I've been eyeing the Nighthawk ac1900 r7000. Is it right for me?

[avillabon]

My wife and I are heavy internet users. We stream youtube, netflix (sometimes 4k) and I also play a moba so good response time is important

I would like to spend around $150 tops. Is the nighthawk router right for me?

Thanks!

 

[bill001g]

You will not see huge differences in routers of similar specs. It is greatly dependent on your house and your end devices so there is no way to predict how well any router will perform. All wireless is not recommended for any game that requires good response time. It is subject to random interference from many things but mostly neighbors also using wireless. There are just too many people competing for the limit wireless bandwidth.

If there is any way possible you want to use a ethernet connection for your gaming machine.

Netflix and youtube is not affected as much because it is not realtime video. It uses buffers to hide delays in the wireless stream so it works ok unless the wireless signal gets really bad.

To a point it also depends on how fast your internet connection is but most routers have no issues keeping up with even 300-500m internet connections.

Most difference in routers is going to be software features. Some have things like vpn clients or NAS functions etc. Only you can decide if those features have value. Be somewhat careful of getting sucked into the marketing trap of bigger numbers is better. The router can have all kinds of fancy features but if your end devices can't use them you are wasting money. For example this router uses 600m on the 2.4g band. First your end equipment must have 3 antenna and most only have 2. Then it is using a encoding method on 2.4g that is only officially supported on the 5g band and is not part of the 802.11n standard. Many devices do not support things that are not part of the official standard. This means on 2.4g you will likely get a maximum encoding speed of 300m (and these numbers are theoretical you get nowhere close).

Many people like that router so if it will likely do what you need and the company provides good support. Mostly it is a personal preference all the major brands perform well.

 

[avillabon]

You will not see huge differences in routers of similar specs. It is greatly dependent on your house and your end devices so there is no way to predict how well any router will perform. All wireless is not recommended for any game that requires good response time. It is subject to random interference from many things but mostly neighbors also using wireless. There are just too many people competing for the limit wireless bandwidth.

If there is any way possible you want to use a ethernet connection for your gaming machine.

Netflix and youtube is not affected as much because it is not realtime video. It uses buffers to hide delays in the wireless stream so it works ok unless the wireless signal gets really bad.

To a point it also depends on how fast your internet connection is but most routers have no issues keeping up with even 300-500m internet connections.

Most difference in routers is going to be software features. Some have things like vpn clients or NAS functions etc. Only you can decide if those features have value. Be somewhat careful of getting sucked into the marketing trap of bigger numbers is better. The router can have all kinds of fancy features but if your end devices can't use them you are wasting money. For example this router uses 600m on the 2.4g band. First your end equipment must have 3 antenna and most only have 2. Then it is using a encoding method on 2.4g that is only officially supported on the 5g band and is not part of the 802.11n standard. Many devices do not support things that are not part of the official standard. This means on 2.4g you will likely get a maximum encoding speed of 300m (and these numbers are theoretical you get nowhere close).

Many people like that router so if it will likely do what you need and the company provides good support. Mostly it is a personal preference all the major brands perform well.

Lots of good info! Thanks, really appreciate it.