Netgear’s Nighthawk Pro Gaming mesh network wants to end the PC vs Xbox signal war

Netgear’s unveiled a new Nighthawk Pro Gaming mesh network system it claims is bespoke designed for powerhouse eSports players and Twitch streamers in shared households.

The new Nighthawk Pro Gaming mesh network (serial number XRM570 if you fancy getting the exact model) was unveiled on Monday and looks as terrifying as its name would suggest. The main kit comes with a router and base station that are auto paired out of the box. Both have the iconic stealth bomber look of past Nighthawk routers.

Under the hood the system has some pretty impressive specifications. The system uses a dual-core 1.7GHz processor and tri-band mesh extender tech. According to Netgear this’ll offer gamers a variety of perks including faster Wi-Fi connection speeds of up to 2.6 Gbps, lower ping rates, reduced lag, plus the usual range benefits of any mesh system.

Meanwhile, the DumaOS Gaming Dashboard software will let users control things like Geo Filtering, Hybrid VPN, Quality of Service (QoS), and Network Monitoring. For non techies, these are specific features that give you more manual control over your networks’s security, let you pick your geo location and generally monitor and optimise your Wi-Fi for specific user cases, like gaming.

Related: Best Wi-Fi extender 2019

Mesh networks are a pretty standard thing for normal home Wi-Fi, with things like the Orbi mesh network and BT Whole Home Wi-Fi being a common site in many stores and homes, but they’re a rarity in gaming. The only other mainstream gaming focused mesh system I can think of is the Asus AiMesh AX6100 WiFi, which we’re yet to review.

The networks aim to boost Wi-Fi signal across large areas, but they work a little differently to traditional Wi-Fi extenders. Instead of just boosting the main router’s signal, they use multiple routers, or nodes, to spread the signal throughout your home. This means that each node acts as its own signal source. Key benefits of the tech include better coverage, faster speeds and a more reliable connection.

Netgear senior vice president of connected home products, David Henry, said the company chose to make a gaming mesh system to target multiple gaming PC/games console households.

“The new Nighthawk Pro Gaming Mesh WiFi system addresses the concerns of a modern household while also addressing the specific needs of the gamer and keeping every member of the household happily connected.” he said.

Related: Best router 2019

The new Netgear Nighthawk’s also offers a few gaming specific features not seen on normal mesh systems. These include a dedicated back channel for high-speed data connections. A Smart Roaming feature will intelligently connect devices in need of the feature to the back channel, removing the need to set manual permissions to prioritise different gadgets.

Excited? We are. But don’t expect the package to come cheap. The Nighthawk Pro Gaming Mesh System is available now from netgear.com and select retailers for £319.99, which isn’t pocket money.