Asus TUF Gaming AX4200

Affordable AX4200 Class Gaming Router

Asus, with its beautiful, futuristic and rainbow-flashing ROG Rapture routers, has in some way become the driving force of the gaming Wi-Fi equipment market. However, over time, the company’s management realized that not every gamer would want to pay 500–600 hard-earned dollars for something like this, so Asus began to simultaneously develop a more affordable line of TUF gaming routers. Until recently, the main star of the series was the AX3000 V2, which was replaced in 2023 by the TUF Gaming AX4200. The new product can be called a small upgrade of its predecessor, which was transferred from the Broadcomm platform to MediaTek.

Wi-Fi 6, Asus AiMesh and Link Aggregation

Like the AX3000, the new product can work with Wi-Fi 6, supports Mesh connection (Asus AiMesh) and the Link Aggregation function of combining Ethernet ports. For a wired connection, there is a WAN port with a bandwidth of 2.5 Gbps and four Gigabit LAN ports, one of which supports gaming traffic prioritization mode. In the 2.4 GHz frequency range, the device provides a theoretical throughput of up to 574 Mbps, and at a frequency of 5 GHz - up to 3603 Mbps, which ultimately gives a total speed of around 4200 Mbps. For comparison, the AX3000 has a total throughput of just over 3000 Mbps. But this is not even more important, but the fact that replacing the Broadcom BCM6756 processor with a MediaTek Filogic 830 made it possible to significantly improve the quality and stability of coverage almost to the level of Asus ROG routers.

A worthy alternative to Asus ROG routers

The TUF Gaming AX4200 inherits several unique features from its counterparts in the ROG line. One such feature is the Game Accelerator feature, which provides a simplified alternative to QoS prioritization. There is also a Mobile Gaming Mode, which speeds up the transfer of game traffic from mobile devices. The OpenNAT feature makes it easy to set up local networks for gaming with friends in just three clicks. In addition, VPN Fusion mode allows you to use a VPN connection for different devices simultaneously. Well, the modern and friendly design of the router’s administrative panel will be clear even to a beginner. In addition, there is a class 3.2 gen1 USB port on board for external drives, printers and LTE modems. Honestly, for the $140 that Asus is asking for, it’s even inconvenient to ask for something more.