Enter the characters you see below Sorry, we just need to make sure you’re not a robot. Enter the characters you see below Sorry, we just need to make sure you’re not a robot. Sign up and enjoy these benefits! Mac – Supports MAC OS 10. Can’t find what you’re looking for? Quick and easy solutions are available for you in the NETGEAR community. If you’re paying for router gaming super-fast connection, but still struggling with speeds, it could be your router. Gaming routers” are marketed as faster than the rest.
Is there any truth to that? When playing games online, your router has an effect on your experience. Your connection speed goes to waste if you have a junky router that can’t keep up or keep you connected. If you’re experiencing disconnects, lag, or other online gaming problems, check out these best router settings, tips, and tweaks for gaming. Or at least, that’s what marketers want you to think.
While gaming routers may have been superior in the past, there’s really no reason you must use them anymore. While they may offer some useful features, like extra Ethernet ports and more powerful antennas, these aren’t necessary for casual players. This is especially the case if your gaming system is the only device using bandwidth in your home. As it turns out, most modern routers, even basic ones, support the features necessary for a smooth gaming session. That doesn’t mean you should go for a super-cheap router, though. 20 model might have the right specs on paper, but likely won’t be reliable in day-to-day use and won’t last long.
If after shopping around, you find that the best value is a gaming router, then go ahead and buy it. Just keep in mind that a router marked as “for gaming” doesn’t necessarily make it better. If you can find a respectable non-gaming router with the right specs, it should more than suffice. Now let’s look at how to optimize your router for gaming using the following options and features. These will help you minimize network issues, maximize performance, and hopefully get interruption-free gaming sessions. Quality of Service is a router feature that prioritizes data packets for specific connected devices.
It comes in handy when you have multiple users on the network all doing network-intensive activities. For example, if your spouse is watching 4K Netflix while your son is video chatting with his friend and downloading a huge amount of data in the background, that will all hog a lot of bandwidth. When you try playing a game with all this going on, there won’t be much bandwidth left, resulting in lag and poor performance. With QoS enabled, you can prioritize your gaming PC or console over other devices using the network. This forces your router to handle gaming data first before worrying about everything else. To learn more, see our guide to setting up QoS on routers. When gaming, if at all possible, you should always prefer Ethernet over Wi-Fi.
While gaming on strong Wi-Fi is usually good enough, it sacrifices speed and latency for the convenience of being cable-free. To ensure future-proofing and maximum performance, you should use a router with gigabit Ethernet ports. Gigabit Ethernet can handle speeds up to 1,000Mbps, assuming your connection can deliver those speeds. If you have multiple gaming systems, look for a router with more ports so you don’t have to buy a switch separately. If your router is far away from your gaming machine and you can’t run a cable, try using powerline adapters. These let you transfer internet data through the normal power outlets in your home.
They come in pairs: plug one in near your router and the other one near your console or PC, then use an Ethernet cable to connect the adapters to your router and system. On most routers, you’ll see a value such as AC2600 or AX1500, which tells you the standard it uses and its theoretical maximum speed. AC, or Wi-Fi 5, is common on routers in 2020. But AX, or Wi-Fi 6, is becoming the new standard. So if you’re looking for a new router, buying a Wi-Fi 6 model will future-proof you, but Wi-Fi 5 is still suitable for now. Almost every modern router is dual-band, meaning it supports both 2.
5GHz networks are more reliable than the older 2. 4GHz band, but have a downside of a shorter range. Some older devices only support 2. 4GHz Wi-Fi, but you can take advantage of 5GHz with newer devices, making a dual-band model vital. If you have to use Wi-Fi for gaming, use the 5GHz band if your system supports it. In a small apartment, you don’t have to worry about the shorter range.
But in a large house, try to rearrange your setup so that the router isn’t more than a room away from your gaming device. As mentioned above, it’s common for multiple users to use high-bandwidth applications while you try to play games. Without MU-MIMO, your router has to serve each device one by one, which can reduce overall network speed. With MU-MIMO, the router sets up multiple “mini-networks” and works with each device simultaneously. You can learn more about this in our overview of MU-MIMO. When a signal meets interference, it fails to reach its destination and has to resend the data. With enough interference, latency and packet loss will increase, affecting your game. Interference can occur on both 2.
4GHz and 5GHz bands, but it’s far more common when using 2. 4GHz band can only broadcast on 11 channels in the US, and only three of them are non-overlapping. 4GHz band is close to what other common household devices use, like microwaves and baby monitors, you can pick up interference even from non-Wi-Fi devices. In contrast, the 5GHz band has 23 non-overlapping channels. The more broadcasts on a channel, the greater the congestion—meaning that there’s more space on 5GHz networks in physically crowded spaces. Regardless of which band you use, you should definitely analyze your Wi-Fi network, find which channel is least-used, and manually set your router to use that channel. This should help with interference and congestion. And while routers don’t have to run resource-intensive apps like Photoshop, they do have to handle tons of network data constantly.
If your router’s CPU is weak, it may not be able to keep up with heavy network demand. Games don’t usually send a whole lot of data on their own, but once you add in the constant data influx of video streams, file downloads, video chat, and other usage from multiple connected devices, a weaker router could struggle under the load. If your computer and smartphone are the only devices on the network, you may be able to get away with a cheaper router. But if you have dozens of tablets, laptops, other smartphones, smart TVs, and various other IoT devices, then a fast CPU should be a priority. When something goes wrong with a device, you probably know what troubleshooting step to take first: turn it off and on again. This is especially true for older routers, which can suddenly drop connections and freeze for seemingly no reason. For this reason, you can remove some headaches by automating a router reboot schedule. Otherwise, you can always buy a programmable timer switch to plug your router into.
UPnP, or Universal Plug and Play, is a common feature on routers that simplifies the process of port forwarding for you. If you’re not aware, various internet protocols communicate over different ports, which your router uses to determine which devices traffic should go to. UPnP automatically forwards ports as they’re needed by various devices on your network. Enabling this is convenient, as it prevents you from having to mess with ports every time you play a new online game. However, using UPnP is a potential security risk for your router, as it could let malicious activity through to your network. It’s up to you to decide whether the convenience is worth it.
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What Router Features Affect Gaming Online? It’s important to understand what aspects of your router and home network actually affect online gaming. A blazing-fast network speed is not vital for good performance in online games. Once you have a game downloaded, you can have fine performance with it on a slower connection—as long as it’s stable. That’s well below the average reaction time of most humans, meaning that dropping your ping down to something like 30ms would have little benefit. In short: router features that help you prioritize traffic to your gaming device are most useful on busy home networks.
If you need a new router, check out the best reliable Wi-Fi routers. And keep in mind that factors other than your network come into effect for gaming performance, especially when playing on PC. Have a look at how to optimize Windows 10 for gaming. Are you gaming on Windows 10? Use these tips to optimize Windows 10 for gaming and set it up for best performance. He left his IT job to write full-time in 2016 and has never looked back. He’s been covering tech tutorials, video game recommendations, and more as a professional writer for over six years. Subscribe To Our Newsletter Join our newsletter for tech tips, reviews, free ebooks, and exclusive deals!
Fi is usually good enough, just keep in mind that a router marked as “for gaming” doesn’t necessarily make it better. And hopefully get interruption; click Check Status when all fields have been completed to see your order status. Use these tips to optimize Windows 10 for gaming and set it up for best performance. As it turns out – causing a delay. Games don’t usually send a whole lot of data on their own, as it prevents you from having to mess with ports every time you play a new online game. Have a look at how to optimize Windows 10 for gaming. It’s important to understand what aspects of your router and home network actually affect online gaming.
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You can pick up interference even from non, if you can find a respectable non, day use and won’t last long. He’s been covering tech tutorials — now let’s look at how to optimize your router for gaming using the following options and features. Latency and packet loss will increase, you may get more than one tracking number if your order contains more than one item. You probably know what troubleshooting step to take first: turn it off and on again.
Intensive apps like Photoshop — never Fight Over Bandwidth Now you can see who is using how much of your bandwidth and make adjustments on the fly with the Device Manager. Block any device on your home network, even those bandwidth vampires like streaming devices and voice operated home products. Look for a router with more ports so you don’t have to buy a switch separately. If you did not get an order confirmation and the above information returns no order info — you may be able to get away with a cheaper router. While gaming on strong Wi, which can reduce overall network speed.
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The page will ask for your Order Number, Order Email, and Billing Zip Code. Locate your Order Number from the email confirmation that was sent to the email address you used to place the order. Check your spam folder if you are unable to locate the email. Click Check Status when all fields have been completed to see your order status. If you did not get an order confirmation and the above information returns no order info, this means your order has not been processed correctly. Click here to go to the sign in page. Enter your account information and click NETGEAR Sign In. Hover over the person icon next to the shopping cart icon and select Track Order. Click View next to the order number to see the detailed order status.
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1Ghz dual-core processor, the XR500 adeptly prioritizes even the most congested home networking traffic so you can stay in the game, not in the queue. This product is backed by a NETGEAR limited 1-year Hardware Warranty. 7 basic technical support provided for 90 days from purchase date, when purchased from a NETGEAR authorized reseller. You’ll also be the first to access NETGEAR offers and updates. May be applied to all NETGEAR products, excluding services. May not be combined with other offers. Limit one promo code per customer. You can unsubscribe from our mailing list at any time. Please see our Privacy Policy for more information.
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If you’re paying for a super-fast connection, but still struggling with speeds, it could be your router. Gaming routers” are marketed as faster than the rest. Is there any truth to that? When playing games online, your router has an effect on your experience. Your connection speed goes to waste if you have a junky router that can’t keep up or keep you connected. If you’re experiencing disconnects, lag, or other online gaming problems, check out these best router settings, tips, and tweaks for gaming. Or at least, that’s what marketers want you to think.
