AmpliFi HD Gamer's Edition (Review)
By: AlanV
Note - AmpliFi provided us with a review copy of the AmpliFi HD Gamer's Edition in exchange for our honest review.
AmpliFi has been making mesh networks for the masses for the last few years, and now it’s bringing its expertise to the gaming market. Its AmpliFi HD Gamer’s Edition is a collaboration between AmpliFi and NVIDIA. It’s designed to let gamers get the most out of their GeForce NOW experience while retaining the option to go wireless.
However, before we getto the meat and potatoes of this review it’s important to make something clear.This router isn’t a magic bullet that will make GeForce NOW work on a slowconnection. If your internet service provider sucks, then this won’t be able tofix that. A HUGE, necessary asterisk is that GeForce NOW is still very much inbeta and introduces its own problems.
Understated,Modern Design
The AmpliFi HD Gamer’s Edition mesh kit looks good. Really good. It consists of the router and two accompanying mesh points. They all have a nice matte black finish that won’t look out of place in most homes and can become seamless parts of your décor.
The router has a customizable LCD that lets youchoose what information you want it to display. Being able to see variousaspects of your network at a glance is incredibly convenient. Although if youwant this to be a stealthy addition to your home you can just have it displaythe time. The only downside is not being able to change the color, as it stickswith the NVIDIA green motif.
An LED ring at the bottom of the router is anothernice design touch. The LED ring is white, and you can change its brightness.Anyone looking to go all out with the RGB vomit will be disappointed, though.It’s surprising to see the omission of RGB considering they’re going after thegamer market. Maybe for version 2.0.
It’s Got Rangefor Days
The range on this mesh kit is impressive, andeasily provides the best range of any router I’ve used. A pain point in myfamily’s home is the Nest security camera at the front door. Constant dropoutsand subpar performance are the norm but, after setting up this router all theseproblems are gone.
It also delivers in its claims to let you gamewith wireless freedom. There isn’t any perceivable difference between a wiredconnection and Wi-Fi while using GeForce NOW; so long as you’re on the 5Ghzband. It’s a big deal because NVIDIA goes out of its way to recommend a wiredconnection while using their cloud gaming service. This flexibility issomething that will be appreciated by anyone who can’t get a wired connectionto their computer.
It doesn’t stop there, though. During testing ofthis unit, I was able to connect to my Wi-Fi network from my neighbor’s backyard.It’s a nice change of pace from having to ask my neighbor for the username andpassword of their network. This probably isn’t representative of how most peoplewill use it but, it does give you an idea of how great the range is with properplacement of the mesh points.
Made for GeForceNOW
The biggest selling point of this router is thatit’s specifically designed to optimize GeForce NOW performance. It does this byhandling the setup of the QoS (Quality of Service) rules. You can enable thisat the tap of a button, without having to worry about how and what settings youneed to modify to get it working.
As for the performance, it delivers, albeit onlywhen the GeForce NOW service cooperates. I’m able to game comfortably with theGeForce NOW service even while there are other things happening on the network,such as YouTube streams or live TV through DirectTV NOW. Just keep in mind thathow much you can have going on at once is still dependent on your availablebandwidth. Again, it’s not a cure-all for low bandwidth or that you’re using aservice still in beta.
The only QoS hiccup I came across while gaming onGeForce NOW is that there can be a bit of hitching when a new video streamstarts up. It usually smooths itself out after about 10 seconds, though. Thisisn’t something that will happen all the time but, it’s worth mentioning.
App BasedManagement
When interacting with the router you’ll spend mostof your time in the companion app, which is available on both Android and iOS(I used the iOS version). It’s a simple and well-designed app that’s easy touse. It also provides you with helpful instructions when you first setup therouter.
Not everything is in the app, though. There’sstill a web interface that you can use to access a few more settings. I’m notsure why these specific options didn’t make it into the app. My only guess isthat they don’t want most users tinkering with these settings unless absolutelynecessary.
Thoughtful Design
This router gets so many small things right. WhenI first setup a wireless network I normally go about setting up dedicated2.4GHz and 5GHz networks, because it’s a necessary step. However, with theAmpliFi there is one network that will have both bands available, and devicesjust connect to whatever band they need. It doesn’t sound like a big deal but,it’s much appreciated.
Moreover, there is the ability to control whatdevices can get data with a quick tap. The app displays everything currentlyconnected to the network, and they all have a pause button that can be pressed tocut them off from the internet. It’s nice to be able to just pause somethingrather than having to physically disconnect it, or target mac addresses; and Ican imagine parents will love this feature.
Likewise, the mesh points were also designed withusers in mind. They each have small LED indicators that let you know how strongthe signal they’re receiving is. This makes it a lot easier to know where tobest place them to get the most range possible. It’s a nice experience comparedto random trial and error.
Coming from a world of custom router firmware(dd-wrt, tomato, Asuswrt-Merlin) I didn’t think I’d like the app companionmethod of the AmpliFi HD Gamer’s Edition. However, after using this router forsome time I’ve come to really like having simple network management as opposedto constant tinkering.
AmpliFi really has an outstanding router here. The MSRP is high ($379.00), although well within reason when you compare it to offerings from their competitors. With the price tag, though, you’re getting a great performer with dead simple setup. The GeForce NOW collaboration pays dividends in some ways but, it’s hobbled by the fact that the service itself can be so hit or miss.