In this guide, we’ve hand-picked some of the best modems for gaming that will make you regret not switching up your current setup sooner.Īs far as consumer-level home networking devices go, there’s little out there that rivals the power and feature set of the Netgear Nighthawk CAX80.

On the contrary, shopping around for a third-party modem from networking mainstays such as Netgear and co can land you a device that often costs less in the long run than monthly rentals and boasts better gaming-geared features designed to deliver the reliability chops required for competitive gaming.

While ISPs revel in pushing their own boxes (and pocketing the monthly rental fee in the process) as a magic bridge granting you access to the delights of the internet and hours of unbridled gaming fun, you don’t need to settle for a bare-bones, feature-lacking modem that only just about does what it’s supposed to. Looking for more devices to cover your home? Check out our stories on the best mesh wi-fi systems, the best modems for gaming, and the best wi-fi extenders.Time to wave goodbye to that ISP modem that’s been the culprit for innumerable disconnections, frustrating lag, and triple-digit ping? We can’t blame you, especially if you dabble in competitive online games where a solid and reliable internet connection is crucial when vying for that coveted win or tackling an MMORPG dungeon with your online crew. In addition to picking our favorite overall, we chose the best in a number of categories to make it easier to find the one that’s right for your service and living space. To compile the list below, we read through reviews from a number of respected publications including Lifewire, Rolling Stone, and Digital Trends to determine the best modem-routers on the market. But if you live in a large house and want to use Wi-Fi throughout, make sure you look at the coverage area of the device you are considering so you don’t end up with dead zones. If you mostly use the internet in one area of your home or if you live in an apartment, the range of your device will be less of a concern. Chances are most of your devices will be downloading content (as opposed to uploading it), so you mostly will be concerned with the number of downstream channels. Take into consideration the number of devices that will be accessing your internet service at once, then look at the number of channels that the device you are considering has. Most service providers have a list of pre-approved modem-routers. The devices below won’t work with fiber internet service, and you need to make sure that the device you choose will specifically work with your service. Not all modem-router combos work with all internet services. What it actually delivers over Wi-Fi when impacted by external factors will be lower. Note that the maximum speed advertised (and listed below) is only what it can potentially deliver in an ideal setting. It's important to know how fast your internet is so that you can get a device that is capable of the same speed (or higher). You can also use an online test like to get an idea, but it may not be as accurate. This should be on your bill, but your service provider should also be able to tell you. You first need to determine how fast your internet connection is.

Here's a shortlist of the most essential. Before purchasing a modem-router combo, there are several details to nail down, including how large your space is and how many devices are typically online at once.

Modem router combo