering the Archer AX90 and this TUF-AX5400 router to replace my Archer C2300. Which do you think has a better wifi coverage for a 23×70 double storey house? My current router sits in the main living room on the ground floor (at the front of the house) and I am having problems getting a stable 5Gz connection in the master bedroom on the 1st floor (just on top of the router). I have a mixture of abt 12 devices wired and wirelessly connected to the router during peak hours. Or should I get the Archer AX73 and… Read more »
Frankly speaking, both model will not provide a very significant signal boost. That’s because we already hit the maximum limit of WiFi signal permissible by regulations. If you need more coverage, you should consider getting a mesh WiFi system and I believe that’s the best choice for you.
WiFi 6 make things faster but the signal improvement isn’t that significant especially if you’re coming from a good Wireless AC router.
Hi! Thanks for giving me this insight. I will go ahead and purchase a mesh wifi system.
My place currently using the entry model AX55,
Thinking of purchasing TUF-AX3000 OR TUF-AX5400 for AiMesh router upstairs via wired backhaul, this because the upstairs have even more walls to penetrate. Is there any disadvantage for not using high spec hardware as main router?
The RT-AX55 only comes with 256MB RAM and it isn’t built to the same high standards unlike a proper high-end ASUS router. I will suggest use the better model as the main unit.
So even if there are more devices connected simultaneously upstairs to the node, it would just use the main rounter’s hardware ie: ram/CPU to control the congestion. And i won’t be able to activate 160mhz on the node because main router doesn’t have the feature. Correct for both?
Yup, using 160Mhz will not provide any benefits unless both the main unit and mesh node has it. Yes, all the routing is still managed by the main router, the mesh node is actually just extending the WiFi signal. This is why the ASUSWRT features will depends on the main router. To enjoy those mobile game mode and advanced QoS features, you must use the TUF-AX5400 as the main unit.
I bought this router. My unifi is 800, when i am connected via cable, I am able to hit that speed. However, when I am on wifi 2.4 or 5g and sitting next to the router, I am not able to hit that speed. Any idea why? I tried with my iPad, Note10 (wifi6) and laptop and achieved around 350 only.
Disable 160Mhz on ASUSWRT settings and try again.
Thanks for the reply. Tried. Result same.
Unfortunately, WiFi is still not perfect and subjected to interference. But, 350Mbps is slightly too low to be acceptable. Try to contact ASUS support.
thanks! will do
Hi, i’m currently running on TUF-AX3000 as my main router and connected to Deco M9 as mesh. Do you think i would get better speed stability and connection if i replace the Deco M9 and use this AX-5400 connect using Ai Mesh?
Definitely, unlike rojak, mix and match is never a good thing here. Use the TUF-AX5400 as main router and retire your TUF-AX3000 as mesh node.
Great. Thanks for your speedy response. I’ll wait for shopee promo. Haha.
I bought the RT-AX5400 via Shopee. I guess it’s the China version because I can’t connect, the WAN light is still red, even after getting all my Unifi username & PW correct. Been at a loss for past 3-4 days. Any ideas?
You shouldn’t purchase the China imported version. It’s slower, weaker signal and you don’t get to enjoy the 3 years warranty and after sales support from ASUS Malaysia. Not to mention that the software is in Chinese language.
Is RT-AX86U much better than TUF-AX5400?
My main concern is penetration as my current AC-86U 5GHz could not reach one of the room downstairs, no problem with 2.4GHz.
The price difference of RM400-500 between these model is pretty steep.
The RT-AX86U is stronger but it is not magic. Mesh WiFi is the way forward as 5Ghz signal strength is legally limited by regulators for safety reasons.
Would you recommend TUF-AX5400 or AX-82U ignoring the price difference?
I prefer the aesthetics of RT-AX82U. It looks much more premium than the TUF-AX5400. The materials on the RT-AX82U is better as well.
I also hesitate between these two. The TUF AX5400 showed better performance as far as 5G Wifi is concerned. What about 2.4G (I have a lot of IoT and old devices)? And do they have a similar Wifi range (speed is not the only relevant feature). What about the user interface which is not the same? I am not a gamer but I like advanced settings. This model is so new that it is hard to find any comparative reviews on the web, and their specs are nearly the same… According to ASUS website, the TUF AX5400 has some specs… Read more »
Both the TUF-AX5400 and RT-AX82U have the exact same specification, period. While there are some difference in performance on my test, I believe it is marginal and not significant.
hi,
should i upgrade from tuf-ax3000 to tuf-ax5400? if yes, which one use as main and which use as mesh? now my router place at 1st floor with thick floor & walls surround, no problem at 2ghz (yet) but hard to get 5ghz downstairs.
Yup, you can get the TUF-AX5400, use it as the main router and convert your existing TUF-AX3000 into the AiMesh node like what I did.
My old tuf-ax3000 range seems to be shorter and speed slower especially a floor above router at the corners of the house. If i get the tuf-ax5400 (to ai-mesh) would i get 300mbps upstairs ? currently getting 100+ only. My internet speed is 500
Hmm, I think you would stand a better chance if the TUF-AX5400 is used as the main unit while the TUF-AX3000 is used as the mesh node.