How to choose a gaming router

PC gaming enthusiasts understand the value of speed. They often equip their gaming systems with the fastest processors, plenty of memory, fast-speed SSDs and high-end graphics cards. However, even the fastest gaming system cannot conquer an overly crowded network, congestion or an overloaded wireless router. And now, some households are seeing the overload of the home network and liken it to Tokyo subway station during rush hour.

Devices using home networks can be phones, computers, tablets, HDTVs, video / music streaming devices and smart home appliances connected to routers. It is no exaggeration to assume that some households will have dozens of devices connected to the home network. Any online gamer in the home must compete for bandwidth, along with all other family members. And that could lead to overall network performance in general and a decrease in gaming in particular.

Now, on a basic level, many routers offer Quality of Service (QoS) settings that give you priority for devices or applications that require more bandwidth. But not many of these routers offer settings and optimizations that focus on gaming, like a dedicated gaming router. If the lag network makes your gaming messy, read the next section to find out how a gaming router can give you a competitive advantage and how to choose the most suitable router for your home, Your gaming style and budget.

Priority must be given to QoS

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Perhaps the biggest difference between a gaming router and a typical typical router is how it handles QoS or bandwidth priority tasks. Almost all routers offer a number of QoS types, since the Wi-Fi Multimedia (WMM) extension automatically prioritizes network packets that carry voice and video data, to allow 'drag and drop' preferences. You prioritize client devices over other devices on the network.

Gaming consoles are superior, through priority to specific gaming systems and applications, as well as allowing you to decide the amount of bandwidth each client application enjoys. That can be especially important if you have many online gamers in the same household, where all are competing for feeds from the same source. For example, Linksys gaming routers have automated software that prioritizes networks for devices equipped with Killer Prioritization Engine (KPE) of Rivet Networks. When the router detects a device equipped with Rivet Networks hardware, it allows the device to share the bandwidth to ensure smooth online games without lag. The company also has an automated gaming router that prioritizes networking for Microsoft Xbox consoles. (This is a variant of Linksys WRT32X Wi-Fi router).

Many gaming routers also use a modified management console with a user-friendly interface, making it easy to specify bandwidth priority when needed. Netgear recently began equipping its gaming routers DUMAOS, an interactive, user-friendly operating system, developed by Netduma. It has a beautiful dashboard, lets you see what's happening to your network, with real-time graphs and bandwidth usage, currently installed applications, guest network status, status Wi-Fi and Internet status.

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It also has the Geo-Filter feature, which helps reduce lag by limiting the distance to storage servers. By placing your own home position on the map and specifying the distance, you can prevent players and servers outside the range from affecting your gaming.

You can also use custom software to enhance online gaming performance. Using software from sources such as OpenWRT, DD-WRT and Tomato, you can fully exploit the router's potential to increase overall signal strength, monitor usage time and prioritize bandwidth usage. However, to do this, the router must support an open source firmware upgrade. Make sure you have a bit of basic knowledge about how routers and software work together before deciding on this.

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Dual-Band or Tri-Band?

Any gaming router will provide at least two radio bands. The 2.4GHz band is the most widely used frequency band and tends to be "more crowded" than the 5GHz band. You will get much better range on the 2.4GHz band, but the speed of the 2.4GHz band cannot be compared to 5GHz.

If your gaming system is near the router, the 5GHz band will provide the best performance. If you have multiple devices connected to the network, a tri-band router will be the best option. Tri-band routers add a second 5GHz band that you can use for certain devices or applications. For example, you can put the entire 5GHz band just for gaming (as long as your game console PC or console supports Wi-Fi 5GHz) and use the other 5GHz band for high bandwidth applications like playback. videos, large file transfers or torrent downloads. This makes the crowded 2.4GHz band more widely available for everyday tasks such as surfing the web and connecting to smart devices such as lights, cameras, locks and security systems.

Calculation for the future: MU-MIMO, Beamforming and wider channels

Of course, if you (or someone else in your family) is a professional online gamer, you need to know that the network needs for the latest games are often huge. So, make sure you calculate for the future when choosing to buy a router. To save money, you opt for an 802.11n router, knowing that 802.11n uses older, slower technology and lacks the improvements that come with the latest 802.11ac models. These improvements include MU-MIMO data streaming and beamforming.

Multi-User Multiple Input Multiple Output Technology (MU-MIMO) is the best technology available today. It allows simultaneous data transfer to multiple clients, as opposed to regular serial transmission. This is a very handy feature. However, each client device must support MU-MIMO to take advantage of this technology. New devices added to your network in recent years are likely to support MU-MIMO, so you can be assured of this issue.

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Another prominent new technology is beamforming, which also helps improve throughput. As its name suggests, it involves signal shaping, considering the benefits of increasing performance and range. It transmits Wi-Fi signals in a more focused way, straight to a device, instead of broadcasting in all directions. To gain benefits, both devices need to support beamforming technology, so that each device can communicate with each other in their relative position, and thus focus the signal in the right direction.

Beamforming has been consolidated in the 802.11ac range. Devices that support both 802.11ac and beamforming will work together seamlessly. That means, not all 802.11ac devices will necessarily support this technology, so you will need to seek specific support for each device. In addition, it should be noted that some router manufacturers integrate beamforming features in their products with many different names.

Many of the latest routers also offer wider channel bandwidth up to 160Hz, compared to typical 40Hz and 80Hz channel widths that you get on older routers. Like MU-MIMO, you will need 160Hz compatible clients to access these wider channels. Currently, 160Hz channel, as well as with MU-MIMO, is becoming increasingly popular in new devices.

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802.11ac Wi-Fi standard

As mentioned earlier, the 802.11ac support feature is what you want to search in any gaming router. But you will find the differences between 802.11ac models in terms of speed and bandwidth. The most obvious signs are usually in the names of routers. The theoretical maximum throughput speed of 802.11ac router is determined by the "AC" index. It is usually part of the actual name of the router. For example, a dual-band AC1750 router can reach a maximum theoretical speed of 450Mbps on the 2.4GHz band and 1300Mbps on the 5GHz band. (1750Mbps figure is the maximum maximum speed of both bands).

Similarly, with a tri-band AC3200 router, it can reach speeds of 600Mbps on the 2.4GHz band and 1300Mbps on each 5GHz band (but, again, not 3200Mbps at a time). AC numbers are simply a total potential of it. Again, these speeds are theoretical because they are rarely achieved in practice. In short, you'll get better overall performance from the AC3200 router than the AC1750 router, but of course, you'll have to pay more.

Information you need to know: Port, security, access control

Most gaming routers use the same hardware as in traditional Wi-Fi routers, but there are exceptions. They will look different from similar products on the market. Like street stores impress customers with LED lighting effects.

For added convenience, find a router with at least 4 gigabit LAN ports, so you can provide a wired connection to nearby gaming consoles, printers and PCs. At least one USB port, preferably USB 3.0, will be useful for attaching peripherals that you want to share on the network, such as an external hard drive, flash drive and printer. Such a router with two USB ports offers a lot more flexibility.

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Parental control is also important, especially if your family has small children. They allow you to block access to certain websites (such as adult content), limit online play or network access at specific hours and days of the week or monitor network usage. of each device. A guest networking feature is also worth considering if you often have technical helpers, as it allows you to provide limited wireless access to your network with a separate SSID and password. This way, your guests can access the Internet, but they cannot see other things on the network, such as folders, files, printers, and the identity of other connected devices. (Also, you can assign a separate band for these guests and prevent them from affecting your gaming.)

Of course, all routers offer some kind of security. Wi-Fi Protected Access - Protected Wi-Fi access (in WPA and / or WPA2 formats) is the most popular and requires each device to use a password to access the network. Support for Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) is also very popular and convenient because it allows you to add WPS-compatible devices to your network just by pressing a button. However, for stronger security measures, find a router that supports WPS-Enterprise authentication or Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service (RADIUS) authentication.

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You will find a series of your favorite gaming routers in the article The best gaming routers today. Once you've found the right model for your home and budget, you'll also need to see tips for setting up your router and increasing your Wi-Fi signal.

Wish you can choose the right router!

See more:

1. Do you really need a gaming router?
2. Instructions for choosing the right Wi-Fi router
3. Top 7 cheap Wifi routers
4. 7 mistakes easily 'kill' SSDs