We've all been there, the pulse-pounding moment when we're about to make a genius play in our favorite online game when a half-second lag spike sees us fail miserably.

 Or perhaps it's when we queue up for a competitive match only to have a sudden dip in our internet connection drop us from the game three seconds after the match starts. Worse still when the whole time gaming is cursed by intermittent lag spikes that make the game a jerky mess. 

Some of these issues are out of our hands—and internet service providers— but many connectivity problems can stem from our routers. So, it's imperative you've got one of the best routers for gaming if you want to get competitive online.

Don't rely on your old router, as you might be working with an outdated Wi-Fi standard. Older routers also lack advanced features to prioritize your gaming traffic, which can leave you susceptible to lag spikes when other devices are on the network. 

A good gaming router should provide plenty of Ethernet ports for fast and stable speed and support fast Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) or even Wi-Fi 6 or Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax) connections. 

These routers offer dual-band and sometimes three wireless bands, letting you dedicate an entire band to gaming, so your console or gaming PC won't compete with every smartphone and smart home device trying to communicate with the router.

We'll help you find the right gaming router with our picks below, which offer solid connectivity and top-notch gaming features – and click here to find them in the UK.