Our top router picks for gaming

The launch of the new Wi-Fi 6E wireless standard has upped the performance ceiling of routers, providing faster Wi-Fi speeds than ever before. The Asus ROG Rapture GT-AXE1600 is the best gaming router we’ve tested so far to offer these new revolutionary speeds, being capable of utilising the 6GHz band.

It’s important to note that Wi-Fi 6E is so new that most devices don’t support it yet. That means this router is pretty much wasted on a PS5, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch, or even most PCs lacking cutting-edge specs. But if you’ve got a modern gaming PC, or want to ensure your router is future-proofed for years to come, then the ROG Rapture GT-AXE1600 is a superb option.

Our tests showed the ROG router to offer a remarkable 911.86Mbit/s throughput via the 6Ghz band. It’s also very fast on the 5Ghz band with a 652.74Mbit/s throughput within five metres, although the Nighthawk RAX200 did surpass those speeds.

We were also impressed with the gaming features on the ROG Rapture GT-AXE1600. It displays the ping times for popular multiplayer games, while the parental controls allow you to set limits on your child’s game time.

With such a steep price, the Asus ROG Rapture GT-AXE1600 won’t be suitable for the average gamer on a budget. But if you want to futureproof your home network for a cutting-edge gaming PC, then this is our favourite option.

Reviewer: David Ludlow
Full review: Asus ROG Rapture GT-AXE1600 Review

For the absolute fastest speeds we’ve tested from a gaming Wi-Fi 6 router, look no further than the Netgear Nighthawk RAX200.

During testing, we managed to get average speeds of 742.14Mbps at close range, which is the fastest score we’ve seen yet from a Wi-Fi 6 router. And while you can get even faster speeds by upgrading to Wi-Fi 6E routers, there are currently no consoles that support the standard and so is only really worthwhile for PC gamers with cutting-edge hardware.

The Netgear Nighthawk RAX200 did admittedly fall away for our long distance tests, but at least remained above 350Mbps on the second floor that sits at 10 metres away from the router. If you need greater range, you’ll want to purchase a mesh system instead, such as the Amazon Eero Pro 6.

One of the advantages of this router is that it’s tri-band, giving you three networks: one 2.4GHz, and two on 5GHz. By having multiple bands, the router is better equipped to provide internet for multiple devices without causing major interference for your main gaming device.

On the front of features, a lot of the RAX200’s main offerings are controlled with the Nighthawk mobile app that gives access to set up and configuration, as well as the ability to control it via both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant skills for hands-free operation. The web interface also provides support for port-forwarding, VPN usage, and support for BT IGMP proxying, if they’re your service provider.

Reviewer: David Ludlow
Full review: Netgear Nighthawk RAX200 Review

The Netgear Nighthawk AX8 is a fantastic choice if you’re after a router with lightning speeds, but is also more affordable than a lot of the other options on this list.

The AX8 makes use of Wi-Fi 6 with compatibility for both the PS5 and Xbox Series X. During testing, the AX8 proved to be exceptionally fast with average speeds nearing 730Mbps in close range, alongside figures of 350.59Mbps a floor up, 5 metres up, and 389.93Mbps at 10m on the second floor. The Netgear Nighthawk RAX200 proved faster in our tests, but is also noticeably more expensive.

The AX8 is an 8×8 router, giving you eight different streams to choose from – half are reserved for the quicker 5GHz band, while the other four work via 2.4GHz, which offers loads of bandwidth to play with. Like other Netgear routers, config is taken care of via the Nighthawk app that offers a convenient way of changing settings alongside the more versatile web interface.

Its looks are similar to other routers we’ve tested in Netgear’s Nighthawk range with a minimalistic design that offers two ‘wings’ that houses all the antennas – it makes the AX8 look like an Imperial Shuttle from Star Wars. In terms of ports round the back, it’s a standard fare for a router with five Gigabit Ethernet ports. If you’re after fast speeds, but don’t want to spend over the odds, this is our top recommendation for gaming.

Reviewer: David Ludlow
Full review: Netgear Nighthawk AX8 Review

If it’s oodles of features you’re after from a router for gaming, then the Netgear Nighthawk XR1000 comes jam-packed.

As with other Netgear routers, setup here is taken care of by the Nighthawk app which offers basic functionality to change the name of the network and turn on the guest option.

It’s with the web interface, DumaOS 3.0, where the XR1000 really comes into its own though. With it, you can configure performance groups within the QoS settings so you can allocate more or less bandwidth to a task. This allocation system also works for specific apps, too. But the most powerful feature here is arguably the Geo-Filter, which helps you find game servers with the lowest ping to give you the best experience possible.

In terms of speed and connectivity, the XR1000 is a Wi-Fi 6 capable router. In testing, we found the speeds here to be especially quick and plenty for gaming, with a close range speed of 715.57Mbps, while at five metres on the first floor it was 318.59Mbps. Speeds are slightly behind the other two Netgear routers on this list, but the gaming features arguably make up for that.

For the design, the XR1000 is simply a rebadged version of the RAX50 with the same shape and size, but adds red accents to show the fact it’s a gaming router, which we’d argue makes it look even better. The port selection round the back offers four Gigabit Ethernet ports for wired devices, plus a Gigabit Ethernet port for the WAN connection, as well as a USB 3.0 port for local file sharing.

Reviewer: David Ludlow
Full review: Netgear Nighthawk XR1000 Review

As opposed to a standard router, you could get a mesh Wi-Fi system for gaming instead, and the Amazon Eero Pro 6 is a superb option.

Having a mesh system means you get a router, as well as additional satellite devices that help to spread internet coverage throughout your home. Amazon rates each satellite as working well over 140 square metres each. These are a lot more compact than the competition, which means you should have no problem placing them wherever you wish, but do note, there is quite a short power cable. Ports wise, there’s USB-C for power delivery and a pair of Gigabit ethernet ports, which doesn’t offer much for direct connectivity as one Ethernet port has to be wired in directly to your router.

The speeds out of the Eero Pro 6 prove it’s capable, with out test results showing close range Wi-Fi connections to be faster (707.64Mbps) than other mesh systems we’ve reviewed such as the standard Eero 6 and the Netgear Orbi RBK852. Performance did drop on the second floor to 228.18Mbps, but the additional satellites will still ensure superior coverage than other routers on this list.

When it comes to features, setup is nice and easy with the accompanying Eero app, and we also found its homescreen to be one of the simplest out there with an especially intuitive layout. As this is an Amazon product, there’s also integration with Alexa, which can be used to pause the Wi-Fi, turn the guest network on and off, and narrow down a lost device to a specific base station. There’s also a Zigbee hub built into each satellite, which allows direct control for devices such as smart bulbs, plugs and motion detectors.

We didn’t find any advanced control such as network splitting here though, which rivals routers offer, while features such as content filtering and ad blocking behind a paywall are locked behind a subscription paywall.

Reviewer: Tom Morgan
Full review: Amazon Eero Pro 6 Review