Night Hunter Posted March 15, 2019 Posted March 15, 2019 Netgear has added a new router to its Nighthawk Pro Gaming (NPG) series that is designed to reduce lag and minimize ping when playing games. The new XR300 is also the least expensive option in the NPG series, though at $199.99, it's not exactly a budget option. You may recall that the XR500 debuted around a year ago as Netgear's first router purpose-built for gaming, or at least it was advertised that way. At the time, we said it was the fastest router we had tested, and it remains one of the best gaming routers The new XR300 is similar to that model, though toned down in appearance and specs. For example, it has three external antennas instead of four, and is powered by a 1GHz dual-core processor instead of the 1.7GHz dual-core chip found inside the XR500. It's also slower, though not slow—it's rated to deliver up to 450Mbps on the 2.4GHz band and 1300Mbps on the 5GHz band, whereas the XR500 is rated to hit 800Mbps and 1733Mbps on those respective bands. "The XR300 leverages a purpose-built gaming dashboard powered by DumaOS, critical for an enhanced online gaming experience," Netgear says. Netgear is leveraging quality of service (QoS) controls to prioritize certain traffic (gaming packets, in this case), as is common in routers. However, the XR300 also uses geo filtering to control lag by limited the distance to game servers or other players. As with many routers, the XR300 has a built-in switch, which serves wired connections through four GbE LAN ports in the back. It also features a USB port (presumably 3.0) on the front for connecting external devices, such as a storage drive or printer. We have not tested this router yet, but for anyone who is interested, it is available to preorder now. It releases on April 14. Source https://www.pcgamer.com/netgears-new-router-aims-to-make-you-a-better-gamer-by-lowering-lag/ Quote
CheepHeep Posted March 15, 2019 Posted March 15, 2019 1 hour ago, Chuckun said: Don't use wi-fi for gaming, simple. I use my mobile data >.<. Im the lowest of the low... 2 Quote
Xernicus Posted March 15, 2019 Posted March 15, 2019 1 hour ago, Night Hunter said: It's also slower, though not slow—it's rated to deliver up to 450Mbps on the 2.4GHz band and 1300Mbps on the 5GHz band, whereas the XR500 is rated to hit 800Mbps and 1733Mbps on those respective bands. [...] As with many routers, the XR300 has a built-in switch, which serves wired connections through four GbE LAN ports in the back. Netgear is leveraging quality of service (QoS) controls to prioritize certain traffic (gaming packets, in this case), as is common in routers. However, the XR300 also uses geo filtering to control lag by limited the distance to game servers or other players. So it delivers 1.3Gbps over wireless and 1gbps over wired? ...No 10gig ethernet and this thing costs 200 bucks in 2019? Yeahhh...... no. And what is "geo-filtering by limiting distance to game servers/other players"? That.... just doesn't work. Your ISP controls that, it's out of your hands. Looks like the marketing team asked "How can we take advantage of the 13-18yo demographic who primarily play fortnite?" And this was the result. 2 Quote
Chuckun Posted March 15, 2019 Posted March 15, 2019 11 minutes ago, CheepHeep said: I use my mobile data >.<. Im the lowest of the low... Desperate times such as yours, are the exception. Spending £200+ on a router is just crazy unless you have complex networking requirements. Even then, a £100 router can do everything you need it to if you do have complex requirements. 1 Quote
Chuckun Posted March 15, 2019 Posted March 15, 2019 Just now, Xernicus said: So it delivers 1.3Gbps over wireless and 1gbps over wired? ...No 10gig ethernet and this thing costs 200 bucks in 2019? Yeahhh...... no. And what is "geo-filtering by limiting distance to game servers/other players"? That.... just doesn't work. Your ISP controls that, it's out of your hands. Looks like the marketing team asked "How can we take advantage of the 13-18yo demographic who primarily play fortnite?" And this was the result. Yeah any router company that claims to be able to minimise hops through super awesome omg technology is outright lying. 1 Quote
Administrators daredevil Posted March 16, 2019 Administrators Posted March 16, 2019 Netgear nah! I stick to ASUS. Netgear burned me enough. 1 Quote
Platinum VIP -=HipKat=- Posted March 16, 2019 Platinum VIP Posted March 16, 2019 1 hour ago, daredevil said: Netgear nah! I stick to ASUS. Netgear burned me enough. I use Linksys Velop Mesh system with 3 nodes. It's stellar - but I got it free. other wise it would have been over $500 for the whole setup 1 Quote
Administrators daredevil Posted March 16, 2019 Administrators Posted March 16, 2019 1 minute ago, -=HipKat=- said: I use Linksys Velop Mesh system with 3 nodes. It's stellar - but I got it free. other wise it would have been over $500 for the whole setup Which version do you use? Quote
Platinum VIP -=HipKat=- Posted March 16, 2019 Platinum VIP Posted March 16, 2019 8 hours ago, daredevil said: Which version do you use? https://www.amazon.com/Linksys-Tri-band-Intelligent-Maximize-devices/dp/B01N2NLNEH Quote
Administrators daredevil Posted March 16, 2019 Administrators Posted March 16, 2019 1 hour ago, -=HipKat=- said: https://www.amazon.com/Linksys-Tri-band-Intelligent-Maximize-devices/dp/B01N2NLNEH Thanks! I stopped using Linksys when Belkin took over. Cisco Linksys was the best. I still have old WRT 54G router i think. I am waiting for 2nd version of this one - Need wifi 6 in new routers now. https://www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-ax6000-dual-band-wi-fi-6-router/6321916.p?skuId=6321916&ref=212&loc=1&ref=212&loc=1&ds_rl=1266837&ds_rl=1266837&gclid=CjwKCAjwvbLkBRBbEiwAChbckbXRuVdK_-GZMZecr681CSNy3JxDr_z4fhVQw-udqSMNzMIfQrI-GRoC6UkQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds Currently I use this one - https://www.asus.com/us/Networking/RT-AC88U/ 1 Quote
Platinum VIP -=HipKat=- Posted March 16, 2019 Platinum VIP Posted March 16, 2019 That AC3100 is sweet!!!! Mesh is the only way to go. My WiFi at the furthest point from my original router was @26MB/s D/L and with the Velops jumped to 246MB/s D/L Quote
GalacticaQT Posted April 1, 2019 Posted April 1, 2019 OK I am not convinced. From what I have read about routers, it is not as simple as having top of the line hardware. There is a capacity to how fast *any* router can make your internet speeds. IMO these companies coming out with "gaming routers" is a scam aimed at people of our demographic. Sad, but true, I fear. Quote
Administrators daredevil Posted April 1, 2019 Administrators Posted April 1, 2019 @GalacticaQT No - not really. You need to factor in hardware of router, tech that is used and how you can use it. Ex - I have AC88U and that helps me because my old N66 or something was getting crapped out. It depends on your needs eventually. For gaming - your bring out any good router, while playing ET - just start youtube in 4k OR any netflix show and you will notice your ping will start changing immediately. No matter what QoS you put. Most of the people playing on servers, never realize that. 1 Quote
GalacticaQT Posted April 2, 2019 Posted April 2, 2019 @daredevil This all may be true, but I think we can both agree on this... There is only SO much a router can do to improve your internet. When you see advertisements for routers that can boast 50-100x more speeds than standard routers, I call BS. While the increase may be noticeable, it will not be as inflated as they stated. That's really my only issue, is the lack of truth-in-advertising. 1 Quote
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