14 DAY TRIAL // Many hardware products are shipped with the “gaming” attribute gratuitously strapped to their names, showing just how big an influence those forms of entertainment are on all facets of the technology market.
D-Link has just released a gaming router, whose name is DGL-5500, and which uses dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi connectivity.
In theory, the top transfer speed should be of 867 Mbps, which is not as high as some high-end offerings, some of them part of D-Link's product line as well.
Then again, if what we're reading here is true, a higher transfer speed isn't really necessary, and we don't just mean because 867 Mbps is already beyond the capabilities of standard wired networks (when Gigabit Ethernet is absent, that is).
The reason? Qualcomm's StreamBoost technology, which adjusts traffic priorities so that bandwidth is allocated to where it’s needed most.
Thus, if you're playing a network-intensive game, the router will know and react accordingly.
In fact, StreamBoost involves an interface that shows exactly how much bandwidth all apps and devices are consuming at any given time.
Of course, 867 Mbps is a lot, so some might argue that StreamBoost doesn't really matter. And they would be right, if buyers only had one PC connected to it.
As it is, the device not only has what it takes to sustain several wireless links simultaneously (to PCs, smartphones, tablets, etc.), but also gets five Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports. One of them connects the router to a modem, but the others let four other systems share the bandwidth as well.
Add to that the USB 2.0 port (for network storage of some sort, like an HDD/SSD or NAS, or a printer), and there's plenty for StreamBoost to manage.
D-Link should start shipping the DGL-5500 router soon, if it hasn't already, for $200 / €150 - €200.
