Do gaming routers help speed?

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Faust09th

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#257259 23-Sep-2019 03:15

Hi,

I recently signed up with 2Degrees for broadband.

Great customer support. However, when I play online games in my console, I get occasional random lag.

I didn't experience lags in gaming when I was living with my parents. Their broadband was Vodafone, but their router was a gaming one.

Is it worth buying a gaming router to avoid lag?

Cheers

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#2323034 23-Sep-2019 03:25

Can you try plugging into wired instead of wireless and see if it Repro

Is there anyone else using your connection for downloads or torrents etc?

Gaming router is simply a glorified marketing name for a router that does QoS, quality of service, prioritizing gaming traffic over other traffic entering/leaving your network.

Is the 2D connection the same/similar type/speed as the Voda?

Faust09th

12 posts

Geek

#2323035 23-Sep-2019 03:30

I've never tried wired with this console before, but I'll try someday. But note that wired may not be a convenient location in my house.

It's just me using and playing online game.

nathan

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#2323036 23-Sep-2019 03:33

Sure. I just meant temporarily wired to see if anything is different

Fixing computer stuff needs troubleshooting stuff and a bit of trial and error

From what you've described it doesn't sound like buying a router with QoS would make any difference

Faust09th

12 posts

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#2323037 23-Sep-2019 03:35

nathan: Is the 2D connection the same/similar type/speed as the Voda?

Yes, my parents were using Fiber Max Vodafone. I'm using Ultimate Unlimited with 2Degrees.

michaelmurfy

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#2323044 23-Sep-2019 06:05

These are pure snake oil. They’re expensive, and crap from experience.

Your problem is you’re using Wireless. You really need to use Ethernet.

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#2323045 23-Sep-2019 06:10

Yep, snake oil, if you take your gaming so serious then spend the effort and have a cable run.

Cyril

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#2323105 23-Sep-2019 07:05

As others have said, these tend to be overpriced, over-marketed hyped up garbage. Test with a wired connection, if you are still experiencing issues, then consider moving to business grade kit (e.g. USG/Edgerouter)

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freitasm

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#2323108 23-Sep-2019 07:20

Faust09th: I've never tried wired with this console before, but I'll try someday. But note that wired may not be a convenient location in my house.

It's just me using and playing online game.

Lag on wireless connections will always be a problem. Test with ethernet. Serious gamers shouldn't consider wireless.

sbiddle

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#2323119 23-Sep-2019 07:44

To answer your question in one word. No

As pointed out already nobody serious would ever game over WiFi. The simple nature of WiFi being a half duplex medium that will always have higher latency means that inherently it will always be an inferior solution to cabled Ethernet.

coffeebaron

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#2323134 23-Sep-2019 08:27

Next post: I brought this gaming router, but now my Gigabit fibre is only running at 200Mbps

As per advice above, Ethernet is best. Some of these so called high performance gaming routers can't actually handle a gigabit connection. If WiFi is your only choice, then use a decent WiFi AP mounted closer to where computer is, but this will still be a big compromise over ethernet.

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#2323191 23-Sep-2019 09:38

If this adds anything then I don't know what will.

I've reviewed many routers - even got Spark sending me their new router to review too (as they think I'll like it). Many companies like Ubiquiti and even D-Link have sent me routers to review and I've always been brutally honest with each of the reviews.

I had Asus and Netgear reach out to me asking me to review their latest performance gaming routers. They asked with how I test. I stated I put the router in a simulated environment and test NAT throughput to a server on the other side along with wireless performance etc. Both companies pulled out their offer when they noted I was doing a full test and not just hooking it up to a bulk standard internet connection and calling it a day. Asus even went one step further and requested I send them the review before posting it online so they could change aspects of it - I said no to this and declined their offer of a router.

I've NEVER had this issue from companies like D-Link of which, I have been brutally honest about and in a few cases basically called their product crap. The best one was Cambium which had a bad review from me, worked on my feedback and actually fixed the issues I mentioned.

These gaming router companies really don't want a proper review done and to me that proves they're not really worth the money and are just suckering people in. The Fritz!Box is a great router - it performs well in most cases too. Your problem is you're using WiFi, plain and simple.

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#2323194 23-Sep-2019 09:43

The gaming prioritiztion of the routers can only help if you are saturating the upstream heavily, which is only usually the case on poor performing internet connections in countries with bad internet infrastructure like the USA and Australia. If you are on a 950/500 fibre connection like you should be if internet is important to you then the router can probably add nothing to performance, and can seriously hurt it when its underpowered CPU can't handle a gigabit of incoming data when someone starts to do some update or steam download. The gaming router can only try to prioritize incoming data by seriously delaying everyone elses data and when there is too much of it, then it cant handle it and everything suffers.

Richard rich.ms

Faust09th

12 posts

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#2323200 23-Sep-2019 10:04

freitasm:
Faust09th: I've never tried wired with this console before, but I'll try someday. But note that wired may not be a convenient location in my house.

It's just me using and playing online game.

Lag on wireless connections will always be a problem. Test with ethernet. Serious gamers shouldn't consider wireless.

Good point. I will try the Ethernet cable then. But I will need a long Ethernet cable since the data point is kind of far from the room. Does the length of the cable affect performance?

Faust09th

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#2323201 23-Sep-2019 10:07

michaelmurfy:
If this adds anything then I don't know what will.

I've reviewed many routers - even got Spark sending me their new router to review too (as they think I'll like it). Many companies like Ubiquiti and even D-Link have sent me routers to review and I've always been brutally honest with each of the reviews.

I had Asus and Netgear reach out to me asking me to review their latest performance gaming routers. They asked with how I test. I stated I put the router in a simulated environment and test NAT throughput to a server on the other side along with wireless performance etc. Both companies pulled out their offer when they noted I was doing a full test and not just hooking it up to a bulk standard internet connection and calling it a day. Asus even went one step further and requested I send them the review before posting it online so they could change aspects of it - I said no to this and declined their offer of a router.

I've NEVER had this issue from companies like D-Link of which, I have been brutally honest about and in a few cases basically called their product crap. The best one was Cambium which had a bad review from me, worked on my feedback and actually fixed the issues I mentioned.

These gaming router companies really don't want a proper review done and to me that proves they're not really worth the money and are just suckering people in. The Fritz!Box is a great router - it performs well in most cases too. Your problem is you're using WiFi, plain and simple.

Wow, so gaming routers are just for show then. This convinced me not to buy one. Thanks.

If I use a long Ethernet cable, (since the data point is far my room), will that be okay? Does the length of Ethernet cable affect performance?

nathan

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#2323202 23-Sep-2019 10:15

Faust09th:
freitasm:
Faust09th: I've never tried wired with this console before, but I'll try someday. But note that wired may not be a convenient location in my house.

It's just me using and playing online game.

Lag on wireless connections will always be a problem. Test with ethernet. Serious gamers shouldn't consider wireless.

Good point. I will try the Ethernet cable then. But I will need a long Ethernet cable since the data point is kind of far from the room. Does the length of the cable affect performance?

Simple answer: no

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