Custom PC - UK (2021-09)

W

hile we originally planned to look at
what the latest mid-range Wi-Fi 6
routers have to offer, we decided the
Netgear Nighthawk Pro Gaming XR1000 was
interesting – and just about affordable – enough
to cover in this group test. However, its higher
price makes it less directly comparable to the
other units on test.
As well as boasting a speedy AX5400 rating,
with peak theoretical 5GHz speeds of up to
4,800Mb/sec, this router’s key claim is its
gaming credentials. It runs Netgear’s DumaOS,
which includes features for fine-tuning several
aspects of how your system connects to
online games.
Specifically, it allows you to geo-filter which
game servers with which to connect, so you
can ensure the best ping. So, if you’re in Europe
you can block servers in the USA or the Far
East, where the distance results in higher pings.
It also includes a ping heatmap so you can
visualise which servers for any game provide
the best ping to your router and then apply the
results to the geo-filter.
It also includes standard features such as
QoS and a built-in speed test. However, even
these are better presented and more granular
than the equivalents on most other routers,

NETGEAR NIGHTHAWK PRO

GAMING XR1000 /£300 inc VAT

SUPPLIER ebuyer.com

making it easy to drill down into

the details of managing your

home network.

Ultimately, the

effectiveness of

these features will

depend on your

home situation and what

games you play. If you live alone

and play games that either always have

a reliable ping, or allow you to specify which

server to use anyway, then you won’t get much

use from these features. However, if you’re

constantly battling other household users for

bandwidth, and have no control over which

server your system might use, then you could

see gains in connection stability and reduction

in typical ping.

Otherwise, this unit is just the beefier cousin

to the RAX40. It has the same overall shape

but with even sharper lines and metallic red

ventilation grilles at the front and back. The

top selection of status LEDs and buttons is

the same too, but slightly rearranged, with the

power light on its own at the back, the LAN ports

off to the right and the other LEDs to the left.

We also appreciate the a big removable

sticker on the front of the unit with the default

Wi-Fi name and password. Plus, Netgear’s

default password scheme is excellent

across all its routers. It uses a combination of

two words and three digits that’s generally

easy to remember but secure, such as

rubbishtracker459. It’s a better system than

the string of eight digits or random selection of

characters used by some routers.

The number of antennae has doubled too,

and this is the only router on test where they’re

removable, making them easy to replace if

they get damaged, or if you want to attach

different antennae.

When it comes to performance, the XR1000

does a reasonable job of justifying its extra

cost. At close range, it delivered impressive

speeds on both the 5GHz and 2.4GHz bands,

and although its 2.4GHz speed dropped off at

mid-range, the 5GHz band maintained decent

numbers. However, at longer range, it didn’t

overly impress. It was solid enough but didn’t

take the win in either band.

Conclusion

This router’s extra gaming features are only

going to be of use to some users, but they could

be crucial for those users. For others, the high

price of this router, along with its good-but-

not-stellar Wi-Fi performance and feature set

(there’s no mesh option, for example), means

there are better buys available.

VERDICT

Good for certain online gamers, but pricey for

the extra functions it provides.

DUMAOS

+^ Genuinely useful

gaming features

+^ Decent performance

+^ Removable antennae

DUMASS

-^ Expensive
-^ Not all games/gamers
will benefit
-^ No mesh
network option

DESIGN

16 / 20

FEATURES

18 / 20

OVERALL SCORE

76 %

PERFORMANCE

24 / 30

VALUE

18 / 30

SPEC

Weight 600g

Dimensions (mm) 295 x 200 x 64 /

171 (W x D x H) / with antennae

Ethernet 4 x Gigabit LAN, 1 x Gigabit WAN

Wi-Fi Dual band (AX5400) 600 + 4,800Mb/sec

Spatial streams 2.4GHz 2x2, 5GHz 4x4

USB ports 1 x USB 3

Processor 1.5GHz triple-core

Memory 256MB flash, 512MB RAM

Extras Removable antennae, DumaOS