These Are the Best Gaming Routers You Can Buy in 2024
A reliable router is a key part of a solid gaming setup, but with so many options to choose from, it can be difficult to sort through the noise. Luckily, there are a few options that stand out from the rest.
Why You Should Consider a Gaming Router
But why should you buy a gaming router? Of course, a regular Wi-Fi router will do, right? Of course, the answer is yes, a regular router will be more than enough for most gaming needs. However, gaming routers often support high bandwidth and often come with additional features that can help improve your gaming experience.
These features can range from a simpler port forwarding feature (which you’ll need to ensure the best possible connection to game servers) to latency optimization settings that can help reduce the amount of bandwidth issues and jitter you may experience while gaming – a very important point . feature for those of us who love to play competitive games online.
TP-Link Archer C5400X
While the TP-Link Arch C5400X doesn’t support Wi-Fi above 5, it offers excellent performance, a tri-band design, and excellent security software. This means you can take advantage of the router’s maximum speed of 1Gbps while knowing you’re protected from online cyber threats. Upgrading to Wi-Fi 5 isn’t necessarily a bad move, especially if you live in an older home and don’t have access to the fastest broadband speeds. However, future reviewers will likely want to stick with something that offers at least Wi-Fi 6 to avoid having to upgrade sooner in the future.
This router also offers some of the best 802.11ac performance among Wi-Fi 5 routers. The only real downside here is that this gaming router is huge and you can’t point the antenna to get the perfect signal you need. It’s an expensive option, like most gaming routers you can buy, and as our friends at PCMag point out, it can be loaded with a few more gaming features.
However, the built-in Alexa and IFTTT support, as well as the exceptional antivirus and anti-malware tools it includes, make it easy to recommend for gamers using Wi-Fi 5. You can buy the TP-Link C5400X on Amazon. right now for $293.15.
ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 gaming router
Appearing on our list of the best Wi-Fi routers , the ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 gaming router continues to be one of the best options on the market. It’s an expensive option, but the price is more than offset by subscription-free network security features, as well as 10 Gbps and 2.5 Gbps support, depending on which ports you use.
ROG RAPTURE GT-AX11000 has internal systems designed from the ground up for gamers, allowing you to get the most out of your gaming experience while also unlocking the full potential of your internet connection. The speed it offers is more than enough for 4K streaming and playing the latest video games at maximum settings. What’s especially nice is that the Rapture GT-AX11000 also has built-in mesh technology, allowing it to connect to a mesh network for increased range.
You can purchase the ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 gaming router on Amazon for $399.99.
Netgear Nighthawk XR1000
When it comes to Wi-Fi routers, Netgear is the dominant brand in the market, and for good reason. The Netgear Nighthawk XR1000 continues the trend of offering excellent Wi-Fi capabilities and also provides some gaming features that you can take advantage of. There are many configuration options available here, making it easy to customize the router to suit your needs.
Netgear also includes a ton of tools and an easy-to-use interface that lets you choose from a variety of gaming options, as well as built-in malware protection. You can count on stable Wi-Fi 6 performance even over medium distances.
The Netgear Nighthawk XR1000 supports wireless speeds of up to 5.4Gbps and has built-in lag-free optimization to help make your gaming experience even smoother. You can buy the Nighthawk XR1000 on Amazon for $369.99.