Even though modems have come a long way since their inception, choosing the right one can prove quite difficult, especially if you’re a serious online gamer.
Most modems nowadays can handle insane speeds with very low latency. Most of them have a ton of settings to allow you to set up everything just the way you like it. Depending on your Internet plan, you might need a modem that can handle it. And while most ISPs generally prefer to offer their own modems, most of them are pretty lacklustre offering the bare minimum as far as functionality goes. So let’s have a look at some of the best modems for gaming that money can buy in 2023.
Best Modem overall
Netgear Nighthawk CAX80
Few modems can truly stand a chance against this behemoth of a modem, but all of its features come at quite a steep price. This modem from Netgear will set you back around the $500 mark, which is quite a lot for most people. It offers plenty of excellent functions that might be overkill for most users. But if you’re looking for the best, this is clearly the one for you.
The CAX80 is a router-modem combo that features Wi-Fi 6, boasting speeds of up to 6000 MBPS with a built-in eight-stream (32×8 channel bonding) as well as DOCSIS 3.1. This means that technically when wired it can offer speeds of up to 10.000. This will obviously sound ridiculous to most people, especially those situated in the US where paying for such a connection from an ISP will cost an arm and a leg. The device features four Gigabit Ethernet ports, VPN support, and plenty of security features via Netgear Armor. So if you’re looking for the best, look no further.
Best latency Modem
Motorola MB8600
Boasting about how it can offer the lowest latency possible, the MB8600 is a perfect fit for avid FPS players since ping can make or break your gaming experience. This is obviously still dependent on your ISP, so don’t expect this modem to perform miracles if you’re working with a shoddy connection. This modem achieves latency issues with the Advanced Queue Management (AQM) feature. This feature keeps data packets continuously moving and ensures that your latency will be as low as possible.
One potential flaw with this modem is the fact that it only features a single Ethernet port. This can be fixed if your ISP and router are capable of Ethernet port bonding, which will unlock three more masked Ethernet ports that can be bonded with your router. But since most ISPs and routers nowadays lack this feature, it’s probable that this feature will be unavailable. Since it has a Broadcom chipset, the latest security protocols are in place, protecting you from DDOS attacks as well as compatibility with most routers on the market.
Best budget Modem
Arris Surfboard SB8200
This cabled modem can offer speeds of up to 1000 Mbps. It also features the DOCSIS 3.1 protocol which has a port bonding feature. This means you can combine two ethernet ports into a single data stream, which can offer speeds of up to 2000 Mbps. This is obviously dependent on your ISP since plenty of them don’t support speeds this high. That doesn’t make this feature fully useless, since the future might bring internet speeds like this to more and more countries.
Sadly, those two Ethernet ports I was talking about are everything you’re going to get with this modem. This means that your potential device connectivity will be limited unless you pair it up with a router. The SB8200 has 128MB of NAND storage and 3GB of RAM, giving you some excellent latency if online gaming is your thing. Since you can generally get it for around $150, the Arris Surfboard SB8200 is a great option for people who aren’t picky.
Best Modem router combo
Netgear Nighthawk C7000
The more cost-effective option from Netgear, the C7000 still offers some great functionality. It will set you back around $150, which is a great deal if you’re ready to put money down instead of paying the rental fees from your ISP. The C7000 is a modem router combo that features Wi-Fi 5, which can push speeds of up to 1900 Mbps with a built-in 32×8 channel bonding, and DOCSIS 3.1, certified by ISPs like Xfinity, Cox, and Spectrum.
This modem can work great with ISP speeds of up to 800 Mbps, so be sure to check beforehand if this will be enough for your current plan. Up to 30 devices can be paired with this modem at the same time with a Wi-Fi coverage of up to 1800 square feet (around 167 square meters). This huge range is due to the Beamforming+ technology and amplified antennas. Regarding cabled connections, the C7000 has four Gigabit Ethernet ports and two USB ports. While it lacks Wi-Fi 6, this is still a great device that will work great for people who want the best gaming modem router combo.
Best Coverage Modem
Motorola MG8702
If you’re mostly interested in coverage, then the MG8702 might be the perfect fit for your home. Boasting a range of almost 2500 square feet (around 200 square meters), you must move into an enormous mansion to test its limits. This comes at a hefty price of $225, but you get a built-in router that can hold up to four devices simultaneously. And if you want to connect everything by cable it also has four ethernet ports that should be plenty for most households.
The MG8702 also has DOCSIS 3.1 technology, giving users speeds of up to 3200 Mbps. Just like its brother on this list, it also has AQM support, which will provide you with excellent latency during those long gaming or streaming nights. And if you want to set up a LAN party with your friends, this modem can hold up to 40 devices at a time due to the MU-MIMO functionality.
Choosing the best gaming modem for you
So there you have some of the best modems on the market. Choosing the correct one mostly depends on your particular needs and your ISP plan. Always make sure that you know the exact details of your plan before making a purchase since you might go overboard and buy an unnecessarily expensive modem. That is unless you want it to be future-proof for the next few years when your ISP’s plans might finally get that long-awaited upgrade.
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