Recommend a good gaming wifi router

Cylocybin

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jun 3, 2018
Messages
304
Im currently using the panoramic arris modem cox supplies and im getting a pretty good signal but sometimes while playing overwatch stuff is happening that i dont see in real time but only in the replay or killcam..

I need a better solution something below $150 and best for gaming.

Thank you
 
Best solutions in order:
  1. Wired to the router/switch
  2. A dedicated, reliable AP like a Ubiquiti UniFi with a standalone router.
  3. Powerline Ethernet
 
I'll open with I'm a (for home use) a Asus ROG router fan (and really not most often a Netgear fan).

That being said, the Netgear XR500 Duma OS Gaming Router, in my opinion, there is no better (at the the home grade level) - The hardware is quality and has strong performance, its powered by the Duma OS that's pleasing to the eye while having all the right features that actually work for a gaming router.

https://www.dumaos.com/

http://www.netgear.com/npg/xr500/


This may not target your $150 budget, its worth every dollar - Look at the NetDuma R1 Router, its $199 (in top url).
 
i have a killer nic in my laptop (alienware r4) should i see a huge difference ina dual band router?
 
I'll open with I'm a (for home use) a Asus ROG router fan (and really not most often a Netgear fan).

That being said, the Netgear XR500 Duma OS Gaming Router, in my opinion, there is no better (at the the home grade level) - The hardware is quality and has strong performance, its powered by the Duma OS that's pleasing to the eye while having all the right features that actually work for a gaming router.

https://www.dumaos.com/

http://www.netgear.com/npg/xr500/


This may not target your $150 budget, its worth every dollar - Look at the NetDuma R1 Router, its $199 (in top url).

Got a ROG one here too, very expensive though... but works sooooo well so far. high range too but for anything I can I use wired anyway.
 
i have a killer nic in my laptop (alienware r4) should i see a huge difference ina dual band router?

not for online gaming. your isp connection is always the network bottleneck. online gaming doesnt require that much bandwidth anyways. you just want low latency. if u r doing :LAN things, yeah - you will see a difference as long as your LAN source has a comparable connection/hardware.
 
Asus AC-3100. It’s the best router I’ve ever used - hands down.

The Asus RT-88U is the same thing with 8 ports instead of four and the “gaming moniker”

https://www.asus.com/us/Networking/RT-AC88U/

Tons of great reviews from everywhere. Great WiFi speeds and coverage, great bells and whistles, directional antennas, USB NAS functionality, FTP, dual core overkill CPU, etc etc etc. Basically it just works and is won’t bog down.

RT-88u has 802.3ad for link aggregation to your NAS ports.

These might be over your budget, (200-$250) but look for sales or half price refurbs. ($100-$150)
 
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"speeds up to 3167 Mbps for low-latency online gaming"
"Exclusive built-in game accelerator from WTFast® lets you enjoy smooth gameplay in supported multi-player online games"
"Link aggregation for up to 2Gbps wired network speeds, so more devices can enjoy faster access"

My head hurts.

Middle line is a bit silly, but the top one makes sense for wireless gaming, as much as that makes sense when worried about latency, and link aggregation support is actually quite nice though you'll pay quite a bit for a NAS that can do that. But since a single spinner can saturate 1GbE with ease and WiFi speeds can well eclipse that, it does make a bit of sense.
 
Latency and speed have nothing to do with each other. yes, link aggregation is nice. one uplink from a gigabit switch with all of your LAN connected to the switch is better than using the router ports.
 
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Middle line is a bit silly, but the top one makes sense for wireless gaming, as much as that makes sense when worried about latency, and link aggregation support is actually quite nice though you'll pay quite a bit for a NAS that can do that. But since a single spinner can saturate 1GbE with ease and WiFi speeds can well eclipse that, it does make a bit of sense.
Bandwidth has nothing to do with gaming latency and link aggregation doesn't provide 2 Gbps of bandwidth, but 2x1 Gbps which is an important distinction.
 
If you haven't pulled the trigger yet and have time - I'd say wait for something that supports WPA3. There's a front page article on it here IIRC. No point in buying now if you're planning on dropping a decent chunk of dough.
 
Do the smart thing and drop your router next to your gaming box if you can. Wire it.
 
Bandwidth has nothing to do with gaming latency and link aggregation doesn't provide 2 Gbps of bandwidth, but 2x1 Gbps which is an important distinction.

I didn't say either?

I think of wireless bandwidth in terms of channels and congestion- too much congestion, latency goes up. And while you're right about link aggregation, in an environment with multiple high-demand clients, it can increase the level of service.

Point being that the buzzwording isn't completely empty, though it's most certainly overkill for the average consumer/gamer.
 
"Gaming" automatically eliminates bandwidth from the discussion. Bandwidth will never be the bottleneck for online gaming. Why bring up link aggregation? It is relevant at this point. LATENCY is what is important to gaming and networking.
 
I was playing quakeworld over a 56K modem and it was all about the latency then too.

EDIT: ..and modem strings.
 
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I have the "gaming router" ASUS ROG Rapture GT‑AC5300 :cool: Sweet jesus I love this spider looking thing. But its always warm to the touch. More then I like it to be but it has not fail, or locked up.
 
"Gaming" automatically eliminates bandwidth from the discussion. Bandwidth will never be the bottleneck for online gaming. Why bring up link aggregation? It is relevant at this point. LATENCY is what is important to gaming and networking.

Sure! But the assumption overall is that the router is to be used for more than gaming; connecting a NAS for streaming concurrently with web streaming and whatever else on both wired and wireless interfaces.

For gaming, bandwidth affects latency the moment you run out of bandwidth (and a little bit before). With respect to wireless support, more bandwidth means less chance of spectrum overloading and affecting ping.

Link aggregation I don't relate to gaming at all, but it is useful if multiple users are hitting a NAS, and generally speaking 1GbE is the main bottleneck for basic network storage access. Doubling the link bandwidth would certainly be useful, as I mentioned above, even if a storage device (NAS or another computer) that could support it would be a bit expensive.
 
and if your internal lan is saturated by a single video / voice stream while gaming - you have bigger problems.
 
well idk. most people have more than one fkn device to connect to the internet and their router. the OP didn't specify.
 
I guess there is probably a household of 20 all streaming porn at the same time.
 
Im currently using the panoramic arris modem cox supplies and im getting a pretty good signal but sometimes while playing overwatch stuff is happening that i dont see in real time but only in the replay or killcam..

I need a better solution something below $150 and best for gaming.

Thank you


Have you run a direct wire to your pc and modem to rule out it not being the games netcode\some kind of connection drop\the pc you're gaming on. You jumped straight to it being the modem. Could be many of things including your nic. See if being hardwired to the modem fixes the issue if it doesn't it's not a wifi issue.
 
well idk. most people have more than one fkn device to connect to the internet and their router. the OP didn't specify. -snip- I guess there is probably a household of 20 all streaming porn at the same time.

That's what I was getting at; the marketed features are overkill for one or a few average users, but a multi-generational gaming household (or maybe frat or sorority house to fit your example ;) ) with lots of prime-time streaming and use of local storage might find them useful in alleviating potential bottlenecks.

bridge mode

Correct!

I've been reading quite a bit of stuff on routers that limit bandwidth, especially more 'professional' SOHO routers. Now that >100Mbps internet connections are pretty common, a lot of these devices are hitting performance limits when more than basic routing functions are put to use.

First step of troubleshooting is to use bridge mode to see if it's the ISP or provided equipment ;).
 
"speeds up to 3167 Mbps for low-latency online gaming"
"Exclusive built-in game accelerator from WTFast® lets you enjoy smooth gameplay in supported multi-player online games"
"Link aggregation for up to 2Gbps wired network speeds, so more devices can enjoy faster access"

My head hurts.


Marketers market. That’s what they do.

Real world 1st hand experience use with the ac-3100

4-6 ms latency over wireless to my Steam link. Which is imperceivable latency to me. That and my Steam link is two floors up from my AC-3100.

I’d say it’s actually doing quite well in that regard! Many people claim you can’t use the Steam link with wireless - but that’s because they have inferiror routers. My AC-3100 easily proves you can.
 
Have you run a direct wire to your pc and modem to rule out it not being the games netcode\some kind of connection drop\the pc you're gaming on. You jumped straight to it being the modem. Could be many of things including your nic. See if being hardwired to the modem fixes the issue if it doesn't it's not a wifi issue.

ended up moving router 5 feet from laptop and has been flawless
 
A better router for gaming?

To fix the router that’s causing the issue you’ll have to talk to the upstream providers your ISP interconnects with and offer them $$$$ to upgrade the routers and pay for peering deals.

Unless your router is from 2003 and/or you have lots of Wi-Fi interference your router isn’t the problem.

Moving the router 5ft fixed your SNR, look into tweaking the Wi-Fi settings to change channels. Use a Wi-Fi scanning app to help you decide what ones to try.
 
ended up moving router 5 feet from laptop and has been flawless



It's possible you could have been getting some type of signal interference at the previous location? But since it's laptop I assume you gamed in other locations and had the same issue. If you have many neighbors you could be getting interference from them and you getting closer to your router limits other signal interference.
 
If you haven't pulled the trigger yet and have time - I'd say wait for something that supports WPA3. There's a front page article on it here IIRC. No point in buying now if you're planning on dropping a decent chunk of dough.

this. I'm annoyed that WPA3 requires new hardware, so I would not buy anything right now..
 
why should we care about wpa3 all of a sudden wont that matter some time down the road
 
this. I'm annoyed that WPA3 requires new hardware, so I would not buy anything right now..

new hardware for the router and new hardware for all the client devices....that's not even worth worrying about at this point.
 
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