Why wireless gaming router? Playing games alone in home with your game console and large High definition LCD TV is enjoyable. However, there are lots of games that allow you to play game in multiplayer mode. The game era is now changing from standalone to multiplayer mode games. Standalone gaming was in the past. Today you can subscribe XBOX Live to play all of your multiplayer enabled games online. With XBOX Live, you can join into unified online games with anyone, anytime, anywhere. To allow you play online games in home with the gamer’s community, you need a secured system in home – a wireless gaming router.

Unlike wired multiplayer gaming where you can connect each of the game consoles via a workgroup switch with some friends, online gaming needs broadband internet connection. And the wireless gaming router is the main device you need to build a secured gaming infrastructure to allow you go live game wirelessly in the comfort of your living room without the clutter of the wires. The question is which one is the best for your online gaming?

Wireless gaming router for online gaming demands high performance and secured network including the speed, reliable connection, low noise or if possible free of signal attenuator, and secured for your internal network.

High Speed Connection

Gaming is a high intensive bandwidth application that demands high-speed either wired or wireless connection. Generally the game consoles are equipped with 100Mbps Ethernet port. For wired connection to your local network, 100Mbps Ethernet port provides reliable high-speed connection. What if you demand wireless connection? You need high-speed wireless technology – the wireless –n (draft) standard. Your wireless gaming router should be powered by this wireless –n technology. Wireless –n is the future of the wireless technology available in the market you can taste today.

Mostly wireless routers with wireless –n technology also adopt smart wireless antenna MIMO technology. Even though many manufacturers do not specifically label their products with MIMO technology, but they adopt the technology integrated into their own technology such as RangeMax by Netgear and Xtreme n by D-Link.

Combination of wireless –n and MIMO technologies will increase the system performance and longer distance coverage.

Make sure that your wireless gaming router is powered by the draft 802.11n standard and MIMO antenna technology or other integrated technology.

Quality of Services

High intensive bandwidth applications demand high quality services. Your wireless gaming router should support high quality of services (QoS) technology. With QoS, the system can provide prioritization over the game application above other applications such as web browsing and files downloading. Many routers support intelligent QoS technology to allow prioritization both wired and wireless Internet traffic to enable enhanced gaming experience.

DMZ Support

Exposing the computer into the wild internet is vulnerable to the internet threats. Online gaming means exposing the network into the wild internet. A secured system is needed to protect your internal network against any types of internet threats. The best way to protect and separate your internal network from the exposed host can be done by creating a security boundary. DMZ feature is used to create a security boundary for the exposed host. It is therefore, your wireless gaming router should support the DMZ feature.

Dual-band Support

Many wireless routers support dual-band feature that support both 2.4 GHz (for wireless b/g/n standards) and 5 GHz (for wireless –a standards) frequency bands either selectable or simultaneously. The benefit of having dual band is that you can play games (and other HD video streaming media) with 5 GHz frequency band which is less noise than 2.4 GHz band.

We know that there are many sources of signal interference around you using 2.4 GHz frequency band such as cordless phones, microwave oven, automatic garage door, etc that contribute to signal attenuator. It is therefore, the wireless gaming router should support dual-band.

DGL-4500 D-Link

The DGL-4500 D-Link® Xtreme N Wireless Gaming Router is specifically designed for gamers in mind. DGL-4500 contains all the requirements the gamers demand for high performance router for speed, security, and services. It is powered by the award-winning GameFuel™ technology for smoother gaming, and it is also powered by dual-band wireless –n technology. The router is embedded by both Gigabit LAN and WAN ports for faster gaming.

DGL-4500 is powered by the GameFuel Priority technology to allow you customize network setting for game traffic prioritization. DGL-4500 also includes the network activity display to show you what’s going on with your router including Internet, LAN, WAN activities, and other various settings all from one screen. The included clock helps you see exactly how long you’ve spent playing the game.

By Ki Grinsing