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Sony PlayStation 5 (PS5) heralds the dawn of a new generation of gaming and entertainment in your living room. A vast majority of games are increasingly focusing on multiplayer, with modes such as Battle Royale being played by millions of gamers worldwide. To ace in such games and maximize PS5’s potential as a gaming and entertainment hub, choosing among the best gaming routers is definitely advantageous.
Gaming routers offer additional features compared to traditional routers, including the ability to better prioritize network traffic for games, minimizing latency (which can single-handedly mar your winning prospects), and offer geo-filtering that allows you to select the best servers for your game across the world.
Gaming routers can cater to a wide variety of platforms, including the PlayStation and Xbox consoles, as well as PC gaming. In this article, we will take a look at some of the best gaming routers for the PS5 and the older PS4 consoles to help you ace your favorite multiplayer tournaments.
8 Best Gaming Routers for PS4 and PS5 in 2021
With that information, here are our picks for the 8 best gaming routers for the PS4 and PS5 game consoles in 2021.
1. Netgear Nighthawk Pro AX5400 XR1000
Features: The Netgear Nighthawk Pro AX5400 XR1000 offers a great feature set to make your online multiplayer experience on the PS4 and PS5 a highly memorable one. The router features a distinct gaming aesthetic and looks great next to your PlayStation console. Powering the AX5400 XR1000 is a tri-core 1.5 GHz processor, 256 MB flash, and 521 MB RAM. All the goodness of the latest Wi-Fi 6 come as standard, including 1024 QAM, OFDMA, 160 MHz channel bandwidth, and WPA3 encryption.
Setup: Setting up the XR1000 is similar to other Netgear routers and simply involves logging in to http://routerlogin.net via a browser. Users can also use the intuitive Netgear smartphone app. Netgear offers DumaOS for setting up and configuring the XR1000. DumaOS is specifically targeted at gamers and gives them easy access to servers with the lowest pings via geo-filtering and additional hardware usage graphs.
Performance: The XR1000 does offer the performance needed to be ascertained as one of the best gaming routers for the PS4 and PS5. The performance on the 5 GHz band rivals many other wireless AX gaming routers. Even the storage performance via USB 3.0 is right up at the top. That being said, the Netgear XR1000 loses out on certain parameters, such as lack of multi-gig LAN and link aggregation.
- Pros: Great for online gaming; Fast 5 GHz performance; DumaOS
- Cons: No multi-gig; No link aggregation
2. Asus ROG Rapture GT-AX11000
Features: The Asus ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 made headlines when it was among the first Wi-Fi 6 routers to hit the market. Featuring a tri-band setup that offers a maximum theoretical throughput of up to 11 Gbps, the ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 ticks all the boxes to be the best gaming router for PS5 users. The GT-AX11000 looks very gamery and may not really blend in with most decors. However, you’d be buying this router for features such as a 1.8 GHz quad-core processor, tri-band functionality, 2.5G Ethernet, 1 GB RAM, and the works rather than for its looks.
Setup: Setting up the ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 is easy thanks to the Asus Router app. A web interface option is also available for those needing finer controls. The GT-AX11000 is heavily optimized for gamers, including having presets for popular eSports titles such as League of Legends, Hearthstone, and Counterstrike: Global Offensive, etc. Asus also offers a Gamers’ Private Network that matches players with the lowest latency servers. However, the router itself lacks manual geo-filtering abilities.
Performance: The best performance of the ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 is realized when using the router at long distances. Its 8-antenna setup offers enough range to cover homes up to 4,000 square feet. At short distances, the GT-AX11000 isn’t that different from the competition. That being said, the router offers a highly consistent performance without signal interruptions and has a relatively cool operation, too.
- Pros: 2.5G LAN; Lots of customization options; Made for gamers
- Cons: Expensive
3. Netgear Nighthawk AX4 RAX40
Features: The Netgear Nighthawk AX4 RAX40 may not sport all the bells and whistles as some of its more expensive cousins, but its excellent feature set makes it one of the best gaming routers for the PS4 and PS5 at a price that can be cheaper than some of the best Wi-Fi 5 routers on the market. The RAX40 does not come with some of the niceties, such as multi-gig LAN or link aggregation. The antennas are non-detachable, but you can adjust their direction to get optimal coverage.
Setup: Setting up the RAX40 is similar to most other Netgear routers out there. You can use the mobile app or log on to routerlogin.net and follow the onscreen instructions. Do note that using the app requires signing up for a Netgear account first. The web interface options offer the standard set of configuration options found in other Netgear routers and allow sharing a USB storage device over the network via the ReadyShare feature.
Performance: Netgear does not explicitly mention the clock speeds of the dual-core CPU, but that is of little consequence here as the RAX40 performs admirably for the most part. Its potential is maximized when used together with 2×2 Wi-Fi 6 clients and the 160 MHz channel. Netgear says the RAX40’s coverage is meant to cater to small to medium homes, and that holds true for the most part.
- Pros: Decent feature set; Reasonably priced
- Cons: Lacks multi-gig LAN and link aggregation
4. TP-Link Archer C5400X
Features: The TP-Link Archer C5400X is easily one of the best gaming routers for PS5 and also for multiple Xbox One and Xbox Series X consoles as well thanks to its tri-band wireless. The Archer C5400X may still be a Wi-Fi 5 router, but it offers plenty of bandwidth and features tailored to gamers that shouldn’t put prospective buyers at any disadvantage. The Archer C5400X offers a total of eight antennas, but they are fixed and cannot be oriented as desired. The Archer C5400X features a 1.8 GHz quad-core CPU with three additional co-processors and 1 GB of RAM for a lag-free performance, no matter the bandwidth requirement.
Setup: As is standard for most TP-Link routers, you can use the Tether app to instantly get the router up and running. A browser interface is also available for those who need more control. The interface offers enough manual control, but a lot of the setup can be easily accomplished with the AutoDetect feature. The 2.5 GHz and the two 5 GHz bands can be manually configured with their own SSIDs and passwords. TP-Link also offers useful tools such as a Malicious Content Filter, Intrusion Protection System, and more.
Performance: With eight antennas and powerful processing under the hood, the TP-Link Archer C5400X’s excellent performance is not really surprising. The Archer C5400X also supports link aggregation, so you can combine two LAN ports for double the throughput. Signal strength remains good even with many obstructions in the path. For homes less than 3,000 square feet area, the Archer C5400X does a good job of filling them with fast Wi-Fi without having to separately invest in a mesh networking system.
- Pros: Excellent performance; Tri-band
- Cons: Bulky, Antennas not omnidirectional
5. Linksys WRT32X
Features: The Linksys WRT32X is a wireless router made specifically for multiple gaming consoles and PC gamers. The WRT32X may have a lot more powerful competition today, but it still is a capable gaming router with tons of customization options tailored for the gaming crowd. The WRT32X offers four adjustable antennas, a 1.8 GHz dual-core processor, and 512 MB RAM, which should easily cater to a mid-sized household. The WRT32X offers two USB ports, one of which is in the form of an eSATA port for hooking up SATA storage devices directly without having to use any SATA to USB adapters.
Setup: Though the Linksys WRT32X is basically the same hardware as the WRT3200ACM, we get a totally new dashboard that is made with the needs of gamers in mind. Features such as real-time network traffic monitoring, built-in speed tests, port forwarding, etc., are available along with settings for the Killer Prioritization Engine. You can also flash the WRT32X with Open-WRT if needed, but the stock firmware is more than capable of getting the job done.
Performance: The WRT32X offers excellent performance across both the 2.5 GHz and 5 GHz bands. If you have a laptop or PC with a Killer network card, such as certain Alienware, MSI, and Gigabyte models, the WRT32X’s Killer Prioritization Engine will prioritize games played on these laptops on the network. While the benefits of such prioritization may not always be visible, it surely comes in handy when there are multiple clients connected to the router and you want to prioritize gaming above all. The performance is similar to what you get with the WRT3200ACM, making it one of the best gaming routers on the market.
- Pros: Killer Prioritization Engine; eSATA port
- Cons: None as such
6. Asus AX5700 RT-AX86U
Features: The RT-AX86U does not have a dominating look like the ROG Rapture GT-AX11000 described above, but you get a lot of features for the price, along with great Wi-Fi 6 performance for gaming. The RT-AX86U sports a vertical design but lacks any sort of RGB bling. Asus has provided two USB 3.2 Gen1 ports for easily connecting USB storage and printer devices. There’s a 2.5G LAN as well as Link aggregation support. A 1.8 GHz quad-core processor and 1 GB RAM keep things going smooth.
Setup: Setting up the Asus RT-AX86U is similar to many other Asus routers. After connecting the router to your modem, navigate to the router’s website and run the Quick Internet Setup module, which does most of the configuration automatically, including downloading the latest firmware if available. The RT-AX86U can be configured in router, access point, repeater, media bridge, and also as an AiMesh node.
Performance: The RT-AX86U lacks some of the features found typically in the ROG lineup, such as built-in WTFast and Games Radar. However, the router performs just as good, particularly with the 5 GHz band. In fact, the 5 GHz performance can come quite close to that of the Ethernet connection while gaming online. Overall, the Asus RT-AX86U is one the best gaming routers for the PS5 that offers Wi-Fi 6 at a fairly accessible price point.
- Pros: Very good for gaming; Excellent 5 GHz performance
- Cons: Lacks some of the ROG features
7. Ubiquiti AmpliFi Alien
Features: Ubiquity’s routers have always been unique with respect to both features and design, and the AmpliFi Alien designed with PC and console gamers in mind takes this to a new level. The AmpliFi Alien can be purchased as a single unit or in sets of two to form a highly scalable mesh network.
Unlike many other gaming routers in this list, the AmpliFi Alien comes with a 279 PPI touch display that makes visualization and basic administration effortless. Each Alien router comes with a total of five Ethernet ports comprised of one WAN and four LAN ports. There are no USB ports, however.
Setup: Setting up the AmpliFi Alien is very easy, thanks to the AmpliFi app available for Android and iOS devices. The app also shows a signal strength indicator, which makes adding an unlimited number of mesh points extremely easy. AmpliFi also offers a unique Teleport VPN service that helps route traffic through your personal home network. The service is encrypted and completely free to use, though it does ask for a Facebook or Google account login.
Performance: Though the AmpliFi Alien is a tri-band Wi-Fi 6 router, one of the 5 GHz bands runs on Wi-Fi 5 only. While this can be a little restrictive, the Wi-Fi 5 5 GHz band helps dedicate exclusive bandwidth for your PS5 or PS4 that is separated from the other devices on the network. The AmpliFi Alien also offers excellent coverage out-of-the-box. A single Alien can offer up to 3,000 square feet of coverage, which should be sufficient for most purposes. Two such Aliens can offer 6,000 square feet, and there’s practically no limit to how much the network can be extended, making the Ubiquity AmpliFi Alien one of the best mesh network gaming routers for the PS5 and PS4.
- Pros: Excellent coverage and performance; Touchscreen; Easy setup
- Cons: No link aggregation; LAN limited to 1 Gbps; Expensive
8. Tenda AC10U
Features: If you are on the lookout for a nice budget gaming router that performs as advertised but don’t need all the fancy features, the Tenda AC10U is worth a look. The Tenda AC10U is a lightweight device with a low footprint compared to some of the other gaming routers on this list. Basic connectivity options such as a USB 2.0 port and four Gigabit ports are available. Support for MU-MIMO ensures multiple devices can connect to the router without struggling for bandwidth.
Setup: The Tenda AC10U can be set up via the web interface. There’s a smartphone app as well, but the web interface is easy even for novice users. There isn’t too much of an automation here, and you will have to select some of your ISP parameters. The router offers basic monitoring options, which can also be checked from the smartphone app. While the AC10U offers content filtering and parental controls, they aren’t as sophisticated as some of the more expensive routers on the market.
Performance: The Tenda AC10U is a Wi-Fi Wave 1, so you are limited to up to 80 MHz bonded channels in the 5 GHz band. The router has a maximum rated throughput of up to 1.2 Gbps, which should be sufficient if gaming is the primary use case and there aren’t too many devices requesting bandwidth at once. This makes it one of the best cheap gaming routers for PS5 and PC gamers alike.
- Pros: Affordable; MU-MIMO
- Cons: No built-in voice assistant and security features
That was our pick for the best gaming routers for the PS5 and PS4 in 2021. Whether you are a console or PC gamer, we hope this article addressed your need to zero-in on a capable gaming router for lag-free multiplayer gaming. Feel free to let us know of any questions, and we’ll get back to you at the earliest.
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