Have you ever experienced miserable speed during online gaming despite having a lightning-fast connection and paying a hefty amount for it?
Sitting for a nice gaming experience and getting a slow connection? Before blaming your connection, think twice. Your router can be one of the reasons behind the problem. A normal router cannot give you the desired speed that you require for a superlative gaming experience, but you need a router specially made for gaming. Gaming routers have specially designed “gamer” features that give you faster speeds, whether you’re using a wired or wireless network connection.
Do we really need a gaming router?
Of course, you do. A gaming router that is specifically designed to optimize network settings for the best possible gaming experience, which an otherwise normal router cannot do is what makes these routers stand out. One of the features that make a gaming router special is what is known as traffic-shaping.
A typical router doesn’t care about which type of traffic gets topmost priority. All of it has equal priority when it comes to your internet connection. The more the number of smartphones and devices that are connected to your Wi-Fi, the lesser the bandwidth your gaming console receives while playing. If multiple users are operating at the same time and even if you prioritize gaming data over Netflix, Skype, and download data, then also you do not get the desired speed required for gaming.
But gaming routers can automatically prioritize. It makes sure that your connection to the game server is on top of the priority list. This ensures that you have a lag-free, worry-free gaming connection for hours. When you have the latest and best router for gaming, traffic is automatically managed at the router’s end. Thanks to highly advanced features such as Quality of Service (QoS), traffic management and other features that have been introduced in high-end gaming routers.
These features make sure that you get the required efficiency and effectiveness in bandwidth delivery when you are in the virtual world of gaming.
Things to check before buying a gaming router
Do you ever think why we do not consider CPU and RAM before purchasing a gaming router? Is this simply because they don’t have to run resource-intensive apps? But remember they must handle tons of network data every single second. With a weak CPU, a router cannot keep up with constant data influx from various sources. It will struggle under the load.
The best router for gaming also helps in making sure that you get the gaming bandwidth that you need when you are playing online even when there are a lot of different devices connected to your wireless network. This means that you will not have to search for a device downloading an application because the best gaming router will take care of it for you.
What kind of connection do we need for gaming router
It is advisable to prefer Ethernet than Wi-Fi for the smooth running of your gaming router. Do not sacrifice speed and latency for cable-free comfort. Wi-Fi signals also interfere with each other. As a result, latency and packet loss will increase. Use powerline adopter if the router is in another room.
If you don’t have an option, then rather than Wi-Fi, go for wireless AC router – these are faster. The stability and strength of your wireless connection will always be affected by the distance between the router and your gaming console. So, try to keep them close.
What to do if any problem arises
The first troubleshooting steps for every device is rebooting. This is mandatory for older routers which have a trend to drop connections and freeze for unknown reasons. It is better to set an automatic router rebooting schedule. At the end of the day what you might need is a new router.
If you are an online game enthusiast, then you do need a game router with latest features. If your current router is a few years old, then it might not feature the technology. Today’s routers need to handle so many different devices on one Wi-Fi signal. In fact, it’s recommended that you replace your gaming router every 5 years and go for the latest version.
Every year many features get added and gaming technologies also scale up to reap the benefits of new technology. Therefore, keep reviewing your requirements periodically, get the best gaming router and get set to take on your adversary in your online gaming world.