Reccomend me a router

deano-g · 12 May 2019 at 15:41

Hey all, so not really clued up on networking. So I thought I'd ask the experts. I'm constantly getting lag spikes, mainly playing apex. It's not my PC as no other SP game lags or stutters.

This is mainly for online gaming first then wifi capability second. I'm on virgin media which will be put into modem only mode.

Was looking around the 2-250 mark, but again not sure if I need to spend that or more, any advice appreciated.

Rainmaker · 12 May 2019 at 18:43

Are you connected via Ethernet or WiFi? If the latter switch to Ethernet or you’re wasting your time and money. Secondly, the VM Hub3 uses Intel’s faulty Puma6 chipset which causes ping spikes that are especially noticeable in online games.

Short of switching to FTTP or FTTC your best bet is to only connect using a wired connection, put the Hub3 into modem mode, and connect a decent router to use instead. I build my own so can’t give any real up to date recommendation from consumer space, but something like an EdgeRouter and UniFi access point should be around your budget and much better.

deano-g · 12 May 2019 at 21:39

Hi, yes I use a wired ethernet connection. I'm still on the first hub as I still get decent DL and UL rates. I take it the "gamer" routers are a fad? Or are they worth the money/getting. Cheers

Rainmaker · 12 May 2019 at 22:01

In all honesty, basically all consumer routers are a 'fad'. They're woefully underpowered, relatively expensive (an old MIPS CPU and 256MB RAM is hardly costly for an OEM), and consist of 99% marketing slogans and flashy pictures on cardboard boxes. SmallNetBuilder has a fairly decent league table of consumer routers and they do a lot of testing, so that's worth a look.

My off-the-cuff recommendation would be an EdgeRouter 4 and a Unifi UAP AC Lite, which is under your budget. If high end wifi is a priority then a Unifi UAP Pro instead, but then you're just out of budget. The Ubiquiti stuff is 'prosumer' (i.e. between consumer and commercial) and fairly cheap. It can be very heavily customised from the command line, but they also have a point and click web GUI the same as most routers, which makes basic operation (i.e. to get you online with VM) very simple.

BTW, just to be clear - as I said earlier latency is primarily a result of the connection itself, routing etc. Changing to better networking gear will do you many favours, but don't expect miracles on the ping front. The SuperHubs are always underpowered and terrible routers (and not great at being modems) so you will see improvements - just don't expect to suddenly get FTTP levels of ping.

deano-g · 14 May 2019 at 10:34

Hey, cheers for reply and info, what does the 4 offer over the x as I'm not really clued up on networking. I know I'm not gonna get a massive difference but the super hub is crap so anything is better than nothing.

Cheers.

Rainmaker · 14 May 2019 at 11:20

If you're trying to move down the chain, at least get the Lite. The X is far inferior and can't do many packets-per-second (PPS), whereas the Lite can push 1 million PPS (i.e. won't slow you down). With the Lite you can just choose 'Basic Setup' from the choice of wizards, and eth0 becomes WAN (plug SuperHub into here) and eth1 is your LAN (plug your switch into here). Ultimately just do your research and choose what you feel is best for you. I just pointed you down the right track.