Review: ASUS RT-N66U 'Dark Knight' router

Final thoughts and rating

...the Dark Knight Router should at least be on a shortlist for your next router upgrade, though, as always, bringing down the price to sub-£100 would play well.

The latest generation of routers bundled in with broadband providers' packages provide ample bandwidth for most tasks, so stepping it up a notch and shelling out £100 on an upgrade requires excellence in every regard.

The ASUS RT-N66U 'Dark Knight' router has obvious plus points; there's easy setup, solid configuration and decent wireless performance - especially on the 5GHz band. But in an ideal world we'd like ASUS to upgrade the USB ports to the SuperSpeed variety, benefitting the NAS functionality, and have some of the rear-positioned buttons located on the side, but that's about it for our list of grumbles.

Backed by a two-year warranty, the Dark Knight Router should at least be on a shortlist for your next router upgrade, though, as always, bringing down the price to sub-£100 would play well.

The Good

Super-easy setup
Fast performance on wired and 5GHz Wi-Fi band
Good looks

The Bad

USB ports should be SuperSpeed
Easier access to router buttons

HEXUS Rating

ASUS RT-N66U 'Dark Knight'

HEXUS Awards

ASUS RT-N66U 'Dark Knight'

HEXUS Where2Buy

The ASUS RT-N66U is available to purchase from Scan Computers.

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I have the N66U myself and i don't really regret the outlay as coverage is now superb in our house over the VM SHub. Sadly my S3 is the only 5GHz device in the house, but havering ultra speeds upstairs and still having ‘fast’ speeds downstairs on 2.4GHz feel like a revelation.

The heat is definitely an issue though. I can't say i like the thought of it running warm all the time and expecting 2+ years out of it.

There is no way to turn off the 5GHz chip, for example, to possibly reduce the heat. There are a few other options that you can flick on/off in the config too which is says may reduce router load but all of these are performance based (naturally) so i feel a bit cheated that you should have to turn off “network hardware acceleration” to cool it down - among other things (firewall and so on).

The USB ports not being 3.0 is pretty naff too, tbh given the price of the router. Furthermore, me and a few others around the web have had lots of issues trying to get portable USB HDDs to function properly.

I can agree on the button layout too - it's very poor. The power cable also leaves a lot to be desired where build quality and flimsy feel is concerned.

Lastly, my biggest gripe is the blue LEDs which can not be turned off. I have a Razer Nostromo and U2711 on my desk and the N66U's LEDs are far brighter! I came across a custom firmware which does turn them off but i'm nto sure which base firmware it's built on so didn't want to risk losing out on any fixes Asus may have done (they're been quite active with updates IMO -possibly good and bad, i guess).

Did Asus not learn from their Hasbro law suit that they should perhaps avoid trying to gain popularity of their devices using references to popular films?

Terbinator
I have the N66U myself and i don't really regret the outlay as coverage is now superb in our house over the VM SHub. Sadly my S3 is the only 5GHz device in the house, but havering ultra speeds upstairs and still having ‘fast’ speeds downstairs on 2.4GHz feel like a revelation.

The heat is definitely an issue though. I can't say i like the thought of it running warm all the time and expecting 2+ years out of it.

The USB ports not being 3.0 is pretty naff too, tbh given the price of the router. Furthermore, me and a few others around the web have had lots of issues trying to get portable USB HDDs to function properly.

Lastly, my biggest gripe is the blue LEDs which can not be turned off. I have a Razer Nostromo and U2711 on my desk and the N66U's LEDs are far brighter! I came across a custom firmware which does turn them off but i'm nto sure which base firmware it's built on so didn't want to risk losing out on any fixes Asus may have done (they're been quite active with updates IMO -possibly good and bad, i guess).

I had coverage “issues” (and stability ones too) with the VM SuperHub, so I had to choose between the older RT-56U router and a (more expensive) Cisco E4200. Unfortunately I believed all those stories about the ‘56U being a bit flaky and bought the E4200. It’s an okay router, but for something from a company that makes only comms gear, it's amazing the lack of control - e.g. can't switch channels!

The E4200 also has problems with USB HDD's - I put on a single port 1TB drive and ran into problems with connections suddenly dropping off. :( I also admit to being a little concerned about that reported heat level of the 66U - the 4200 does run quite cool.

As to the bright lights issue, here's a tip - white foam-backed double-sided tape from Maplins. I had terrible problems with the SuperHub's lights being far too bright (as bright as a proper night light!) until I put a strip of this tape over them. You can still see the lights, but the tape diffuses them nicely - and if it's still too bright then a second strip of tape will take it down even further.

Good review - if this Cisco continues to annoy me then I might consider the Asus as a replacement - although I'd really like to see an “improved” model with those USB3.0 ports and better cooling.

That last picture, by the way, with the antennas extended and on the stand reminds me of a Transformer toy for some reason. ;)

crossy
I had coverage “issues” (and stability ones too) with the VM SuperHub, so I had to choose between the older RT-56U router and a (more expensive) Cisco E4200. Unfortunately I believed all those stories about the ‘56U being a bit flaky and bought the E4200. It’s an okay router, but for something from a company that makes only comms gear, it's amazing the lack of control - e.g. can't switch channels!

Originally i was looking at the 56U but then i thought the 66 must be better as it has it's antennae out! :P But seriously, for all my gripes i can't fault the actual performance of the thing.

crossy
The E4200 also has problems with USB HDD's - I put on a single port 1TB drive and ran into problems with connections suddenly dropping off. :( I also admit to being a little concerned about that reported heat level of the 66U - the 4200 does run quite cool.

Well i made the foolish mistake of copying some holiday photos onto the HDD i had plugged in to it for it only for it to drop out on me and not want to show up again for about a week. Safe to say the GF wasn't best pleased. :D The heat is definitely my biggest gripe/annoyance though, i just don't understand why it's so hot. I'm the only one in the house using the router at all and it's certainly warm even though it isn't obstructed in anyway.

crossy
As to the bright lights issue, here's a tip - white foam-backed double-sided tape from Maplins. I had terrible problems with the SuperHub's lights being far too bright (as bright as a proper night light!) until I put a strip of this tape over them. You can still see the lights, but the tape diffuses them nicely - and if it's still too bright then a second strip of tape will take it down even further.

I just throw a sock on top of it! :p

Terbinator
crossy
I had coverage “issues” (and stability ones too) with the VM SuperHub, so I had to choose between the older RT-56U router and a (more expensive) Cisco E4200. Unfortunately I believed all those stories about the ‘56U being a bit flaky and bought the E4200. It’s an okay router, but for something from a company that makes only comms gear, it's amazing the lack of control - e.g. can't switch channels!
Originally i was looking at the 56U but then i thought the 66 must be better as it has it's antennae out! :P But seriously, for all my gripes i can't fault the actual performance of the thing.

crossy
The E4200 also has problems with USB HDD's - I put on a single port 1TB drive and ran into problems with connections suddenly dropping off. :( I also admit to being a little concerned about that reported heat level of the 66U - the 4200 does run quite cool.
Well i made the foolish mistake of copying some holiday photos onto the HDD i had plugged in to it for it only for it to drop out on me and not want to show up again for about a week. Safe to say the GF wasn't best pleased. :D The heat is definitely my biggest gripe/annoyance though, i just don't understand why it's so hot. I'm the only one in the house using the router at all and it's certainly warm even though it isn't obstructed in anyway.

crossy
As to the bright lights issue, here's a tip - white foam-backed double-sided tape from Maplins. I had terrible problems with the SuperHub's lights being far too bright (as bright as a proper night light!) until I put a strip of this tape over them. You can still see the lights, but the tape diffuses them nicely - and if it's still too bright then a second strip of tape will take it down even further.

I just throw a sock on top of it! :p

I have the ADSL router version of this, N55 iirc. And ive got a bit of paper tapped onto it, spoils the look but also doesn't turn my bed room into some sort of light show.