9 of the best gaming routers to supercharge your game

When it comes to lavish, feature-rich routers, most gamers will be looking for a blend of up-and-coming tech, an attractive aesthetic, and ease of use in addition to great network performance. That killer combination makes the Netgear Nighthawk Pro Gaming XR500 an easy recommendation, especially as it ticks off all the boxes necessary to give any network connection some much-needed oomph. The sleek, understated router has an economic form factor with an abundance of power packed neatly into its smaller body, including its Netduma OS software that allows for pitch-perfect setup. 

It also includes Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS) to help lessen network congestion and noise, so when you fire a bullet in games like Fortnite or Call of Duty: Warzone, it'll end up exactly where it's supposed to, with as little lag as possible. It does cut down on the LAN ports available on the unit in comparison to the other fancier routers on the market, but what it lacks in direct connectivity options, it more than makes up for in speed and software customization. If you need an edge in your favorite Battle Royale title or just a boost in performance, the understated Nighthawk is a fantastic overall choice – you certainly get what you pay for here. 

This extravagant router is one of the priciest options out on the market, but it's also one of the best. You can tell it means business by its sturdy build quality and eye-catching design as well as its massive size. But it's not all for show. This extraordinary router sports a somewhat ridiculous look, but it's right on the money when it comes to ensuring you have the best possible connection while gaming only. 

With a whopping eight antennas and a quad-core processor backing things up, it offers a highly customizable backend, network ping tracking, and some of the fastest, lag-free speeds you'll ever get from a wireless connection short of opting for industrial-grade equipment. It also has you covered in the future with support for next-generation Wi-Fi 6 technology, which should boast even faster speeds. It's the priciest router on this list, but if you don't mind its massive size and dropping a massive amount of money on your consumer electronics, this is one splurge that's absolutely worth picking up. 

There’s no question that this router will cost you, but with that hefty price tag comes powerful quality. It’s a tri-band router designed with gamers in mind. It comes with data-sharing tools, features good security, and delivers some of the most reliable, fast speeds you can get at home — though because of its large size, you’ll want to make sure you have room for it. 

It’s easy to install and comes with a great web-based interactive management system that lets you monitor network activity and configure your settings as you go. It also features geo-filter settings and a device manager. 

It comes with multiple ports, including a gigabit Wan port, a 10Gb SPF+ LAN port, and two USB 3.0 ports. As an AD7200 router, it’s capable of an impressive 800Mbps data transmission rates on a 2.4GHz band. It also supports MU-MIMO streaming, allowing it to achieve faster speeds. 

You don't need to spend an arm and a leg for great wireless performance, and the Linksys WRT32X proves it. You get familiar Linksys performance at a low price with a wide variety of features and enhancements with this particular model, which is extremely impressive. 

While you may be stuck in the mindset that Linksys is responsible only for some of the most dull, lifeless pieces of tech out there, you'll shed that way of thinking after experiencing this router's beam forming abilities, prioritization of network traffic, and formidable 1.8GHz processor. It may look like a “typical” router, but it’s really anything but. 

With its bright red color, it might be flashy (and to some buyers, ugly), but this router offers dependable performance that will meet most mid-range gamers, including good range and speed. It’s also versatile, thanks to its open-source firmware. 

It’s a dual-band wireless router with 4x4 datastreams for increased throughput and it features MU-MIMO for high-bandwidth Wi-FI signal to multiple devices at once. In addition, it’s got multiple ports, including a USB 3.0 port to allow for fast, wired performance. 

If you're looking for high-performance, the TP-Link Archer C5400X AC5400 MU-MIMO Tri-Band Gaming Router has you covered. This router has all the bells and whistles, including Alexa and IFTTT compatibility, and has some of the fastest Wi-Fi speeds on the market. 

The only downside to this router is that it's a bit ostentatious. It looks like you slapped a robot spider on its back and its eight legs are just sticking in the air – that’s a fair assessment. However, that's a small price to pay for great range as well as awesome Wi-Fi download and upload speeds. 

The ASUS Blue Cave AC2600 is a highly capable stylish router that gives high performance in a relatively low-cost form. When this router first came out it was on the expensive side, but as time has passed it's come down in price while its specs have remained impressive.

With its stylish design, you won't have any problem displaying the Blue Cave prominently in your home. One of the best aspects of the Blue Cave AC2600 is the web app, which is actually quite useful and feature-packed. Unlike many router manufacturers, ASUS has aimed this interface with power-users in mind. It's a good thing too, because one of the drawbacks of this device is that it's not supported by LEDE, Tomato, or other custom firmware.

Sure, every good gamer needs speed and reliability, but they also need good security — especially if you’re a parent to young gamers. And the TP-Link AC4000 has all of that. This tri-band router is easy to install and manage using a web console or mobile app, delivers fast file transfers, and reaches high speeds. It has multiple wired ports, a 1.8GHz quad-core processor, and 512MB of RAM. It can reach signal rates of up to 1,625Mbps on the 5GHz radio bands. 

But by far it’s best features are the robust parental controls and three years of free network security powered by Trend Micro. 

If you're looking to future-proof for Wi-Fi 6 support, the ASUS RT-AX88U is a high-performance device that will keep you connected as you upgrade your devices. This premium router is feature-packed but doesn't cost quite as much as the ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AX11000. You still get most of the bells and whistles that you do with that model, plus support for Wi-Fi 6 with a much sleeker design.

Wi-Fi 6 requires devices that support it in order to take advantage of the new technology, but of those devices aren't here yet. However, this is a great premium router if you're looking for something with great speeds and a clean aesthetic that will cover you now and in the future.