NETGEAR Nighthawk Pro Gaming XR700 Wireless Router Review

1. Introduction2. NETGEAR Nighthawk Pro Gaming XR7003. NETGEAR Nighthawk Pro Gaming XR700 Interface4. NETGEAR Nighthawk Pro Gaming XR700 Analysis5. Closing Thoughts6. View All Pages

We really loved the NETGEAR Nighthawk XR500, but the NETGEAR Nighthawk XR700 is another league above it. This is the best gaming router currently on the market, combining class-leading WiFi performance with the feature-rich DumaOS gaming-focused management software.

There is a huge range of facilities to improve your network gaming experience, including quality of service control, limiting physically distant high-ping servers, and hiding your IP via an application-specific VPN. You get more Ethernet ports than the usual four found on most routers, and this even includes 10Gbit connectivity, although added expense will be required to make use of this. Alternatively, you can aggregate two Gigabit connections into one really fast single connection. The USB storage and media server capabilities are extensive too.

The performance with 802.11ac is top of the pack up to 5m, and although this tails off at 10m and further, the 2.4GHz 802.11n throughput is par none, and can take over for the greater distances. So you're getting the best possible wireless and wired options.

The only downside is the price. At nearly £450, the XR700 is for those who want the best gaming performance par none and are willing to pay for it. If you want the ability to hook up to a switch such as NETGEAR's SX10 via 10Gbit Ethernet, you're going to have to factor in even more outlay for the necessary SFP+ adapter, too. But if you are willing to pay the price for the best, the XR700 won't disappoint.

You can buy the NETGEAR Nighthawk XR700 for £449.99.

Pros:

• Superb gaming-focused DumaOS.
• Class-leading 802.11ac bandwidth up to 5m.
• Best non-mesh networking 802.11n performance and range.
• Lots of networking ports.
• Port aggregation option.
• Comprehensive management interface.
• Extensive USB storage capabilities.

Cons:

• 10Gbit port requires expensive SFP+ adapter to be useful.
• Very expensive.

KitGuru says: The NETGEAR Nighthawk XR700 is the king of gaming routers, with stunning wireless performance, loads of connectivity options, and a hugely extensive gaming-focused management interface.

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