D-Link CABLE DSL RTR 802.11G gaming router review

Full Review

Lag is an annoying thing when it comes to gaming and can mean the difference between winning and losing. D-Link thinks it has the answer with the D-Link Wireless 108G router, a unit designed specifically with gamers in mind. We take a look to see if it has the answers it promises.

Coming in a sleek dulled black box with blue lights this unit will happily sit next to any Xbox or PS2. Like other routers in the D-Link range, information is provided at the front of the box via a series of flashing lights and the back is left for the connection options. The D-Link Wireless 108G router offers up to four gigabit ethernet ports to be directly connected into the device as well as sending out a wireless G signal via its 5dBi high-gain antenna to anything within a 50 metre radius.

Where this model stands out from its regular brothers is the addition of a technology D-Link call the Game Fuel Priority system. This system automatically prioritizes and intelligently manages bandwidth-sensitive applications.

What this means to you and me, is that it puts data packets from games, teleconferencing, VoIP, and other high-bandwidth apps at the front of the wireless-transmission line, pushing them through the router faster than other data such as page requests for the Internet.

This all sounds rather groovy and something that surely is a must have for all gamers across the land, however to be honest in our tests we didn't really notice much difference. To be fair our challenge of data meant two computer users surfing the web while we jumped on a PS2 playing FIFA 06 online on a 1Mb connection. The results faired exactly the same as using a standard D-Link router suggesting to us that we perhaps weren't pushing it hard enough with enough data consumption to make a noticeable difference.

Where this might differ however is in a student house where perhaps four or five devices are all trying to use the Internet and you're struggling on playing the latest Tom Clancy Game or flight sim.

Verdict

At twice the price of most wireless routers, you've really got to make sure that you broadband connection is going to take a hammering from a collection of users at the same time.

If however you're only using your router to either surf the web or play games and not the two simultaneously then we recommend holding off. Especially as the device doesn't offer MIMO technology (MIMO stands for Multiple Input, Multiple Output, and it is a key concept for a forthcoming Wi-Fi standard called 802.11n).

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