The Asus ROG Rapture GT-BN98 Pro delivered high speeds in WIRED’s home tests, but its Wi-Fi 8 implementation is still a draft and ASUS makes no warranty about compatibility with future standards. That makes it a costly early-adopter choice: ASUS’s US page listed it at $899.99 on November 4, 2026, while the results come from one reviewer’s home setup.
What the GT-BN98 Pro puts on the table
The GT-BN98 Pro is a quad-band router built around draft IEEE 802.11bn, also called Wi-Fi 8. ASUS lists four 4×4 bands and theoretical maximum rates for each. Those figures add up to 30,198 Mbps, but that is the combined ceiling across separate bands, not the speed one device should expect. ASUS’s specifications and US listing label the standard as a draft and state that the company makes no representations or warranties about compatibility with future standards.
| Band | Maximum theoretical rate | Radio configuration |
| 2.4 GHz | 1,376 Mbps | 4×4 |
| 5 GHz | 5,764 Mbps | 4×4 |
| 6 GHz-1 | 11,529 Mbps | 4×4 |
| 6 GHz-2 | 11,529 Mbps | 4×4 |
ASUS lists a 2.6 GHz quad-core processor, 2 GB of RAM and 256 MB of flash storage. The wired connections include two 10 Gbps ports, one of which is WAN/LAN, plus one 2.5 Gbps WAN/LAN port, three 2.5 Gbps LAN ports and one 1 Gbps LAN port. There are also USB 3.2 Gen 1 and USB 2.0 ports.
It is a large piece of hardware: the listed dimensions convert to about 13.8 × 13.8 × 8.7 inches, and its weight is about 4.6 pounds. ASUS lists eight external antennas. WIRED reviewer Simon Hill describes them as adjustable but permanently attached, so they cannot be removed to make the unit easier to place.
ASUS lists router, AiMesh router, AiMesh node, access point, repeater and media bridge modes. Gaming functions include Game Boost, Mobile Game Mode, Gear Accelerator, GTNet, ROG_First and OpenNAT, alongside Adaptive QoE, which ASUS lists under traffic control. The package contents listed by ASUS are the router, an RJ-45 cable, a power adapter, a Quick Start Guide and a warranty card.
What WIRED’s home tests found
In a review published November 2, 2026, WIRED’s Simon Hill reported throughput of up to 3 Gbps in the same room, around 1 Gbps through a wall and 350 Mbps at the bottom of a garden at his thick-walled home. Those are results from that setup, not a coverage promise for other homes.
WIRED also reported a close-range Multi-Link Operation (MLO) result approaching 5 Gbps. The test used a second GT-BN98 Pro as the client because Wi-Fi 8 consumer clients were not available for the review. That setup is a key qualification: the result describes two routers communicating, rather than a typical Wi-Fi 8 laptop or phone connecting to the router.
Hill also described smooth play among four gamers using two gaming PCs, a MacBook and a PS5. That household experience gives the router’s gaming features a concrete use case, but it remains one reviewer’s experience rather than a guarantee of results in another busy home.
Strengths, tradeoffs and alternatives
The strongest case for the GT-BN98 Pro is its extensive wired connectivity alongside four wireless bands and a broad set of gaming and network-management features. Its physical size, $899.99 US listing and draft-standard compatibility caveat are substantial tradeoffs for a buyer choosing a router today.
WIRED’s comparison offers two less expensive alternatives to consider. It calls the Wi-Fi 7 Asus RT-BE96U its upgrade pick and says it costs about $300 less; in WIRED’s tests, the GT-BN98 Pro was slightly faster at the tested distances. WIRED describes the Wi-Fi 7 ROG Rapture GT-BE98 Pro as almost identical and about $200 less. Those price gaps and performance comparisons are WIRED’s assessments.
For a gaming household willing to pay for draft Wi-Fi 8 hardware, the GT-BN98 Pro’s reported results are promising. For anyone prioritizing a guaranteed match with the eventual Wi-Fi 8 standard, ASUS’s stated lack of a future-compatibility warranty is the deciding caveat.
