[RealSkier]

Disclaimers: I have read through all the announcements and most of the WIKI stuff. I know how to check on firmware that I should avoid and I am not going to ask which to install....yet. I am aware of all the risks. I like to mess with tech stuff because I'm an idiot.

1. One thing that's not clear to me is what advantages DD-WRT brings to the table over a particular router's stock firmware. The DD-WRT feature table is kinda, well, inadequate and reading through the WIKI doesn't particularly address this. (Maybe it's like that old line. If you have to ask how much <insert item here> costs, you can't afford it.)

So yeah, that's a question here. I doubt Asus is going to do any more updates for the RT-AC56U/R (the last one was to fix a DDoS vulnerability in 2019). Would I see improved speeds? Better connections? Stronger signals? Better protection?

2. Specifically, does DD-WRT support external USB 2/3 drives like my ASUS router supports? Nothing in the FAQ or Wiki that I could find addresses this.

Thanks and I hope I didn't annoy any gurus here.

[egc]

To get the best out of DDWRT and the forum, read these helpful pointers:
https://forum.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=324087

DDWRT has the latest security vulnerabilities patched.
It has vastly more features and what not is in the regular build you can add via Entware.

Of course it supports usb, but NTFS support can be sometimes flaky after the last build from December 2019

But it is not faster or has better wifi range.

[RealSkier]

[blkt]

Here are specs for your router. https://wikidevi.wi-cat.ru/ASUS_RT-AC56U so 800 mhz 2 core, you are limited to this.

It's Broadcom chipset, so wifi drivers are vendor precompiled, black boxed fullmac etc. so don't expect any miracles.

The wiki is old and new information, so yes it's confusing and with references to some ancient thread about a fancy bird.

Feature set is not represented by the wiki, nor will it show you how a build performs on your router after configuration.

Any new open source firmware will be more useful and secure than stock, but boils down to needs and preferences.

I recommend R7800 (also R7500v2, or R9000).