Ever been frustrated by slow network speeds? One potential problem could be that your router isn’t fast enough. This is especially likely to be the case if your router is particularly old one.
Your router has a big influence on the speeds you can get on your network. As such, for the fastest speeds possible, make sure you have a Gigabit router. If faster speeds sounds like something you would want, but you are wondering 'what is a gigabit router?' then please read on.
- Difference Between Fast Ethernet & Gigabit Ethernet?
- Best Gigabit Switch For The Home
- Top Rated Wireless Routers
So, What Is A Gigabit Router?
A Gigabit router is a router that offers theoretical network speeds of 1Gbps and over. These speeds will be made through Ethernet cables and will help you when it comes to streaming movies or sharing files over your network.
While wifi speeds are constantly getting faster and faster and it is theoretically possible to get gigabit speeds using wifi, most people will not. As such, a Gigabit router generally refers to the speeds available via a wired connection.
Do I Need A Gigabit Router?
If you want the fastest possible network speeds, then a Gigabit router is the best way to go. You are most likely to need a Gigabit router if you plan to transfer large files over your network, or if you receive speeds of over 100 Mbps from your internet service provider.
Also, before splashing out on a new router, make sure your current one doesn’t already support Gigabit speeds. Most routers available these days do support gigabit Ethernet so it is always worth checking!
Will a Gigabit Router Make My Internet Faster?
A Gigabit router will allow speeds over your network of 1 Gigabit per second. However, this does not necessarily mean it will make your internet any faster as your internet is limited by the speeds provided by your ISP.
If you currently have a 100 Mbps router and your ISP gives you internet speeds of 50 Mbps, buying a Gigabit router will unfortunately not speed up your internet.
On the other hand, if you have a 100 Mbps router and you are getting speeds from your ISP of over 100Mbps, then buying a Gigabit router will improve your internet speeds.
100Mbps (Fast Ethernet) vs 1Gbps Router
100 Mbps Ethernet, or Fast Ethernet as it is also known, is an older standard of Ethernet that supports speeds of 100Mbps. In comparison to the 1Gbps Ethernet that is now available, this is significantly slower, although will probably still be plenty if you don’t plan on sharing big files over your network.
Will Buying A Gigabit Router Give My Network Gigabit Speeds?
It should also be noted that if you want Gigabit speeds, you will need to make sure the rest of your network is setup for those speeds. This will include making sure that any Ethernet cables you use can provide Gigabit internet, and that any devices you are connecting to can support those speeds.
Hopefully, you have found this article useful! If so please share on social media, or leave a comment below if you have any questions.