Too Long Don't Wish to Read - The ASUS ROG Rapture GT-BE98 Pro (hereafter noted as the "98 Pro") (released in March of 2024) takes the underwear of other Wifi 7 flagship routers and pulls them up over their heads and then slaps em silly. Although initially buggy with incomplete functions, … new motherboard versions combined with firmware updates have slowly transformed this router from a three-star device into the more mature product that was promised by ASUS back in early 2024. Five stars as of March, 2025. The long version - Few people are going to be able to afford the GT-BE98 Pro, ... much less set it up correctly, ... but for those who can, this router can perform some fairly rare functions while using the very latest standards. Initial versions (models sold until November of 2024) of the BE98 came with the slightly buggy 1.0 motherboard and suffered from a few half-baked functions in the firmware. In many ways, those initial 98 Pro's were inferior to the prior ROG Rapture GT-AXE16000 and GT-AXE11000 routers, especially when it came to Wifi 6 and 6E clients. As of March, 2025, ASUS is currently on their third motherboard revision (1.2a) and updated the firmware on March 13th to 3.0.0.6.102_37812 (for United States owners). This combination has hammered out most of the bugs, nags, and missing features that plagued most of 2024. Let’s look at some of the current features: Build Quality – Initially buggy with motherboards 1.0 (initial release, March 2024) and 1.1 (initial release November, 2024). As of mid-February and the 1.2a motherboard release, the 98 Pro has finally reached a more mature state. Firmware updates will work on all the boards, so no worries about needing separate versions. Due to the 2.6 GHz quad-core processor and the amount of clients it can handle, heat release is paramount to the 98 Pro's design. Mine, sitting about two feet off the ground (see pic) in an open space gets slightly warm but never hot (the CPU typically runs at about 45 deg C). Also, … the eight antennae feature two internal dipole elements each and need to be extended (per the user manual) for the best throughput. The 98 Pro also features separate amplifiers for each radio chain (and this is what helps it to saturate a large home for example). The 98 Pro also features two 10G ports and four 2.5G ports on the back, … in short, you are covered for the latest fiber optic speeds up to 10G. Finally, the 98 Pro is covered in LEDs and Aura lighting, which can all be controlled through the web interface. The styling is, ... well, ... let's call the design, ... spiderbot. Some will love it and some will hate it. I don't mind the styling but I wish they had removed the stickers from the clear window portion and expanded that area with more heatsinks for the CPU. Overall, the build quality is exactly what you would expect from such a high-end router. Please be aware that this router is sold as the GT-BE98 without the "Pro" designation in Canada and Europe due to those countries' respective regulations concerning the 6 GHz bands (other than that, the two routers are identical). Initial Setup – A new owner has the option to either use ASUS’s smartphone Router app (which I don’t recommend due to security concerns) or the far better web interface (usually reached by typing 192.168.50.1 into your address bar). The start up procedure will ask the owner a bunch of simple questions to set up your password, Smart Connect and/or separate SSIDs, mesh networking, and so on. It only takes a few minutes but works well. The one thing I do not like is that you cannot setup the router until you have internet access. The 98 Pro really needs the ability to be accessed for troubleshooting even if the internet is down (id est, ... particularly when the internet is down). Firmware Features – In short, the 98 Pro is stacked with just about every possible feature a home user could want or need. Smart Connect is configured stock and works very well for those who don’t want separate SSIDs. The 98 Pro will support up to 32 separate networks (and SSIDs) for those that need it. I, myself, have my 98 Pro set up with a separate SSID for each band (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz (1), and 6 GHz (2)) along with a separate network for guests (aptly named, "Alien_Anal_Probe_for_Guests") and a separate network for IoT devices (security cams, etc ...). I do wish that they would release more regular firmware updates for their flagship router. Protection - The 98 Pro also offers the usual firewall services (iPv4, iPv6, etc ...), NAT, etc … tools but also offers Trend Micro’s AI Protection free of subscription fees. While it won’t stop everything, the service is a nice extra add-on for a home user. ASUS also offers ADGuard DNS through its firmware under the parental controls section (also a free subscription although you have to sign up for it). I have been testing it and so far have found it does indeed cut down on sites that try to blind you with 40 ads popping up. Gaming Features - True to its Republic of Gamers (ROG) moniker, the 98 Pro provides several services to help out online gamers. The Game Booster page offers three levels of Quality of Service (QOS) adjustments and there are separate settings for managing ping to well known game servers (Call of Duty, War Thunder, Arma, Eve Online, etc ….). The end user also has numerous customizable options for tailoring any game connection to their liking and there is even the ability for the router to recognize other ROG devices (like motherboards). I use the Game Booster features for DCS World online flight simming combat and have brought my average ping down from about 14 milliseconds to about 11 milliseconds for the two preferred servers I enjoy playing on. WiFi 7 – The IEEE introduced Wifi 7, also known as 802.11be back in January of 2024. From a technical standpoint, Wifi 7 offers MLO, MIMO, Flexible Channel, and MRU improvements to Wifi 6 and 6E standards. The Wifi Alliance states that Wifi 7 allows up to 46 Gbits per second but that is theoretical. In the real-world, Wifi 7 using the 98 Pro will realistically reach around 4 Gbit/sec while the prior Wifi 6E reaches about 1.7 Gbit/sec. While the Wifi Alliance promises Wifi 7 speeds out to 98 feet indoors, realistically you are looking at more like 15 to 25 feet, … so you need to be in the same room with no walls blocking the signal. Truth be told, … Wifi 7 is really a bit of a short range gimmick. That said, does the 98 Pro fulfill Wifi 7 speeds? … Yes, as of November, 2024, it can indeed reach these speeds as long as the client is less than 25 feet from the router. As of the 1.2a motherboard (starting mid-Feb, 2025) and the latest firmware (37812), .. excellent. My Pixel 9 Pro XL and my wife's iPhone 16 both work excellently although only within the same room and only out to about 8 meters or so. Testing some file transfers, I was able to reach speeds of 3800 Mbps from 3 feet away and 3100 Mbps from 15 feet away, ... smoking fast! Am I ever going to need file transfers that fast? …. Not really, … but it is nice to have. The 98 Pro is also (I believe) the only commercially available router with two separate 6 GHz bands. Wifi 6 and 6E – As noted previously, … initially the 98 Pro performed poorly compared to dedicated Wifi 6E routers like the GT-AXE16000. Much of these problems were ironed out (finally) from Nov to Jan of 2025. The 98 Pro now delivers full Wifi 6 and 6E throughput if the client supports those standards. I use a Meta Quest Pro VR headset (which uses Wifi 6E but not Wifi 7) in wireless mode to fly virtual aircraft in MSFS 2024 and DCS World (I have my second 6 GHz band setup exclusively for the Quest Pro headset so there is no interference). I have tested the Quest Pro with numerous routers and the 98 Pro now exceeds the GT-AXE11000 as the best router I have ever used for connecting the headset at roughly 1300 Mbps from three meters. My dream of flying in high fidelity and with all settings maxed in DCS World without a Link cable has finally been realized and with slightly better performance than my previous GT-AXE11000 router. Wifi 5 and 2.4 GHz - So far, excellent. The 98 Pro has the highest speeds I have ever seen on the 5 GHz band at roughly 1100 Mbps (from 25 feet) (upstairs and through three walls I am getting roughly 740 Mbps). With the 2.4 GHz band, I am getting excellent penetration throughout the house and all of my 23 IoT devices can connect without problems or delays, even cameras 80 feet away on my back fence. Network Attached Storage - The 98 Pro features one 3.2 USB port and one 2.0 USB port. I have my 2TB Samsung T9 SSD attached to the USB 3.2 port and am getting file transfer speeds around 1750 Mbps! I did briefly try out ASUS's AICloud feature but it seemed half-baked and more of a security risk, so I turned that feature off. Custom Firmware - The 98 Pro is compatible with the WRT Merlin custom firmware releases which give the router some additional features not found in the stock firmware. It is also nice to be able to use this firmware if you find a feature in the stock firmware is not working as well as you wished. Sadly, the 98 Pro cannot use DD-WRT custom firmware at this point in time. Conclusion – Anytime the IEEE releases a new Wifi standard, it is always going to take a good year to 18 months for real-world products to actually fully implement those standards. The 98 Pro is no different. When the 98 Pro was first released in March of 2024, it was somewhat buggy and had numerous small issues with both Wifi 7 and 6E connectivity. In short, … it was a three star router. It reached a four star router level around Dec of 2024. Now that there have been two motherboard changes and several firmware releases, the 98 Pro is indeed reaching true Wifi 7 speeds and has fixed most of the small bugs and 6E connectivity issues that plagued it in 2024. Overall, it is now a five star product.