Generally speaking, a gaming router will have more advanced internal hardware than cheap options, such as additional bands to support more devices, and frequently a faster CPU and more RAM to accommodate a greater device load. The user interface frequently includes features geared toward gamers to aid in prioritising gaming traffic and packets. Additionally, more precise controls are included for adjusting and optimising the performance of your network to ensure that it best meets your gaming requirements. Unsurprisingly, this often costs more than the majority of common routers.
However, if you invest more and choose wisely, you can enjoy better gaming with less lag, especially if your home network and Internet bandwidth are shared among numerous users and dozens of devices. Furthermore, gaming routers offer greater customization options than the majority of consumer routers. For the finest online gaming experience, there are more settings to adjust and optimizations to make. Along with a few less specialized devices that nonetheless offer the same throughput and minimal lag times needed by gamers. Below we have mentioned Best Gaming Routers.
6 Best Gaming Routers
Netgear Nighthawk XR700
The Netgear Nighthawk Pro Gaming XR700 is an excellent upgrade from the XR500, which we found to be the fastest router we’d ever tested. Both belong to the manufacturer’s “Nighthawk Pro Gaming” networking product range, however the XR700 is quicker than its forerunner.
With one WAN port, six LAN ports, link aggregation support, and even a 10 Gigabit LAN SFP+ socket for absurd Ethernet capacity, the XR700 has a lot of the proper elements. Let’s get this over with. This XR700 employs a combination of the most recent 802.11ac/Wi-Fi 5 wireless and 802.11ad (that’s the 60 GHz frequency one), which regrettably hasn’t gained widespread adoption in the wireless industry due to all the focus shifting to 802.11ax/Wi-Fi 6. It also has four active antennas that support beamforming. Overall, this is one of the Best Gaming Routers that you can buy right now.
TP-Link Archer C5400X
It delivers best-in-class tri-band speeds with some of the greatest 802.11ac performance you’ll find in any single home networking device, providing 1Gbps over its 2.4GHz band and 2.167Gbps over each of its two 5GHz channels. It also boasts amazing coverage, providing more than 100 feet of excellent coverage that will envelop the majority of households in a potent, crystal-clear Wi-Fi signal.
The 8 antennas, which resemble spiders, and the red and black colour scheme are likely to draw attention, but the optimization and security features are what will really entice power users. The user has great performance at their disposal with this router, whether they choose to use the high throughput for gaming or something else, thanks to the outstanding bandwidth allocation controls. Overall, it is one of the Best Gaming Routers that you can buy.
ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AX11000
The Asus ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 is intended to be the “best of the best” gaming router in its class, and judging by the technical specifications, it more than lives up to expectations. It offers a lot and builds on the Asus ROG Rapture GT-AC5300, the previous router in its series, by using Wi-Fi 6 router technology. Although this router has four Gigabit LAN ports and a dedicated 2.5G Base-T port for better wired bandwidth, we prefer the eight ports that other Asus routers provide. Still, it is one of the Best Gaming Routers that you can consider.
This Wi-Fi 6 tri-band solution provides more than 10 gigabits of wireless bandwidth in addition to DFS bands to prevent interference. Additional features geared toward gamers include integrated WTFast, VPN Fusion to separate gaming traffic from VPN traffic for maximum throughput, Dynamic QoS to prioritise gaming traffic, check the ping times to various game servers to minimise latency, and Aura RGB for those who prefer a more colourful environment.
Asus RT-AC86U
The RT-AC86U router from Asus may not be the best at short range, but its excellent range more than makes up for that. The RT-AC86U is an 802.11ac router that offers a fantastic balance of performance, security software, and gaming upgrades. It is unmatched in its class for both value and performance. Easily one of the Best Gaming Routers available on the market.
The dual-band gaming router features plenty of customization options, lifelong Trend Micro internet security, and some of the greatest performance you can find for less than $200. And even while other more expensive Wi-Fi 6 devices perform better, the RT-AC86U can give every member of the family a secure and moderately quick online experience.
Netgear Nighthawk AX4
The use of Wi-Fi 6 is becoming more widespread, and the Nighthawk AX4 is a great illustration of what this specification can do, even on a relatively affordable router. The Nighthawk AX4 lacks the showy coloured stripes and LEDs of expensive equipment. Instead, it is horizontally oriented, equipped with four Gigabit LAN ports, a single USB connector, two external antennas, and a row of green indicator LEDs.
The interface is handled by the Nighthawk app, while it can also be accessed through a web portal. This portal is more generic because it uses Netgear’s OS rather than DumaOS, which is more widely used. Gaming also has QoS, which may be turned on or off easily. Still, there is no granular control to properly balance media streaming demands and gaming requirements across numerous linked devices to improve the experience. Thus, this product is one of the Best Gaming Routers available right now.
TP-Link Archer AX6000
The TP-Link Archer AX6000 Next-Gen Wi-Fi Router falls midway between a full-featured gaming router like the Asus ROG Rapture GT-AXE11000 and entry-level cost-effective solutions like the Archer A7 AC1750, which retails for less than $70. The’middle of the road’ design of the Archer AX6000 produces a router that is larger than some and has a lot of antennas (8) and gigabit Ethernet connections (8, plus a 2.5GB WAN). You also get Wi-Fi 6, but not the more recent Wi-Fi 6E that operates in the less congested 6 GHz band.
The Archer AX6000 impressed us with its reliable 5 GHz throughput speeds, fast gaming frame rates when connected via Ethernet or 5 GHz, integrated 8 port switch, and free security subscription. It provided good value for money at around $250. Just be aware that a third band to better manage many devices and the gaming-centric and QoS capabilities found in more expensive gaming routers are frequently absent here. However, there are many reasons to prefer the AX6000 as a general-purpose, mid-range router, including its generally respectable gaming performance. Currently, this is one of the Best Gaming Routers that you can buy right now.
Conclusion
Gaming routers are designed to be greedy and can prioritise traffic to your gaming PC and consoles. Even when other devices in your home are streaming or downloading, the best gaming router minimises lag during your online gaming sessions. If you want to get the most of your internet, it may be time to upgrade your router if you’ve had it for a while.
