Best router settings for gaming

With so many router settings today, it can be difficult to find the ideal setup for gaming. Take a look as we review the best router settings that will ensure the ultimate gamers’ experience.

High internet speeds and large bandwidth has really changed the world we live in today. In the gaming community, this shift has especially been felt the most. To fully utilize the gaming ability of your router, you need to find the best settings for you router.

So, what are the best router settings for gaming? MUMIMO and Quality of Service (QoS) settings should be always enabled.Additionally, wired connections should be chosen over Wi-Fi.With these three settings, your gaming experience will be greatly improved. Other recommended router settings for gaming include the following.

Best router settings for gaming

Wired over wireless connection

Any gamer prefers wired connection over wireless connection. Wired connections mean that there is minimal loss of bandwidth and packet data. With this latency is greatly reduced. For the best gaming experience, go for a router with as many Gigabit Ethernet ports as possible. These ports can deliver speeds of up to 1000 Mbps assuming your internet package can deliver this.

If you really want the best setup for gaming, always use wired connections through Ethernet ports. Even if your gaming console or PC is another room, there are customized cables with enough length for it.

Use the 5 GHz band for higher bandwidth

One of things you will always see when buying a router is the term ‘dual band support.’ To understand what this means, you need to understand how wireless networking works. Wireless signals are usually transmitted over waves with a frequency of either 5 GHz, 2.4 GHz or both. When selecting a router for gaming, always go for one that supports both bands. The 5 GHz band supports higher speeds and bandwidth but has short range while the 2.4 GHz is slower but has more distance of coverage (range).A dual band router gets you the best of both worlds and this is very useful for gaming. Having both bands allows you to use the 2.4 GHz band for old devices such as certain phones but 5 GHz for you gaming devices.

If you have a large house, always ensure that your dual band router is close to your gaming device to get the best out of it.

Use the broadcast with the least overlapping channels

Wireless networks are heavily affected by interference from other waves such as microwaves, radio waves and all other waves in the air. Interference affects both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz channels. However, the 2.4 GHz channel is much more prone and more affected by interference. This is because there are only 11 broadcast channel on the 2.4 GHz band with only three non-overlapping over each other (U.S). On the other hand, the 5GHz channel has 23 non overlapping channels. The general rule of thumb is, the more the broadcasts, the more the interference or congestion.

Always ensure that you use the channels that are least used whether you’re on either bands. To do this, you have to manually set it on the router.

Multi User, Multiple Input, Multiple Output (MUMIMO)

MUMIMO is a setting that is found in high end routers that is quite useful especially if your network serves many different devices.For instance, one person may be streaming on Netflix, another on Skype while you’re gaming. MUMIMO is your best chance for gaming smoothly with minimal network interruptions. Without MUMIMO, the router serves each device one at a time and this significantly reduces the overall speed of the network. On the contrary, with MUMIMO, the router is able to setup several mini networks that serve all these devices at the same time.

Quality of service (QoS)

Quality of service is a setting in routers that prioritizes data packets to specific connected devices. It is a feature built for multiple users on the same network doing bandwidth intensive activities. For instance, if one person is gaming, another streaming a movie in HD and another video chatting, this will really strain your bandwidth. In this case, Quality of service is useful since with it, you can prioritize gaming over video call. When the gaming data packets arrives in the router, it is forwarded to your gaming console or gaming PC. Therefore, if you consider yourself a gamer, getting a router with QoS functionality would be best for you.

The table below shows the benefits of enabling these settings

Set automatic reboots for the router

When routers are used intensely over extended periods of time, they tend to freeze and malfunction. The first thing to do when this happens is to restart the device. There is no reason to wait for the router to freeze to restart it because it can be quite inconvenient in the middle of an online game. Instead, schedule your router to restart automatically when you’re not using it.This can be done by replacing the firmware with DD-WRT or using a programmable timer switch.

Why is a gaming router a great choice?

Gaming routers are one of the best innovations for gamers worldwide. A gaming router is a regular router that has been optimized for gaming using additional features. They also support high bandwidth and have better range than regular routers. Moreover, they feature excellent designs with cool finishes and even LED ambient lighting. Because of these, gaming routers generally cost much more than you regular day to day router. However, the overall standard of routers is improving and more standard routers have the necessary requirements for gaming. With that, there are features and settings you should always look out for when buying a router meant for gaming. These include:

Conclusion

There are many ways to improve your gaming experience. However, having the right router and settings for it will go a long way in making the experience as great as it can be. It’s also important to have fast internet package for the best experience.

FAQs

1. Why is 2.4 GHz channel preferred during gaming?

The 2.4 GHz band is less affected by interferencetherefore, low latency in connection.

2. What should a gaming router have?

A good gaming router should have MUMIMO and beamforming features to better the performance of the router.