Should you buy the Netduma R2 gaming router?
After our exhaustive testing, the Netduma R2 feels like a router we can recommend for gaming. While it feels a bit expensive for an AC1200 device with just average performance, it has some clean looks and killer software that make it great for what it was designed to do. It’s no doubt a gaming router first and foremost. For this reason, you shouldn’t rely upon it to do the job if your household is very heavy into transferring data and streaming at ultra HD resolutions on a large number of devices simultaneously. You’ll simply overwhelm this device. That’s where you’ll need to determine if the R2 is the right router for you, because you can actually get the DumaOS software on some Netgear Nighthawk devices that are rated for better wireless performance.
However, most typically pay for more router than they really need. With the Netduma R2, you can get the basic performance necessary for most households and the DumaOS software all at a low price. The Netduma R2 retails for $175 USD, but you can currently grab it for $150 USD on the company’s website. If you compare MSRPs, it’s nearly half the price of the cheapest Netgear option. The R2 is just ridiculously easy to set up and never caused any issues with streaming media or games when I was within the optimal operating range.
Even though the hardware specs don’t have me fully sold on the Netduma R2, I think DumaOS is an excellent software that gamers should certainly be using. It’s hard to imagine not using QoS and geo-fencing features now, especially considering how sweaty multiplayer games have become. If you’ve always been interested in customizing your network more but have been hesitant to do so due to complexity, the DumaOS is very accessible and a great way to learn more about networking and to actually get to use the features you pay for with expensive routers.
The only real criticism I have about the DumaOS is that it could benefit from more integration with platforms like Steam, the Epic Games Store, etc. The DumaOS doesn’t even register these platforms as apps aside from Steam, and it lumps Steam in with the gaming category instead of letting it be its own thing to limit bandwidth allotments separately from gaming. These can be handled from within the apps themselves, though, as a workaround for now.
Netduma seems like a brand we could see a lot more of in the future as the products and software features improve and more gamers catch on to what DumaOS offers. For now, the R2 is a solid choice for those that want the best quality out of their networks.
- Introduction and specs
- Setup
- DumaOS features
- Gaming and wireless performance
- Should you buy the Netduma R2 gaming router?
