To ensure your lightning fast broadband delivers the best gaming experience when you need it, you need to set up your ideal home network. As great and expensive as your computer is, it will take a little help from a reliable gaming router to ensure the smoothest internet gaming experience possible.
When it comes to the best gaming routers, you’ll be looking for one with multiple LAN ports for Ethernet and WiFi with at least WiFi 802.11ax (WiFi 6).
This will provide more efficient wireless data transfer. The whole purpose of choosing a gaming router over your regular router is to prioritize traffic to your gaming PC and consoles.
Your standard router can provide a decent connection, but what happens to that connection when other devices are used? If the latency starts to increase and performance drops, it might be time to consider upgrading. During online gaming sessions, the best gaming router will cut latency no matter if other devices in your home are trying to fill up the available bandwidth.
5 Best Gaming Routers of 2020
We’ve compiled a short list of the top five gaming routers you’ll want to get your hands on in the new year. In no particular order
Asus RT-AX88U
The Asus RT-AX88U is equipped with eight impressive Gigabit Ethernet ports based on next generation Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) technology. It comes standard with AsusWRT’s interface for granular control over every setting you can imagine, as well as lifetime subscriptions to Trend Micro antivirus and WTFast GPN (VPN for games), which are the best among its competitors.
To top it off, you’ll find best-in-class Adaptive QoS, which means the router allows the user to prioritize applications on their home network. This ensures that the incoming and outgoing bandwidth for wired and wireless applications and tasks is prioritized according to your presets.
It operates at both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, with the former being suitable for most situations. However, it is at 5 GHz that the RT-AX88U really stands out. In a home full of online digital clutter, the RT-AX88U delivers one of the highest frames per second to date and a barely noticeable drop while streaming video at the same time.
The cost is quite high at around $ 300, but you’ll probably find all the next generation “super routers” at a higher price point. However, with the tests provided, the purchase justification is already included in the package.
TP-Link Archer C5400X MU-MIMO Tri Band Gaming router
The TP-Link Archer C5400X Tri-Band Gaming Router is an excellent all-rounder with a user-friendly app and interface for easy setup and configuration. It contains enough advanced features and powerful hardware to please enthusiasts, gamers, and general and corporate users.
A key feature of the TP-Link Archer C5400X is its extended WiFi coverage, providing fast and reliable internet access in the largest homes. This eliminates the need for multiple devices required to create a mesh system and use a WiFi repeater to extend coverage.
This gaming router is equipped with a 1.4GHz dual-core processor and three coprocessors, one of which operates in the 2.4GHz band and two in the 5GHz band. This keeps multiple Wi-Fi traffic channels open, which is great for a home or business serving more connected wireless devices.
Like the other routers on this list, costs are in the higher three-digit numbers and are around $ 240. However, for more congested and demanding home networks or businesses, where digital radio waves are filled with streaming and gaming traffic from multiple devices, a noticeable difference from your base router will pay off the investment.
Asus RT-AC86U Yes, even after three years, this beauty still stands up to the competition.
It can be said to be a better buy than the RT-AX88U if you are worried about buying more than you need. It still supports 2.4GHz and 5GHz dual-band wireless, packaged in a 1.8GHz dual-core processor that offers amazing performance and features for half the price.
It contains the same web management app and interface, AsusWRT, as well as WTFast and Trend Micro antivirus subscriptions. The real difference is that multiple devices come into play.
If your entire home is set up to be connected to a network, everything from a gaming computer to a digital refrigerator, then the RT-AX88U reigns supreme. The RT-AC86U is a very powerful computer that costs only $ 160.
Netgear Nighthawk Pro Gaming XR700
A strong follow-up to the XR500, the XR700 offers even faster gaming and streaming capabilities than its predecessor. The interesting design includes one WAN port and six LAN ports, a step up from the XR500’s four ports, providing multiple wired connections, link aggregation support, and a 10GB SFP + LAN port for lightning-fast Ethernet connectivity.
With all the excitement associated with the power inherent in the networking side, there was something to give. Unfortunately, this was due to Wi-Fi. The XR700 does not boast the Wi-Fi 6 capabilities expected from a “super router”, instead opting for the latest generation of 802.11ac / Wi-Fi 5 wireless connectivity and 802.11ad technology. Not ideal for active Wi-Fi use at home, but still a great choice for medium WiFi coverage across multiple devices and superior Ethernet connectivity.
One of its more game-oriented features is the Duma OS, which includes Geo-Filter capabilities, allowing you to automatically connect to the nearest server while playing online. The XR700 also has quite granular bandwidth control and can prioritize bandwidth on a per-device basis, both download and upload separately, and can assign a specific percentage to each device for load balancing, thereby preventing any single device from becoming a limitation. bandwidth
Even with its flaws in the Wi-Fi department, the ridiculous Ethernet connectivity that the XR700 provides is $ 430. Overall, the Nighthawk Pro Gaming XR700 is a well-thought-out choice in terms of bandwidth and one of the best gaming routers out there, delivering very high gaming performance.
Asus ROG Rapture GT-AX11000
For the serious gamer, no gaming router compares to the Asus ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 This router has been specifically designed to be the best in class, “best of the best†gaming router on the market, and the specs speak for themselves.
The Asus ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 is based on the GT-AC5300, equipped with a 2.5Base-T port for higher Ethernet bandwidth and the addition of WiFi 6 technology. This design has a slight drawback compared to its predecessor: just four ports instead of the eight previously offered in this series.
This is Asus’ third router on this list, so you can count on the same built-in lifetime support for WTFast and Trend Micro antivirus Similar to the TP-Link Archer C5400, the GT-AX1000 is equipped with a tri-band 802.11ax wireless processor, providing over 10GB of wireless bandwidth.
It also provides dynamic QoS that automatically adjusts configured traffic rules to prioritize game traffic, a game server analyzer to determine game server response times and ensure connections with minimal latency, and aura RGB for those looking for more colorful environments.
Don’t be intimidated by the $ 355 price tag. The ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 is arguably the best gaming router for the money for the seasoned gamer looking for the cream of the crop in terms of performance. Although, if you’re looking for a more affordable entry into the ROG networking lineup, the ROG Rapture GT-AC2900 router is a great alternative that delivers amazing quality with less loss to your wallet.
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