Routers don't grab news headlines like CPUs, graphics cards, or gaming laptops do but they're pretty much standard hardware for every household with a PC in it. Most are discrete, dull-looking boxes that simply get on and do the job they were created for. Enter stage left Asus at Computex 2024, and its ROG Rapture GT-BE19000, the gaming version of its already ludicrous Wi-Fi 7 RT-BE96U router.
While we've not tested that particular router yet, our chums at Tom's Guide have and reckon it's a brilliant router, fast and packed with features, though the $700 price tag is perhaps as outrageous as it looks.
But if you feel a spikey, black router just isn't gamer enough for you, then don't worry as Asus clearly feels the same way. It's plastered the router with a variety of aesthetic enhancements to make it feel right at home in the ROG family of hardware, especially with the name Rapture GT-BE19000.
If you don't have GT in the name of something, it's automatically slow. Allegedly.
As far as we can tell, the components inside are no different to the original RT-BE96U, but you're getting some additional cooling (err, why?), some RGB (but of course), and a slightly bizarre collection of what appear to be decals, underneath a transparent plastic shield.
Routers targeted at the gaming market have always been a tad on the extreme side when it comes to looks, but I have to say that I've not seen one quite so lairy as this one.
And you know what? I kind of want one! With two Wi-Fi 7 capable PCs in my house, it would be nice to take full advantage of that with an appropriate router, though my current Wi-Fi 6 one pretty much hits the maximum transfer rate of my ISP connection (500 Mbps) anyway.
The two 10Gb LAN ports would be great for hooking up all the other test PCs I have in my office or attaching a NAS to the network, although I'm not a fan of having Ethernet cables trailing about everywhere.
Truthfully though, I just want it for the Thargoid-inspired looks. Forget discrete and boring—give me something that looks like it could beam data directly into my frontal lobes. However, given that I can't afford the 'standard' RT-BE96U, I suspect I'll have no chance with the ROG Rapture GT-BE19000, whatever its retail price ends up coming to.
Then again, given how well Asus has been handling its warranty situation, perhaps it's a good job that I can't actually buy one. Ah well, my alien-router dreams will have to wait a while longer.
