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NETGEAR Nighthawk Pro Gaming XR700 Review

Are you a gamer? If so, you know there are a lot of components that impact your gaming performance.

Your GPU can only do so much to keep your game running well, and there will be bottlenecks in your CPU and RAM as well as hard drive speed that can impact performance.

But even with all of the leading components, there’s usually little thought of a slow, bad Internet connection.

Your graphics may render nicely, but with lag and high ping, you’ll have poor gaming performance. NETGEAR’s Nighthawk Pro Gaming router is designed to enhance your gaming experience.

Is Netgear Nighthawk good for gaming

Is Netgear Nighthawk good for gaming?

A lot of people question the cost of this router and if it’s worth purchasing.

It’s understandable because the XR700 costs significantly more than other routers, but the features and specs justify the cost.

Designed from the ground up for gamers, the XR700 is designed to minimize ping – exactly what you want when gaming.

Quad-stream Router With 7.2 Gbps Speeds and 1-gigabit Ethernet Ports

Whether you choose to go wired or wireless, the speeds are exceptional. The Quad-stream design allows for speeds up to 7.2 Gbps.

In addition, there are six, one-gigabit ethernet ports that will provide lag-free gaming.

There’s a 1.6 GHz quad-core processor built into the router to ensure that network efficiency is always maximized.

But what does this mean?

Well, it’s complicated, but when you use a traditional router, all of the network congestion will have an impact on your router. Perhaps you’re playing Apex Legends, but others are watching Netflix or downloading large files.

All of this will have an impact on your performance.

The NETGEAR Nighthawk Pro Gaming XR700 router has its own processor and network efficiency system that will ensure that your gaming traffic has priority. This is done through what NETGEAR calls an “express lane.”

How this lane works is that it will allow for advanced Quality of Service when playing. All network congestion is bypassed, reducing:

  • Lag spikes in your game
  • Jitters on the screen
  • Random jumps

When your network traffic is prioritized, your gaming experience improves. The router ensures that you’ll have the bandwidth to play your game without any hiccups in the process.

Stabilized Ping and Lage Spike Control

The XR700 Pro Gaming router is built with software and hardware that is designed to help you manage your ping. Your network is consistently monitored and optimized to offer the best ping rate possible. When ping is optimized, it will maximize your gaming performance.

Lag spikes are also controlled through monitoring, and this is one of the best features for any gamer.

You never really know what’s happening on your network with a traditional router. You’re left guessing on what may be causing your gaming issues. Maybe it’s your friend listening to Google Music, or maybe it’s an issue relating to someone streaming Netflix.

Who knows?

With the XR700 Pro, you’ll be able to know with 100% certainty what the issue is that’s causing your lag spikes. The dashboard provides you with real-time bandwidth utilization. On one screen you’ll be able to see:

  • Bandwidth utilization by device
  • Devices likely causing lag
  • Ping

But none of this matters when you don’t have control of these devices. On the dashboard, you have the opportunity to configure network allocation.

What does this mean? You can limit the devices hogging your bandwidth so that you don’t have to suffer from high ping rates or lag spikes.

You’ll never have to fight over bandwidth again, allowing you to have the bandwidth you need to play your games without lag.

The entire dashboard is customizable, and you’ll be able to control each device’s:

  • Maximum upload speed
  • Maximum download speed

Hardware That’s Optimized for Gaming

I touched on the hardware aspect of this router before, but let’s take a deeper look at what the router offers to you. You’ll be able to achieve:

  • Up to 4600 (AD)
  • 1733(5Ghz) + 800 (2.4GHz)

AD compatible gaming devices can use the router’s AD speeds that are designed to cut down on latency, but this is only available on devices that are compatible with AD. Reliable and smooth network speeds, the Wi-Fi is further strengthened by the 1.7 GHz, quad core processor.

Efficiency in your network requires higher processing speeds. Without a powerful processor, you’ll suffer from more network congestion and lower efficiency rates.

By offering a quad-core processor, this router is able to keep speeds reliable and consistent. Support is also offered for:

  • 4K streaming
  • VR gaming

You’ll be able to support all of your gaming needs with the XR700, but it doesn’t just end here.

There’s also a 10 Gigabit LAN SFP+ port that will allow you to enjoy fast backups of your entire system. You’ll also be able to stream from a NAS faster thanks to the port.

But what about security? Will your network be secure?

Yes, NETGEAR ensures that your network is safe at all times thanks to several features:

  • Entire network security
  • VPN client to protect your network identity and DDoS attacks
  • Whitelist devices

If you take a look at the router, you’ll also notice that there are four antennas on the unit to help with your Wi-Fi connection. The antennas will be able to boost your connection stability and speeds.

On the right side of the router, you’ll find two additional USB 3.0 ports.

LED lights are available, 15 in total, that indicate the power of the unit for all of your:

  • LAN ports
  • USB ports
  • Internet
  • Radio bands

The unit does have 1 GB of RAM and 512 MB of flash memory to ensure fast network management. Simultaneous data transmission is offered through the router’s support of MU-MIMO.

When connecting devices to the router, you’ll also be able to use the router’s Smart Connect, which will help automatically pick the right radio band for the device. It’s a smart router that helps enhance your gaming experience while also being easy to install and get started with.

You’ll be able to connect the router as you would any other router, and then go to www.routerlogin.net to enter the Setup Wizard and set the router up.

When you choose to manage your network with the NETGEAR Nighthawk Pro Gaming XR700, you’re choosing one of the industry’s most advanced routers. You’ll be able to enjoy the latest technology, including:

  • MU-MIMO data
  • 60GHz band
  • 10 Gb SPF+Lan port

The management console is fluid and easy to manage. Performance of MU-MIMO isn’t as fast as other routers, but it’s close. Overall, the XR700 has everything a gamer needs to maximize their gaming performance.

Even if you’re not a computer whiz, you can manage your entire network’s traffic through the management console.

It’s fast to install, and you can even connect to a VPN in seconds. When lag is an issue, it is able to eliminate lag and allows the user the utmost control over the entire network’s traffic. It doesn’t get much better than the XR700.

From a gamer’s perspective, the cost of the XR700 is well-justified. If all you plan to do is browse the web and watch the occasional Netflix movie, then this may be a router that is too powerful for your needs.

But for gamers, the XR700 offers the performance you need to run today’s games flawlessly with the technology to play future games with the same great efficiency and speeds.

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Richard Bolden

David has been interested in computers for over 25 years. From playing games on his parents computer as a kid in the early 90s, to building his first PC in 2003 (and many more since then). He has a passion for everything related to computing and this site is dedicated to helping others find the info they need.