Maximum overdrive.

Being a gamer in this day and age means knowing a bit about networking. We have all dealt with opening ports and switching WiFi channels. It is cumbersome and annoying when I cannot hear my friends on Xbox Live, or my download speeds are straight garbage. Netgear has built many routers to remedy this, but the XR500 might be the best solution I have seen to date. I was using a router supplied by my ISP, and as soon as I plugged in Netgear’s Nighthawk gaming solution, the results were incredible.

I will start off by saying that $300 is a large investment, but don’t let it scare you. As soon as I got this thing out of the box I knew it was packed with power. The design reminds me of something alien. It is wide and flat, lots of antennas and lights. This thing was obviously packed with technology.

MSRP: $299.99
Price I’d Pay: $299.99

My wife and I play a lot of Overwatch. With our supplied router we were having lag and connection issues. Even when wired things were not working like they should have. The minute I plugged in the XR500, even without any sort of tweaking, all these issues disappeared. That is the definition of intelligent design. That was the first big selling point of this device, but the more I dug into it, the more I appreciated what Netgear has built.

As far as routers go this one is pretty standard. There are four gigabit LAN ports and one gigabit WAN port. There are four total antennas to attach. Each one is labeled so it is best to match them up or connectivity issues could arise. Of course there is the power-in and reset buttons as well. The side features two USB 3.0 ports for easy access, and there is a QR code right on the top that allows users to log directly into the WiFi to gain access right away. Of course it is wise to change the password.

Speaking of the backend, this is probably the most impressive router software I have ever seen. Powered by NetDuma’s DumaOS this software allows for ridiculous customization on all fronts. I started off setting up WiFi which features a smart channel system. Basically this means I ran one SSID that spanned both 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz channels. The software would then prioritize my devices to use the road less frequently travelled. This means my WiFi signal throughout my house was constantly hitting the cleanest channels. This is amazing. I didn’t have to worry about channel switching or having multiple connections. Just set it up and let the software handle the load.

There are a ton of R-Apps on this device with most of them being gaming-centric. The most impressive is the geofilter. This allowed me to set my location and only grab servers within a set range. Netgear recommends it remain between 311 and 1,864 miles. This feature works great, and has definitely improved my ping in multiplayer games.

Next up we have the Anti-Bufferbloat. Yeah it sounds ridiculous, but it is immensely useful. This allowed me to set bandwidth usage per device. So if I wanted to prioritize my Xbox One for gaming, I simply dragged up the bar. It automatically prioritizes gaming when it is happening, but it is still nice for limiting devices that don’t need massive bandwidth. The sheer amount of customization possible is borderline ridiculous.

There is also a straight bandwidth allocation per device with a handy slider for each device. Also worth noting that all devices will automatically name themselves if possible, but for some devices such as my Nintendo Switch, I had to manually label them. This saves making it easy to track devices over time.

Traffic Prioritization is also available. By default any time a game is being played, it optimizes that. This really dropped my ping in Overwatch significantly. That game is very fickle about blocking connection during competitive matches. I had issues with my supplied router, but after upgrading to the Nighthawk I have never lost connection or been blocked from playing. Also, I noticed much more response in my play time.

The XR500 is a beast of a machine. Over 2.4Ghz it supports up to 800Mbps and a whopping 1,733 Mbps over 5Ghz. This means I was always maxing my 400Mbps connection, but also meant I was future-proofed when I upgrade. I tested download speeds both over wired and wireless and I was maxing it out easy, every time.

I had no idea what I was missing until I plugged in this router. For anyone that takes gaming seriously the XR500 is worth every penny. While the initial sticker shock will hurt, it is more than worth it. Not having to worry about my game connection and being able to max out my speed is worth the investment. Not to mention that I have a router now that should be great for years to come. It is a small price to pay for solid peace of mind.

Review copy of game provided by publisher.