NETGEAR Nighthawk XR1000 Pro Gaming WiFi 6 Router Review

Introduction

In the competitive world of online gaming, every millisecond counts. That’s why the Netgear Nighthawk XR1000 Pro is the ultimate WiFi 6 gaming router, designed to deliver the most responsive, lag-free gaming experience possible. DumaOS software features a suite of game-changing tools to prioritize applications and devices, wipe out network congestion, and create the best online gaming experience on any platform.

Unveiling the Netgear Nighthawk XR1000 Pro

When you first unbox the Netgear XR1000 Pro, you’ll be impressed by the packaging. It’s well-designed and sturdy, and it gives you a sense of the quality of the product inside. The router itself is also very impressive with futuristic design. The four external antennas are adjustable, so you can position them to get the best possible signal strength. The XR1000 Pro comes in a large, black box. Inside the box, you will find the following items : The router itself, Power Adapter, Quick start guide and ethernet cable.

The router has four external antennas, which are adjustable. You can position the antennas to get the best possible signal strength in your home. The router also has a back panel with one 1Gbps WAN port and four 4Gbps LAN ports. There is also a USB 3.0 port that you can use to connect a printer, external hard drive, or other devices.

Performance Benchmarks of the Netgear XR1000

Whether you’re navigating the treacherous battlefields of Apex Legends or conquering the virtual peaks of Fortnite, every millisecond counts. This is where the Nighthawk XR1000 Pro steps in, delivering a performance that surpasses expectations, transforming your network into a haven for lag-free gaming.

• At the heart of this netgear wifi router lies a powerful 1.5GHz Tri-core processor, capable of handling even the most demanding gaming sessions without breaking a sweat. This robust processor, coupled with the latest Wi-Fi 6 technology, ensures that your network delivers blazing-fast speeds and seamless connectivity across all devices.
• The Netgear XR1000 WiFi 6 router equipped with DumaOS, a purpose-built operating system crafted specifically for gamers. DumaOS provides a wealth of tools to fine-tune your network performance, including geo-filtering to block lag-inducing servers, bandwidth prioritization to ensure your gaming traffic remains at the forefront, and lag detection to identify and address network issues in real time.

Geo-filtering allows you to block connections to known lag-inducing regions, while bandwidth allocation prioritizes gaming traffic, ensuring your game receives the bandwidth it needs to shine. Lag detection and mitigation tools proactively identify and address latency issues, keeping you in the game without disruptions.

Lag detection is another valuable feature of DumaOS. This real-time monitoring tool alerts users to potential network issues, allowing them to quickly identify and resolve problems before they affect their gameplay. With DumaOS, gamers can stay informed and take proactive steps to ensure the best possible online gaming experience.

Bandwidth prioritization allows you to prioritize your gaming traffic over other network traffic. This can help to ensure that your gaming experience is always smooth and lag-free.

The Netgear Nighthawk XR1000 WiFi 6 router offers a total speed of 5400Mbps, which is split between 4800Mbps in the 5GHz frequency band and 600Mbps in the 2.4GHz frequency band. The router is designed to prioritize the 5GHz frequency band, allocating 70% of its transmission power to this band. This is because the 5GHz band typically offers faster speeds and lower latency than the 2.4GHz band, making it ideal for bandwidth-intensive activities like gaming and media streaming. The remaining 30% of transmission power is allocated to the 2.4GHz band, which is better suited for everyday tasks such as web browsing, email checking, and file sharing. Read More : How To Extend WiFi Range

Real-World Test Experience with the Nighthawk XR1000

As a technical reviewer, I’ve had the opportunity to test out a variety of gaming routers, and the Netgear XR1000 Pro is one of the most impressive I’ve come across. The router’s performance in online gaming is truly exceptional, thanks to its combination of powerful hardware, advanced features, and a user-friendly interface.

Testing Setup

I tested the Netgear XR1000 in a home with a large number of connected devices, including smartphones, tablets, laptops, and smart TVs. My main gaming device is a high-end gaming PC, and I primarily play fast-paced online multiplayer games like Call of Duty: Warzone and Apex Legends. I also conducted a series of real-world tests in my home network. I used the Speedtest app to measure the router’s download and upload speeds, as well as its ping time. I also used the GameBench app to measure the frame rate and latency of my gaming experience.

Download and Upload Speeds

I tested the download and upload speeds at multiple locations in my home, including my living room, bedroom, and basement. The router consistently delivered download speeds of over 500 Mbps and upload speeds of over 400 Mbps. These speeds are well around the 500 Mbps Upload/Download speeds that I am paying for from my ISP.

Ping Time

I also tested the Nighthawk XR1000 ping time to a variety of servers located around the world. The router consistently had a ping time of less than 20 milliseconds, which is considered to be excellent for gaming. This means that there was minimal latency in my gaming experience, and I experienced no lag or rubberbanding.

Frame Rate and Latency

I used the GameBench app to measure the frame rate and latency of my gaming experience while using this netgear wifi router. The router consistently delivered frame rates of over 60 frames per second (FPS) in all of the games that I tested. The latency was also very low, with an average of 35 milliseconds. These results are consistent with the router’s excellent real-world performance.

Geo-filtering Features 

I tested the geo-filtering feature by blocking servers in specific geographic regions known to cause lag. This had a noticeable impact on my ping times, reducing them by an average of 30%. The bandwidth prioritization feature was also effective in ensuring that my gaming traffic received the bandwidth it needed, with no noticeable impact on the performance of other devices on my network.

Other Netgear XR1000 WiFi 6 Router Features

The router’s DumaOS operating system provides a wealth of features that are designed to enhance your gaming experience, including ping heatmaps, application QoS, connection benchmark, traffic controller.

• Ping heatmap:

  The ping heatmap feature allows you to see the latency or response time of your router to different servers around the world. This can be helpful in identifying and optimizing your connection for the best gaming experience.

• Application QoS:

  The application QoS feature allows you to prioritize specific applications for traffic on your network. This is helpful for ensuring that your gaming traffic gets the bandwidth it needs, even when other devices are using the network.

• Connection BenchMark:

  The connection benchmark feature allows you to test the performance of your network connection. This can be helpful in identifying any potential bottlenecks or issues that may be affecting your gaming experience.

• Traffic Controller:

  The traffic controller feature allows you to manage the traffic on your network. This can be helpful in restricting certain types of traffic, such as BitTorrent or streaming, to ensure that your gaming traffic gets the bandwidth it needs.

• Netgear Armor :
  

  Netgear Armor is a security suite that protects your network from malware, viruses, and other threats. This is a valuable feature for any gamer, as it can help to protect your gaming consoles, PCs, and other devices from being hacked.

Conclusion

After rigorous testing, our team has concluded that the Netgear Nighthawk XR1000 Pro is a remarkable gaming router that delivers exceptional performance and features. It consistently outperformed other routers in our tests, including speed tests in heavy online games, file transfer speed tests in high-noise and low-noise environments, connection stability tests, and dedicated gaming capabilities tests.

The XR1000 earned an impressive score of 8.5 out of 10 from our evaluation, putting it among the top gaming routers on the market. Its powerful hardware, advanced gaming features, and comprehensive security suite make it an ideal choice for serious gamers who demand the best possible online experience.

If you’re looking for a WiFi 6 router that can elevate your gaming experience to new heights, Netgear wifi router is the clear winner. Its exceptional performance, range, and feature set make it an unbeatable choice for gamers of all levels.