TP-Link’s latest WiFi 6 router includes a dedicated band for gaming
TP-Link knows WiFi gaming routers are as hot as ever, and it’s determined to keep up by offering a string of high-end features without going completely over the top. The company has unveiled an Archer GX90 router that offers not just WiFi 6 speeds (virtually required at this stage), but a dedicated 4.8Gbps “Game Band” to keep your play sessions free of interference from other local network transfers. An accelerator also spots and fine-tunes streams for games it recognizes, such as the Call of Duty series or League of Legends, while a dashboard provides stats on your playtime to help pinpoint problems.
You can expect some of the other familiar tricks to improve gaming performance. Improved OFDMA (orthogonal frequency division multiple access) modulation is meant to reduce lag, and a 1.5GHz quad-core processor (TP-Link doesn’t name it) helps juggle heavy traffic. This also happens to be a solid router for general use with a 2.5Gbps Ethernet jack (plus four 1Gbps jacks), two USB ports and support for mesh networking through TP-Link’s OneMesh-capable devices.
The Archer GX90 will be available through Amazon (not as of this writing) and other outlets for $250. It’s definitely more expensive than a typical home WiFi router, but that’s decidedly less expensive than some tri-band WiFi 6 routers. So long as you don’t mind the alien looks, this might strike a healthy balance between raw speed and a reasonable price.
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