What exactly makes a gaming router different from a standard Wi-Fi router? They both serve up wireless internet for your computers, phones and other gadgets, and they’re based on the same wireless standards. So what else do gaming routers bring to the table?

Throughput and Lag: The biggest difference is that gaming routers are built for both higher bandwidth (more important for games) and low latency. Besides letting more data flow in and out of your home, gaming routers allow data to flow faster in both directions. The result is lower ping times (the time it takes for a signal to travel from your gaming PC or consoles to the game servers” and a more responsive experience in online games.

Hardware: This enhanced performance is the direct result of better hardware. A router is essentially a specialized computer that manages all of the connections and information packets on your home network, sorting and shifting them as necessary to connect your different devices. Just like with any computer, you’ll get faster performance with better components. Gaming routers offer better-than-average processing power and also feature larger built-in memory to allow for faster performance, letting a router manage more connections while also keeping latency to a minimum.

Bandwidth management: Today’s homes are filled with all manner of connected devices, from PCs and game consoles to smart TVs and smartphones, and even refrigerators and other appliances. This makes for a crowded house full of bandwidth-hungry gadgets. All modern routers include some level of automatic bandwidth prioritization, so that your Netflix watching isn’t slowed down when another device needs to download an update. However, gaming routers take this a step further with Quality of Service (QoS) features.

QoS features include more direct control of bandwidth management and let you prioritize specific devices (like your gaming PC) based on what activity or service is being used. They can also automatically re-adjust for time of day, number of devices and more.

If the average router is similar to an automatic transmission that can handle stop and go traffic without much hassle, then a gaming router is like a manual transmission which puts more control in the driver’s hands. Not everyone requires this increased level of control but those who do, swear by it.