TP-Link GE800 Router Review – A Beast for Serious Gamers

TP-Link GE800 Router Review

The TP-Link GE800 Router is part of their family of Wi-Fi 7 technology routers that stand out due to its pedigree as a gaming-first router. That pedigree starts aesthetically. The router looks less like a network device and more like a Star Wars Imperial shuttle with the wings folded up. It is also understandable if it strikes you as being like Darth Vader’s helmet.

My experience with the TP-Link line of routers has been excellent. You can check out previous impressions here for the AC5400, the AX6000, and the AXE75. The former is a 5 GHz router, and the other two are 6 GHz routers. Those reviews not only cover the strengths of both routers but also include background on TP-Link, too. Additionally, check out our impressions for the AX11000 which also explains what Wi-Fi 6 is all about.

The GE800 is big. Big in style and footprint. It measures in at 11.5 by 8.1 by 8.8 inches. The router sports a black matte finish. Two large wings side the central body, the house has eight antennae; four on each side. These antennae broadcast 2.4, 5, and 6 Ghz bands. The base also includes a fan to cool the internals. The fan is my chief knock against the router. When it kicks in, it is a very noticeable and unwelcome distraction.

Leaning into the gaming aesthetic even further, each wing has an RGB LED strip that leads to a counterpart strip in the base. There is a variety of lighting effects to choose from, such as Spectrum, Rainbow, Comet, Wave, Fire, Ripple, and a Loop option that goes through the effects. My personal favorite is the Comet effect. The lighting effects are accessible either through a button on the router or via the mobile Tether app under the RGB Effects option.

Wi-Fi 7 Power & Scope

The big feature of the router is Wi-Fi 7. This is the next step in Wi-Fi standards. Wi-Fi 6 can handle many more devices without a significant loss in performance. The goal of Wi-Fi 7 is to increase throughput and eliminate buffering, lag, and congestion. Also, Wi-Fi 7 uses the latest network technology to provide speeds 4.8 times faster than Wi-Fi 6 and 13 times faster than Wi-Fi 5.

Bear in mind that any gains in throughput are limited by your internet speed. No network device can match speeds that surpass your internet speeds. So any gains possible with a Wi-Fi 7, or 5 or 6 for that matter, could be marginal. In my case, my internet speed is 80Mips download and 20 Mips upload. I was already getting near those limits with my current network setup. Speed improvements did come when further away from the router.

I tested my Wi-Fi speeds two floors up on the main floor with the GE800 in the basement. For 2.4Ghz my Wi-Fi speed went from 45.17Mips to 56.4Mips. Ping noticeably improved from 22ms to a snappy 9ms. 5Ghz speeds are even more impressive. Speed more than doubled from 35.33 Mips to 77.6 Mips. The ping was better too, dropping from 13ms to 8Ms. 6Ghz speeds and pings, as expected, dropped considerably and so that frequency remains a line-of-sight proposal.

What I did notice was how smooth my network became with the GE800. With the speed tests, my pings, already low, went down slightly. Even with multiple devices attached or running simultaneous applications that used the internet. This is because Wi-Fi 7 offers 4 times lower latency than Wi-Fi 6 routers. It also has 5 times greater network capacity than Wi-Fi 6.

There are four buttons on the front of the router. A Wi-Fi on/off button, a button to turn on or off the RGB effects, a WPS button, and an Acceleration button. You can cycle through the RGB effects by holding down the RGB button. The Acceleration button, when pressed, lowers the latency between you and the game server. Gamers can use the Tether app’s Game Boost function, accessible via the Game Center option, to automatically detect gaming clients for hundreds of supported games and optimize their connections.

Connections & Setup

At the router’s back are the I/O ports. There is a 10GbE, a 10GbE WAN/LAN SPF+ combo port for fiber connections, a 2.5GbE WAN/LAN port, and three 2.5GbE LAN ports, one of which is a dedicated gaming port. This is the port linked to the Gaming Acceleration function. All the WAN and LAN ports support link aggregation. You’ll also find a USB 3.0 port, a power jack, a power switch, and a reset button.

Setting up a TP-Link router is pretty well plug’n play. The router was up and running in under 15 minutes. TP-Link also provides a mobile app for Android and iOS devices that lets you control the router from your smartphone. The Tether app lets you connect remotely to the router through the Cloud. From the app you can customize such settings as those for Wi-Fi, Guest Network, IoT Network – for devices used to control home environment settings such as heating, cooling, lighting, Operation Mode, RGB Effects, and System Mode.

The Operation Mode allows you to set up the router as either an Access Point or a Wireless Router. If you want one network where all devices are accessible, choose the Access Point. If you want a separate network – say for running a business at home – then choose Wireless Router. The System option allows you to reboot the router, do a factory reset, change the router’s password, or do a firmware update.

The Tether app also comes with a HomeCare suite of apps, but they require a subscription. With HomeCare, you can tailor access to Internet content to fit the profile of a user. Parents can invoke parental controls so that their kids cannot access material deemed inappropriate. HomeCare also provides Antivirus protection, which users can enable or disable. TP-Link servers save all your security settings. Something to remember, in case you are averse to sharing such information. Important to note as the company headquarters are in China, which has different standards for security and online privacy.

Power Users Coverage

It will provide proper coverage for a 2500 sq ft home. Your experience will vary depending on the layout of your home. Wi-Fi 2.4 & 5 GHz is great even two floors above. However, the Wi-Fi 6 range is much shorter and operates best on a line-of-sight basis. Once I had the unit setup and let it run for a few days, it was rock solid. Like the other TP-Link routers, I experienced no dropouts or service interruptions.

The TP-Link Archer GE800 is for power users, such as hardcore and competitive gamers. You know who you are: the ones who will spend top dollar to get the best hardware available, i.e., 4090/5090 GPU and PS5 Pro gamers. The GE800 is for gamers who look for every advantage possible to get every iota of performance available.

***TP-Link Archer GE800 Router was provided by the publisher***