First look at the new Wi-Fi 7 standard with ASUS ROG Rapture GT-BE98

Wireless local area networks continue to grow in capacity. Wi-Fi 6 and 6E were already a big leap in capabilities, but they were quickly followed by Wi-Fi 7. We saw new models of routers earlier this year at CES 2024. First of all, such devices should be of interest to gamers and users who have demanding tasks on their local network. ASUS ROG Rapture GT-BE98 got into our editorial team and will help us to get acquainted with the new standard.

Package contents

The router is not cheap, and this is immediately noticeable even from the packaging. Routers that are familiar to the vast majority of users are quite small, and Mesh systems are almost tiny in general (in comparison, of course). However, the ROG Rapture GT-BE98 is huge, and its box is appropriate.

Inside, the neatly folded device is accompanied by a power supply unit with two cables for different socket formats, as well as an Ethernet cable. The latter, unlike the usual configuration, is not cat.5e, but cat.6 (and with metal “caps” rather than plastic ones). It will come in handy because the router has many fast ports.

Large case with gaming accents

Gaming devices are often larger than regular devices. Routers are also subject to this trend. ROG Rapture GT-BE98, like its predecessor, is unexpectedly large. While most routers can easily be placed in the corner of a desktop or even in a drawer, today’s guest of the editorial office will need much more space. And I don’t think the owner will want to hide such a router. 

The Rapture GT-BE98 has an (almost) square body with dimensions of 350.41×350.41×220.6 mm, and its total weight is 2 kg. That is, you will really have to free up a lot of space for it compared to conventional models or Mesh systems. Moreover, it also has 8 huge external antennas, which only help the overall “anti-compactness”. And yes, it’s not the largest of the ROG routers, but it’s definitely the largest among those that have come to our attention.

The design of the device continues the appearance of the previous models, but it has some cosmetic updates. First, it has a decorative translucent area. We’ve already seen a similar element in the ROG Rapture GT6 Mesh system, for example. Given that such solutions are also found on other devices (desktop cases have “windows”, headphone cases are translucent, etc.), the accent will definitely find its fans. In addition, the entire case is made of practical matte black plastic.

Secondly, the ROG logo has slightly updated its capabilities. It combines the AniMe Matrix corporate identity, but has RGB diodes rather than exclusively white ones. The user is given the opportunity to choose from seven Aura RGB presets. And yes, the backlighting is quite bright, and the overall size of the logo is quite large, so it can additionally serve as a “candle holder” for the workspace. You can turn it off if you want, and the app also has a night mode.

White diode indicators of the current status are also backlit. Mesh systems in general have already demonstrated that such “light bulbs” are of little practical use (with stable provider operation), but they traditionally find a place on the case. Two inconspicuous LED and WPS buttons are also located nearby. (There is also a hidden reset button, but it is located next to the LAN ports.)

The entire bottom panel of the router is devoted to cooling slots. There are no separate mounts for installing the device on the wall (or ceiling). And although the antennas are rotatable, their placement also hints once again that the router should be placed horizontally.

So, ROG Rapture GT-BE98, in the best traditions of the flagship routers of the line, continues the overall “space” design, while having minor cosmetic updates. Potential owners should only think about the exact place of installation in advance, because the device remains really large and may require much more free space than expected. And it would be a shame to install it in some inconspicuous place.

The composition of the ports also does not disappoint

Owners of homes with wired connections for computers and other devices that (in addition to gaming) are quite demanding in terms of data transfer speed will not be disappointed. The ROG Rapture GT-BE98 is also well prepared for this case.

Between the antennas, there are three separate units that will offer: 10-gigabit WAN/LAN and another such LAN; four 2.5-gigabit LANs, one of which is also combined with a WAN; one “slow” gigabit LAN; and two USB-A (3.2 Gen1 and 2.0). That is, if a user has a server, fast network drives, and a couple of desktops at home, all of them can be connected by a really fast connection, additionally backed up by cellular communication, a USB drive, etc. 

Along with the USB ports, there is also a power connector and a power toggle switch. The aforementioned Reset button is located next to the center block of LAN ports. The gaming port has a separate ROG label, which can be prioritized in the network.

Wi-Fi 7 support and additional software

The key differences of the new Wi-Fi 7 standard, or IEEE 802.11be, are increased modulation (4096 QAM), a wider bandwidth (320 MHz), and, as a result, an increase in the theoretical maximum speed to 46 Gbps. Yes, it is theoretical, because in practice there will be no ideal conditions. However, there should still be some improvements. For now, the new standard promises lower latency, better stability, and improved Mesh performance. 

It’s also worth remembering that there are currently local usage restrictions. As with 5 GHz, the relatively new 6 GHz band (introduced with Wi-Fi 6E) is not yet available in all countries. And yes, in Ukraine, the new standards have not yet been approved, so not every device will “see” the 6 GHz network at all, even though it is actually working (the network indicator will show the number 6, but this will apply to the Wi-Fi 6 standard). In other words, a newly purchased flagship smartphone may not detect the 6 GHz band, a desktop will have to change the receiver (and the OS version if it is older than Windows 11), and as for laptops, not every module can be changed in principle (there are cases when they are soldered on motherboards).

At this point, it probably doesn’t make much sense to upgrade to Wi-Fi 7 “urgently.” However, if the old router still needs to be replaced, and the user’s equipment fleet will also be updated relatively soon, then in the future it makes sense to consider newer options, including the ROG Rapture GT-BE98 (although the budget for such a purchase is considerable).

Along with the new Wi-Fi 7 standard, this model has a lot more functionality to offer. Among the operating modes are Router, Access Point, Repeater, Media Bridge, and, of course, AiMesh (ASUS’s proprietary standard). In the latter case, it is desirable to have other network devices of the corresponding standard (but it is clear that this is not necessary in some cases).

It is powered by a 2.6 GHz quad-core processor, 2 GB of RAM and 256 MB of storage. In general, the ROG Rapture GT-BE98 provides operation in the 2.4 GHz bands, two 5 GHz networks, and another 6 GHz network (in all cases, 4×4). There is also support for OFDMA, Beamforming, and the aforementioned 4096 QAM modulation in all bands, which in the same order have a theoretical speed ceiling of up to 1376, 5764, and 11529 Mbps. That is, this model is theoretically capable of a maximum speed of almost 25 Gbps. At the same time, the more expensive option, with the Pro prefix in the name, duplicates not the 5 GHz band, but the 6 GHz band, where the total speed is somewhat higher (over 30 Gbps).

In addition, the new routers are equipped with support for the MLO function – Multi-Link Operation. It allows the customer to work with multiple bands at once for a more stable connection and faster speeds.

The vast majority of branded add-ons were already available before. We’re talking about basic things like parental control, traffic monitoring, Trend Micro protection, and a set of VPN options, as well as more interesting gaming add-ons.

Among them are Game Radar (which shows the latency of servers for different games depending on the location), game OpenNAT profiles, and the Game Acceleration section, which includes port prioritization (including ROG First, which automatically detects ROG devices on the local network and then gives them preference), Game Boost, and WTFast. If the router serves a lot of customers, including gamers, such features should make the gaming experience easier when someone else is loading the network with other tasks.

The guest network section is also an interesting feature. Here it is called Guest Network Pro, and it contains similar capabilities for creating additional networks as in the devices of the new ExpertWiFi line (we have already told you more about them in our reviews of ASUS ExpertWiFi EBR63 and ASUS ExpertWiFi EBM68). That is, a gaming router can also be useful for a small business or office. Despite the fact that it still costs more than professional solutions, its speeds are still higher, which will provide greater comfort for connection-demanding work.

Of course, the usual set of functions for connecting USB devices, creating cloud storage with AiCloud 2.0, synchronizing with Amazon Alexa, and so on, is still available. Logs, Firewall, and administrative settings have not changed significantly.

There is also an interesting feature of the new model: the Smart Connect mode can combine the selected bands. So, for example, the user can leave 6 GHz separate for gaming devices, and combine 2.4 and 5 for all others. This way, there will be fewer networks, and there will be no unnecessary unforeseen misunderstandings with the priority of connections.

As always, you can manage all this through the traditional “browser-based” administrative panel or the smartphone app. The latter still has a few less settings, but it can still provide most of the necessary things.

First setup:

Administrative panel:

ASUS Router app:

First tests of the ROG Rapture GT-BE98

Unfortunately, it so happened that we were unable to find two clients that met the standard. Currently, not many devices support Wi-Fi 7, and Android smartphones basically “refuse to see” the 6 GHz band even with a changed region. Therefore, two laptops with Wi-Fi 6E – ROG Strix SCAR 16 from 2023 – became the “test” customers. The tests were carried out in our usual conditions of a small two-room apartment, where, due to the small total area, there were high expectations even in the simpler 6 GHz bands.

Of course, at the time of testing, all the bands were placed in separate networks. So, without testing 6 GHz with 320 MHz support, the results will not show the best possible performance, but not every user who buys such a router now will also have all the gadgets that support the new standards (and, let’s be honest, most home devices do not really need the maximum speed capabilities, and more than a gigabit connection at home is not available everywhere).

So, at the time of testing with a wired connection, the Speedtest speed test showed 851 Mbps for downloading and 937 for uploading (this is the predominant maximum that the provider has demonstrated since last winter, although sometimes there are higher speeds). At 2.4 GHz, the laptop showed more or less standard 214/205 Mbps for such routers, and at the maximum distance within the apartment – almost 100/122 Mbps.

Since both 5 GHz networks demonstrated similar performance, there is no need to duplicate the figures, so we will leave only one of them here. And in the same locations, the connection speeds were 849/926 and 746/859. That is, these are already some of the best results among all our router tests.

As for 6 GHz, the results are also quite similar, and the difference with the previous range is more or less within the statistical error: 841/931 and 718/916 Mbps, respectively. Again, if the clients supported 320 MHz, the results would be even better.

We also managed to measure more than usual between customers. Since the router has a lot of high-speed ports, and gaming laptops have already started to get more Ethernet capabilities (2.5 Gbps), expectations are rising accordingly. Thus, between the two test laptops connected to the router by wires, we could see almost the predicted maximum of 2.4 Gbps.

After that, leaving one of the customers with a wired connection, I walked through all the available bands in different places in the apartment one by one. In the 2.4 GHz band near the router, I could get an average data rate of almost 200 Mbps, while almost half of that speed was lost in the farthest location. 

The average speed in the 5 GHz band was impressive. Near the router, it was 1,938 Mbps (with a maximum of 2,179 Mbps). Of course, at the distance of a couple of walls, the expected loss was noticeable – 1,161 Mbps (maximum – 1,307). However, this is much more than cheaper routers can offer.

In our case, we were unable to fully test the 6 GHz band. With a client that is maximally capable of working with the Wi-Fi 6E standard (i.e., 160, not 320 MHz), we managed to get an average transmission speed of up to 2,006 Mbps (2,116 at the peak) near the device, and 881 Mbps (maximum 1,199 Mbps) away from it.

Unfortunately, the ROG laptops with fast ports had to be returned, and later the new AORUS 16X from GIGABYTE, which is still capable of working with newer networks, got to the editorial office. All we could try in our conditions was the same Speedtest. And in order not to overload the end of the material with unnecessary screenshots, let’s move on to the most interesting – 6 GHz. At this point in the test, the provider provided a slightly higher speed with a wired connection – 922/939 Mbps. And over Wi-Fi, the laptop showed the minimum speed of 925/942 Mbps. And at a distance, the speed loss can be called imperceptible – 901/941 Mbps. 

That is, the gigabit connection provided by the provider was literally everywhere in my case. Random speed measurements during the preparation of this article could show slight fluctuations, but they could also depend on the provider or server. And here, too, you need to take into account the capabilities of the client. For example, a MacBook Pro (Wi-Fi 6) in this case and in the same place received at best three quarters of the speed of gaming laptops. The same goes for smartphones, which also do not work in 6 GHz.

So, yes, simply replacing the router will not be enough, because to achieve the maximum connection speed, you need to have the appropriate clients. It’s clear that 700 Mbps is not really necessary for a smartphone. But with computers/laptops, this can be a more tangible issue. In addition, given the data transfer speeds within the network, with such a router and a relatively small apartment, it makes sense to think not only about a gigabit connection (if you don’t already have one), but also an additional line of the same type, because ROG Rapture GT-BE98 has the ability to aggregate channels. Needless to say, there are also opportunities for wired connection of clients such as PCs, network drives, and TVs. And I think it makes no sense to say that in normal use with several different home devices, there was not a single hint of performance issues.

Preliminary conclusions

Since it was possible to “touch” Wi-Fi 7 rather indirectly, it is difficult to draw unambiguous conclusions. Nevertheless, the first impressions of the ROG Rapture GT-BE98’s performance and general capabilities were very pleasant. In addition to a large set of additional features, the router is really capable of providing a considerable data transfer rate and Internet connection. However, the issue of affordability remains. The router is far from cheap, and for really high data transfer speeds, you need the right clients, which are also not so plentiful (and their cost is also considerable). In addition, not every household has a gigabit connection (let alone more), and without it, a lot of the point of such a gadget is lost. However, for those enthusiasts who have already equipped their homes with a fast wired connection, are customers of a good provider, and are planning to upgrade other devices (laptop, PC network card, and smartphone with Wi-Fi 7), such a router can definitely become a game changer.