The Asus ROG Rapture GT BE98 stands out in the field with its imposing looks and equally gigantic antennas. Eight in number, they’re thick and fairly high, for an ultra-high-performance Wi-Fi 7 router that stands up to any demands that gamers in search of absolute performance may have. Let’s see what it’s really worth.
Design of the Asus ROG Rapture GT BE98
The ROG Rapture GT BE98 adopts an aggressive, imposing look. Indeed, this Wi-Fi 7 router with its imposing dimensions stands out from the competition, adopting a clearly gaming-oriented design, as do all ROG products. After having tested the imposing ROG Rapture GT AXE16000, it’s now the turn of the Wi-Fi 7 version.
On the upper part of the device, we find a transparent plastic surface on the rear, revealing a set of decorations that are more aesthetic than useful. However, this is in the DNA of this device, which marks its performance with an aggressive aesthetic edge. The right-hand side features the Asus ROG logo, illuminated by LEDs and in relief, which is very aesthetic, but not really useful.
The ROG Rapture GT BE98 is, however, made for users who want a handsome device that makes a statement not only in terms of performance, but also in terms of looks. On the sides, it’s impossible to miss the massive antennas, eight in number, of a thickness I’ve never seen before on this type of product. It’s also worth noting that the ROG router here sits on feet, rather than directly on rubber pads at the bottom of the device.
These feet are designed to allow air to pass underneath the Wi-Fi 7 router, to cool it properly. Because with the performance it offers, you can imagine how hot it must get inside.
On the rear, the most interesting part, we can see the presence of the device’s connectors. Here you’ll find 6 RJ45 ports, with two 10 Gbit/s ports, four 2.5 Gbit/s ports and a Gigabit Ethernet port, positioned here like a hair on the soup. One wonders what it’s doing here, although it’s useful for connecting devices that don’t have huge bandwidth requirements. With this, a button for resetting the product.
On a diagonal slice, we also find two USB connectors. These include a button to start the router, and a power port.
Let’s return to the front panel, where we find a button to switch the RGB LEDs on and off, and the WPS button for fast connection.
Features of the ROG Rapture GT BE98
| Model | Asus ROG Rapture GT BE98 |
| Router type | Wi-Fi, RJ45 |
| Network standards | Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be |
| Frequency bands |
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| Wi-Fi 6E compatible | Yes |
| Data transfer rate |
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| Number of antennas | 8 |
| Processor | Quad-core @2.6 GHz |
| Flash memory | 256 MB NAND flash |
| RAM | 2 GB DDR4 SDRAM |
| Connectivity |
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| Compatible voice assistants |
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| IFTTT support | Yes |
| Weight | 2 kg |
Configuration of the Asus ROG Rapture GT BE98
Configuring the device is still pretty straightforward, done via the Asus Router application. As with other models, such as the ROG Rapture GT AX11000 Pro or the ROG Rapture GT6, the application is the same for all Asus routers. The first step is to plug in and switch on the device, before adding it to the list of devices and configuring it. The steps are fairly straightforward and generally detailed, even if not everything is within the reach of novices. The configuration process is always the same, starting with adding a router from the relevant series. Once this has been done, a QR-Code can be scanned on the underside of the device,
. If this doesn’t work, you’ll have to go through the manual configuration procedure, which isn’t really very restrictive. Once you’ve done this, you need to give your router a name. For me, it’s “wifi7”, so I didn’t overcomplicate things. The network is configured and optimized, and then comes the traditional summary window displaying SSID, user name and password.
The router is configured and ready for use on one 2.4 GHz band, two 5 GHz bands and one 6 GHz band.
Asus Router application
In the settings of the Asus Router application, you’ll find everything you could possibly need to configure your router properly, and optimize the settings as you wish.
First of all, the home page displays the essential details, with a window in the center that you can change by sliding from left to right or vice versa. This gives access to real-time traffic with data exchanged, Aura RGB settings, network SSIDs, as well as the number of devices connected and the amount of CPU and RAM used.
The application also offers a mobile gaming mode, when connected to Wi-Fi, which is very practical but frankly more gimmicky than anything else in my opinion. The connection is so good that I don’t see the point of this feature.
As on other routers, there’s a “pro guest network” mode, which lets you set up anything you want, from IoT networks with connected cameras, robot vacuum cleaners and so on. It’s also possible to set up a guest network, one for children, a VPN or even a personalized network. Speaking of children, this ROG Rapture GT BE98 also features parental controls, which can be used to block all relevant and previously configured devices.
It can also be used to define time slots at which certain users may or may not have access to the Internet.
Asus ROG Rapture GT BE98 performance
When we talk about a Wi-Fi 7 router, we expect high performance. The Wi-Fi 6 routers had already won me over, as had the Wi-Fi 6E models, but this new version of the 802.11 wireless connection standard will have to exceed my expectations. To this end, the router features a 10 Gbit/s input, specially designed to handle large connections. The problem is that in France, no operator offers 10 Gbit/s to the general public. Of course, Free offers 8 Gbit/s, but that’s not the maximum this router can handle. Even so, my Freebox subscription allows me to carry out this test in respectable conditions, thanks to Freebox Delta.
A test in the application gives me a throughput of almost 2900 Mb/s, which is very good. If I’m connected to my box’s SFP+ port with an adapter, I suspect the adapter in question will greatly reduce throughput. However, let’s say that almost 3 Gbit/s is very decent. I then carried out the test with two smartphones, one with a Wi-Fi 6E connection and the other with a Wi-Fi 7 connection. The iPhone 15 Pro Max and the Honor Magic6 Pro, two very high-end models
Asus ROG Rapture GT BE98 review
The Asus ROG Rapture GT BE98 is a very good Wi-Fi router with top-of-the-range performance. It can connect several devices with an additional 2.5 Gbit/s output, which is very practical for some users. If some people say that this is too expensive an accessory, the answer is there: buy a motherboard that supports 2.5 Gbit/s, assemble a whole PC that will cost 4 times as much as your router.
