The Netduma R3 is a dual-band Wi-Fi 6 gaming router. Its firmware is called DumaOS, which comes with various features advertised to improve your network’s gaming performance. Ultimately, the quality of your online gaming experience is determined by the time it takes for your device to send and receive packets from the game server you connect to—ping or latency. To see if features like this or gaming routers in general can help, we conducted an experiment testing 11 routers, including this one. In brief, there’s no significant difference between models. QoS/SQM (called SmartBOOST on this router) can help if your network is absolutely saturated, but they’re common features on non-gaming models. Read the full article here.
Firmware aside, this router has pretty disappointing performance. It’s handily outperformed by routers in the same price range like the Wi-Fi 7 TP-Link BE550 and considerably cheaper Wi-Fi 6 routers like the TP-Link Archer AX55.
For better options, check out our recommendations for the best Wi-Fi routers, the best Wi-Fi 6 routers, and the best routers for streaming.
ASUS ROG Rapture GT-BE98 Pro
The ASUS ROG Rapture GT-BE98 Pro is a better router than the Netduma R3. The former is a quad-band Wi-Fi 7 router with one 2.4GHz, one 5GHz, and two 6GHz bands, while the latter is a dual-band Wi-Fi 6 router. The ASUS is considerably faster, has better range, and has better wired connectivity than the Netduma. That said, it’s considerably bigger.
ASUS RT-AX86U Pro
The ASUS RT-AX86U Pro is a better router than the Netduma R3. They’re both dual-band Wi-Fi 6 routers, but the ASUS has better top speeds, range, and wired connectivity than the Netduma.
NETGEAR Nighthawk RAX30
The NETGEAR Nighthawk RAX30 and the Netduma R3 are dual-band Wi-Fi 6 routers. The NETGEAR is a better performer with faster speeds and longer range, but the Netduma has access to DFS channels, which can be beneficial in noisy wireless environments.
TP-Link Archer AX20
The TP-Link Archer AX20 and the Netduma R3 are dual-band Wi-Fi 6 routers. The TP-Link offers better performance overall, with better range and faster speeds. However, the Netduma can access DFS-only channels, which can help your connection in noisy wireless conditions.
