The best gaming routers now deliver better than ever before. With Wi-Fi 6 here, the promise is for network speeds of up to 6 Gbps, able to keep up with the latest in faster internet speeds. While many ISP’s offer a router, their rental fees get expensive over the longer term, and for the best gaming experience, it is a more effective solution to upgrade, go on your own and get one of the best gaming routers.
Before purchase, it is critically important to get up to speed on the differences between routers. In order to do that, check out the specs of the different models. A crucial spec is the type of Wi-Fi used in the model. The last generation was 802.11ac, which is being replaced by the 802.11ax standard. Confused yet? Well, it gets worse as the Wi-Fi Alliance tried to simplify this by designating 802.11ac as Wi-Fi 5, and also 802.11ax as Wi-Fi 6.
As Wi-Fi 6 is the latest wireless standard, you’ll need to purchase one of the best gaming routers (and a new one at that) to enjoy its benefits. Be aware that Wi-Fi 6 offers faster speeds, and also consumes less battery life as inherent advantages. Also, realize that it was designed for congested environments to be more efficient at transmitting data to multiple devices simultaneously. Also be aware that unless you have a fast high-speed internet connection, many users may not notice the difference between Wi-Fi 6 over Wi-Fi 5.
ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AX11000
The best gaming router
Most of us dream about driving to work or school in a top of the line Ferrari or Lamborghini, you know, a supercar. Too bad that most of us do our commuting in more of an econobox, but take some solace that you can run your network with the ‘Supercar of routers.’
The Asus ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 basically takes each and every spec- and pushes it over the top. This includes a 2.5GBase -T port for faster-wired speeds, and also 802.11ax via tri-bands on the wireless side, plus Dynamic Frequency Switching for additional 5 GHz frequencies.
The QoS in our testing performs at the top, with their Dynamic QoS that prioritizes gaming traffic as the standard for how every other router should perform. On top of that, this router can be expanded via Asus’ AiMesh that allows additional Asus routers to be reconfigured as mesh nodes. Gaming centric features include WTFast, latency killing Games Radar, and VPN Fusion to segregate gaming traffic. For the discerning gamer looking for the top router, and willing to pay the price, this Asus ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 easily makes it to the top of the list.
ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AC5300
A gaming powerhouse
For those seeking the Cadillac of gaming routers who have no qualms about dropping some serious cash (and making serious space), the Asus ROG Rapture GT-AC5300 is a pricey, yet a powerful option that looks absolutely ridiculous. With 8 antennas, a quad-core processor, USB 3.0 ports, and 8 Gigabit Ethernet ports for wired connectivity, it's the luxury choice for the discerning gamer.
This router will offer some unbelievable lag-free speeds, with an extensive selection of gamer-centric features, such as network ping tracking, a meaty interface, and excellent hardware that offers a veritable treasure trove of customization options.
Linksys WRT32X
'Killer' performance at a great price
Linksys is a familiar name in the router ecosystem, but don't let its pedestrian reputation fool you – this is a formidable contender in the realm of gaming routers.
This particular model's Killer Prioritization Engine (for use with PCs with Killer networking cards) is a winner for sure, as it helps prioritize your own network traffic to and from the internet. Beyond that, this dual-band router is a small package with four gigabit LAN ports and four detachable antennas. The menu interface leaves a little to be desired, but that's hardly an issue when it's rocking a powerful 1.8Ghz processor, beam-forming, and MU-MIMO. It's also one of the more affordable routers on this list, making it perfect for the hardcore gamer on a budget.
Netgear Nighthawk AX4 4-Stream Wi-Fi 6 Router
A superb alternative budget choice from Netgear
Think that Wi-Fi 6 is only for the most expensive models? Well, think again as that barrier to entry to 802.11ax router has dropped considerably with the Netgear Nighthawk AX4.
From a performance standpoint, this router can keep up with the routers costing considerably more when it comes to throughput on both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequencies. It also delivers the goods for streaming media streams, and simultaneous gaming, showing the benefit of this latest wireless standard designed specifically for efficient data transfers in a congested wireless environment. The downside of this router is that the interface, while serviceable, is rather pedestrian, and not as pretty as Netgear’s more gaming-oriented offerings. As long as you can get past this, the AX4 is an otherwise reliable router that shows you can get excellent performance at a lower price point.
Netgear Nighthawk Pro Gaming XR700
Blazing fast 60GHz wireless
If the Netgear Nighthawk Pro Gaming XR500 is the Rolls-Royce Ghost of gaming routers, the XR700 is the Phantom. Expensive as it might be, it's built for a sort of timeless luxury you can't put a price on.
Seeing as it supports the blisteringly fast 4,600Mbps 802.11ad networking standard, buying the Netgear Nighthawk Pro Gaming XR700 means future-proofing your home connectivity infrastructure for years to come, especially since only a handful of laptops are compatible. That said, don't let a lack of interoperability get in the way, as the XR700 is fully backwards compatible with the present-day 802.11ac spec as well, delivering high speeds over 5GHz and even 2.4GHz bands at up to 1,733Mbps and 800Mbps, respectively. All that, combined with its fantastic QoS gaming prioritization technology and its equally robust DumaOS software, the Nighthawk XR700 is yet another win for Netgear.
