I wonder if it makes a huge difference compared to - say - distance from the exchange. I get a 30ms ping on ADSL2 on the crap router Be supplied (Thomson, I think). But then I can hit my exchange by throwing a stone from my bedroom window (ok, not quite - but it's very close). I would love to be educated if I'm wrong though! Caroline
I used to get an average of around 25ms on old-style ADSL. It seems ADSL2 increases the ping slightly. Still, it may be that a good router can make a difference if your line is more questionable? Caroline
Any popular brand router should be ok in all honesty. The main thing is if you're serious about online gaming is to ask your ISP to disable interleaving on your line if 1. you're on ADSL and 2. it got enabled in the first place (it reduces errors on the line but increases your ping by some amount). You will suffer a hit in speed as a result though, it's done so line errors can be kept to a minimum to make up for the lack of interleaving to keep the connection stable.
No matter what you are doing, you want something from Cisco. Since a product directly from Cisco is rather expensive, get something from Linksys.
I'm assuming you mean wired or wireless since I'm not sure why you would need a modem for LAN, if so one that gives the option to have either a wired or wireless connection?
Overall, the quality of the internet connection is the factor that makes the most differences, provided that your router is a decent model that can keep a stable connection (both over LAN and WAN). However, certain services like QoS, provided that it works properly on the router, can help reduce your ping by a few ms at most (though that often is noticeable anyway). If you really want QoS, consider getting a router that is compatible with Tomato or DD-WRT on it (DD-WRT's QoS works effectively and is very, very quick to setup, with plenty of presets. Tomato is a bit more complicated, requiring a bit more information, but equally effective from what I have heard; I haven't put it to the test yet). However, all that isn't really required if you already have a low ping. Don't spend the money if the router isn't the issue. Lord-Vale's suggestion of buying a Linksys product is something that I couldn't agree with more. Of course, only if you actually need the new router, don't if you don't need it
Really? My ISP gave me a Cisco modem when i got Fibre and it's absoloute garbage. Takes bloody ages to boot up (i power off every night) and it makes a quiet buzzing sound that i really don't dig when there's otherwise complete silence in my room.
You were unfortunate enough to get the one bugger out of the thousand then, my friend. For me Cisco / Linksys have always pulled through, and the experiences I have had with failing routers/switches/modems have never been Cisco products - except for one of my real old routers that was the oldest component by far in my network, it was just time for it to die.
Also, the best selling router of all time, the WRT54G models, have great support behind them, with most aftermarket firmware options being available to them, most of them having started on these models, and being solid routers overall. That said, other brands are good, I just favour Linksys models quite heavily over others (Belkin, unreliable, D-Link, my experience was even worse, but I still don't really have too many doubts about them).
Ok thanks everyone for your responses but is there any kind of consensus on which router come modem is best for use with a PS3, Xbox 360 and a MacBook Pro with the primary purpose of online gaming?
I always get a consistent 10 to 20ms... with around 16 or 17 avg. I'm on BE Pro, with a D-Link DSL320B modem and D-Link DIR-655 Router.
Most of the higher end routers nowadays have pretty decent performance, and are unlikely to be the issue. The only time when they're going to be a problem is when you are loading them and using up all the memory. The likelihood is that it is the connection itself which will be the issue, and it might not be an issue, it might just be the limit of your connection. What latency numbers are you getting on average at the moment? Please tell us more about your router/modem setup, and your connection/ISP.
Personally I have a SpeedTouch 716 with firmware that was installed in 2004.. so it's hardly recent. Despite that, it can take 5 pcs, 2 iphones, media streaming and a ps3 all at once. I'm also on Tiscali... so most people would feel sorry for my broadband I'd invest more time in a good isp and modem than a router - check out speedtest.net and pingtest.net. PS3 gaming requires no more that 2Mbit/s down.. as other people have said it's the high ping that will ruin the experience. As long as your router has port forwarding (basically all of them), you're set
I'm currently just using wifi on a shared internet connection but I plan on getting my own BT phone line installed and I was going to go with O2's standard broadband package because my exchange only supports speeds up to 7Mb despite the fact that I'm living in greater north London so I was just hoping someone would know which router modem (gateway) would be best for the primary purpose of gaming. I was looking at the Netgear DG834 because I want to have my PS3, Xbox 360 and MacBook Pro hardwired and I just wanted an all in one router modem unless someone knows if having a separate modem and router would offer better performance?
Just did it again and got this lol I don't think pingtest.net is very reliable because I just did it a third time and got this
