My ongoing annoyances with connecting to games of Texas Hold 'em on Xbox Live Arcade have prompted me to think about getting a new router, perhaps one that is more XBL friendly. In one of the few poker games I managed to connect to recently, another player said that his connectivity problems disappeared once he switched to a new router.
Currently I have a D-Link DI-624 with firmware that the d-link website says is XBL compatible. I’m just wondering if a newer, swishier router might do a more robust job.
Thing is, I seem to have no problems connecting to online games of Saints Row, as well as doing other things on Xbox Live. I’m wondering if maybe it’s just a problem with the game and my router is fine.
Maybe wait to see if they patch Texas Hold’em? The game’s got enough issues that I can’t imagine they won’t. It’d also be awesome for them to add camera functionality.
Yeah it seems like a patch has to be forthcoming, given all the issues.
I’m also looking forward to the camera functionality, although I think that will be much more interesting in Activision’s WSOP with the 3D face-mapping. The game and the camera come out on the same day, I already have my pre-order in on both.
So I’m looking online at some of these gaming-specific routers which have all kinds of “Xbox Live certified” stickers on them and “GameFuel technology” and whatnot. Are they just bullshit, or are you more likely to have a trouble-free experience with these kind of dedicated gaming routers?
Mostly bullshit. The best thing about the gaming router is the built-in profiles for opening ports for specific games and what-not; beyond that, this whole “prioritizing packets” crap is pretty hard to notice.
I have the D-Link DGL-4300 router and it does what it claims: prioritizes gaming network traffic over other network traffic. However, that really only comes in handy if you (or others in your household) use your broadband for other things while you’re playing online games. Basically, it cuts down the lag in games due to downloads et al going on elsewhere on your home network. Otherwise, there’s not much point to it.
