Which gaming router?

[Kitsan]

It hadn't occoured to me until today that I have had a regular (once per day or two) issue with my voice coms at the three different addresses, it would randomly break up, either completely or like a robot for about 5 secs even though I had no windows/torrents...etc sucking bandwidth. I have a completely different PC and headset now too.

 

So that leaves the cable and router right, as I have always used a wired connection?

 

My ping always seemed pretty good, sub 100ms so I always assumed it was just one of those things... but I would like to try and replace my ISP stock router I've had for 4 years.

 

How much do I need to spend to get a really good gaming experience?

I dont really want to spend more than $250?

My fibre isnt very fast, Max's out at about 4.4 mb/s (UK)

[devster31]

I doubt your gaming will be affected by the router of your choice.

That being said, some very good routers could be the TP-Link Archer line, the Synology RT2600ac or some Asus picks.

[Donut417]

15 hours ago, remus243 said:

Max's out at about 4.4 mb/s

Thats your issue. If any one does anything else on your internet connection your FUCKED. 

 

Stock ISP router via Ethernet should be able to keep up fine. Genenrally its the WiFi they fall short on. However most people suggest Netgear and ASUS. I personally have the Synology Router @devster31 suggested and it works. BUT I also have a 200/10 connection. 

[Jarsky]

16 hours ago, remus243 said:

My fibre isnt very fast, Max's out at about 4.4 mb/s (UK)

 

By 4.4mb/s are you saing you're on 4.4Mbps? Like you get about 500KB/s download speed? If so are you sure you're on fibre? That doesnt sound like fibre...in most countries 10Mbit (~1.25MB/s) would be the absolute lowest for a consumer fiber connection. Here in NZ our lowest is 100Mbit (12.5MB/s). 

 

If you do mean 4.4Mbps that sounds more like a long distance ADSL connection..which could explain your issue. 

[Kitsan]

Sorry I mean it actually downloads at 4.4mb/s I think the actual ISP quoted rate is 70Mbs

 

I am clueless when it comes to this kind of thing, allot of the more expensive routers i've looked at state they have features which look for closest/best connections between my PC and the game server?

 

What do you guys think about the Netgear XR500?

[Mark Kaine]

Personally only have bad experiences with netgear,  buggy,  slow,  gets abandoned fast (no support) 

And Asus is very similar, buggy,  bad support, etc. 

 

Draytek,  TP link,  Zyxel, AVM...  those are generally good - and you don't need a "gaming router" ... It's useless. 

 

 

Just look if it has the features you want (even most cheap routers should tbh) and enough RAM - the worst thing is running out of RAM constantly (hello ASUS lol) Maybe Synology,  but I have no experience with those so I can't really tell. 

[Kitsan]

6 hours ago, Mark Kaine said:

Personally only have bad experiences with netgear,  buggy,  slow,  gets abandoned fast (no support) 

And Asus is very similar, buggy,  bad support, etc. 

 

Draytek,  TP link,  Zyxel, AVM...  those are generally good - and you don't need a "gaming router" ... It's useless. 

 

 

Just look if it has the features you want (even most cheap routers should tbh) and enough RAM - the worst thing is running out of RAM constantly (hello ASUS lol) Maybe Synology,  but I have no experience with those so I can't really tell. 

I honestly don't know what features I need or even what they're called

 

I want something that's wireless which I can connect my other PC's with a connection that's fast enough for me to transfer big files like 20 minutes of 4K footage which could be upwards of 7gb.

 

Something which has features which improve my gaming experience in competitive online FPS (Overwatch/Apex), whether wired or wireless.

[Donut417]

3 minutes ago, remus243 said:

improve my gaming experience

Ethernet will do that. 

 

3 minutes ago, remus243 said:

whether wired or wireless.

Doesnt work that way. Wireless will always have higher latency than a wire. The day to day exprience with wireless can and will change. Because your at the mercy of devices using the same bands as WiFi and at the mercy of your neighbors wireless routers as well. There is very limited wireless spectrum for us to use. 

 

 

What you need is this. Get a WiFi 5 (AC) router. Personally I have the Synology RT2600AC and it does the job. Ubiquti is also a good option, but a standard Edge router doesnt offer wireless so you would have to buy a AP as well. My other advice is to use Etherent for your gaming machines. 

[Kitsan]

5 minutes ago, Donut417 said:

Ethernet will do that. 

 

Doesnt work that way. Wireless will always have higher latency than a wire. The day to day exprience with wireless can and will change. Because your at the mercy of devices using the same bands as WiFi and at the mercy of your neighbors wireless routers as well. There is very limited wireless spectrum for us to use. 

 

 

What you need is this. Get a WiFi 5 (AC) router. Personally I have the Synology RT2600AC and it does the job. Ubiquti is also a good option, but a standard Edge router doesnt offer wireless so you would have to buy a AP as well. My other advice is to use Etherent for your gaming machines. 

Sorry that's not what I meant, I meant that if I have to use the wireless for gaming like if I have a few friends over, that the router has features which improve the experience

[Mark Kaine]

1 minute ago, remus243 said:

Sorry that's not what I meant, I meant that if I have to use the wireless for gaming like if I have a few friends over, that the router has features which improve the experience

There is no such features - either the router is good or it isn't. 

 

This is what I think everyone is trying to tell you,  if a router says "improved gaming performance" or similar it's a scam and you should stay away from it. 

 

Also why do you think you need to use wireless if friends are over? You could still use Ethernet cable,  I think! 

 

But honestly gaming over WiFi isn't so bad,  if the connection is good aka the router in the same room... I try to avoid it but the few times I used it was honestly perfectly ok. 

[Kitsan]

Perhaps I am not getting what I want over as I'm new to this, what I am trying to ask is what features do I need, as in what spec should I look at... for example how much ram is advisable or allot of them list dual and quad core...etc?

 

I've been reading a whole heap of reviews but allot of it isn't clear and seems for lack of a better description... a ton of very confusing marketing bullshit..