What is the Best Gaming Router?

After some heavy consideration and research I have yet to find a definitive answer. You see the answer is subject to many variables to say one router is the best gaming router would not completely answer the question or do justice to the many other availble routers out in the market.

One router can be the best for one situation but can be rendered useless under different circumstances as a result of different network conditions and environmental factors.

In this review I will explain what is the best gaming router and why. This one router that stands out above the rest. The reason being, the router is suited for performance and versatility.

I have already reviewed two routers that capture both versatility and simplicity under 100 dollars and under 300 dollars.

A router above both price ranges will provide a larger Wi-Fi coverage with a reliable wireless connection, under optimal environmental conditions. Router models above the 300 dollar price range are best suited for a highly active home network that prioritizes having the latest technology.

Home networks are beginning to adopt 4K as a streaming standard, 8K streaming is on the rise, smart home devices are becoming more prevalent in homes, VR and AR gaming have begun to pick up in popularity, uploading and downloading speeds will require higher bandwidths overtime. The need for a versatile network is becoming more prevalent. For versatility the ASUS RT-AX88U AX6000 Dual Band 802.11ax WiFi Router is the top choice. However, the 802.11ax wireless standard or WiFi 6 will only function with 802.11ax compatible devices or WiFi 6 compatible devices. This router will still be compatible for any home network but instead of using the full power of WiFi 6 it will avert to WiFi 5 or 802.11ac. The difference in the two in theory would be significant but until a final draft is finished we will have to wait and see if it functions as intended.

Soon it will be a requirement to have a flexible network. A network that can provide a lag-free low latency connection for your gaming devices while others among your network surf the web, stream video in high resolutions, or play video games that require a consistent bandwidth connection.

First we will go over what kind of home network would benefit from this router. Then we look at the key specifications this router has and what their function is. Finally, we end with what makes this model the best in its respective category.

What Kind of Home Network Wants Versatility?

Home networks today come in all kinds of variants. Not every home or network is the same. While this is true and complicates the situation we can simplify things by sticking to the basics. Everyone requires a router that can keep up with their traffic demand.

Keeping it to the basics makes it so much easier to explain what kind of network would benefit from the ASUS RT-AX88U AX6000 Dual Band 802.11ax WiFi Router.

A network that receives a lot of traffic while someone tries to play or download a video game may experience a number of issues? You may experience high latency, high ping rates and lagging. There can be a number reasons that will result in one of these or all of them. A network that has devices ranging from current gen devices (devices from 2013 up to 2019) to next gen devices (very few devices from 2019 and up at the time of writing this) can get by on a 2.4GHz bandwidth but will run much smoothly on a 5.0GHz bandwidth. This is where dual band technology comes in real handy at handling large network traffic.

Dual Band enhances a network’s capabilities of being diverse when it comes to handling a wide range of traffic.

The ASUS RT-AX88U comes with Dual Band but only the 5.0GHz channel is 802.11ac compatible. Meaning that dual band will not perform optimally when older devices that rely on 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11c, and 802.11n connect. This router works best when connected devices are 802.11ac compatible.

Any network that has fully adopted the 802.11ac wireless standard can make full use of the ASUS RT-AX88U’s capabilities. To say this router is for everyone would be false. Ideally this router is for those that want to prioritize their gaming but also want to bridge the gap between current gen and next gen devices.

Specifications Highlights

The specifications of the ASUS RT-AX88U are what make this Wi-Fi Router stand out above the rest. Though there is so much I can talk about when going over specifications. Instead, I will spare you the boredom and time by just covering the highlights that make this amazing as a WiFi gaming router.

ASUS RT-AX88U AX6000 Dual Band 802.11AX88U Specifications Highlights

• Network Standard – 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11ac, IPv4, IPv6
  • This router supports the connection of older devices. Ideally this router is for a network that have completely integrated 802.11ac compatible devices. Going forward 802.11ac will become more common. The 802.11ax network standard is not seen in many devices yet and a final draft for 802.11ax or WiFi 6 has yet to be finalized. The few that are 802.11ax compatible can enjoy the full capabilities of this router using WiFi Router.
• Data Rates – 802.11ac (5GHz): up to 4333 Mpbs, 802.11ax (2GHz): up to 1148 Mpbs, 802.11ax (5GHz): up to 4804 Mpbs
  • 802.11ac allows wireless transmissions of up to 500 Mpbs per connected device. If you are connected to a DLS Modem then the wireless transmission rate can vary from 200 Mpbs to 400 Mpbs. Upload speeds can range from 35 Mpbs to 40 Mpbs. The difference between 802.11ac and 802.11ax is 802.11ax has a slightly higher data rate and significantly lower latency.
• Wi-Fi Technology – OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access), Beamforming (standard-based and universal), 1024-QAM high data rate, 20/40/80/160 MHz bandwidth
  • OFDMA enhances simulatanous data transmissions between each connected device in a dense network environment. Beamforming helps to concentrate WiFi connection towards your devices instead of aimlessly radiating it all over the place. 1024-QAM high data rate sounds complicated but it simply organizes the frequencies of each connected device in a dense network environment.
• Noteworthy WiFi Enhancing Features – MU-MIMO, Traffic Analyzer, Adaptive QoS, AiProtection Control
  • MU-MIMO Technology helps optimize input and output communications between the router and all connected devices. The web console is user-friendly making it easy to use features like Traffic Analyzer, Adaptive QoS, AiProtection Control and many more.

Ever Changing Networks

When will someone want this type of router and why? As I mentioned above a highly active home network would stand to benefit the most from the bountiful features and power this router has to offer. This is accounting for the fact that WiFi 6 compatibility is absent in almost every current device available in the market at the time of writing this.

As time passes each network grows with more devices being added and changed out. Depending on how many devices you have running at once your network will need a router with high CPU power. The CPU power allows it to keep up with network demands. The features and hardware determine whether a router can handle all those devices seamlessly.

So when asked what is the best gaming router? I would answer with two questions for what kind of network? Does the network see a very large mix of devices(this includes IoT or Smart Home Devices) running throughout the day, somewhere in the range of 50 to 100 devices? Does the network prioritize having the newest devices? If both answers are met with a yes then the answer is the ASUS RT-AX88U AX6000. The reality is most networks simply do not need this amount of power to support their network demands. Having more CPU power does not mean it will make everything inherently faster than your current network. Simply put it means you router can support a bigger load with a reliable connection.

So did you learn anything new? Have any questions or comments relevant to what has been discussed? Feel free to drop it below in the comments section.