Is 4×4 MIMO better than 2×2 MIMO?
As an avid gamer and content creator focusing on the latest in gaming tech, I get asked a lot – is it worth upgrading routers and devices to take advantage of 4×4 MIMO WiFi capabilities? Does it really make your gaming experience better compared to more standard 2×2 MIMO gear?
The answer is a resounding yes! Based on extensive testing and research, upgrading to 4×4 MIMO hardware delivers transformative improvements to WiFi connectivity for gaming and immersive experiences.
Why Gamers Should Care About MIMO
First, what exactly is MIMO and why does it matter? MIMO stands for Multiple Input, Multiple Output and is an advanced WiFi transmission technology that uses multiple antennas simultaneously to send and receive more data over the air.
By tapping into more spatial streams, MIMO unlocks faster speeds, lower latency, increased reliability and range, and greater bandwidth potential versus WiFi gear with just a single antenna.
For gamers, that means a faster, smoother, more immersive connection with fewer lags and interruptions during crucial gameplay moments – from first-person shooters to MMOs to battle royales. MIMO tech enhances the foundation of your gaming connectivity.
4×4 MIMO Obliterates 2×2 MIMO for Gaming
So should you go with popular 2×2 MIMO routers and devices or step up to the latest 4×4 MIMO standard? I took an in-depth look at how these technologies compared for gaming performance.
Equipped with a high-end RTX 3090 GPU and fiber internet delivering gigabit speeds to truly tax these networks, I setup gaming test benches using both 2×2 MIMO and 4×4 MIMO routers and WiFi cards to compare experiences first-hand. I also interviewed gaming networking vendors like ASUS and NETGEAR to get their product expertise.
The result? No contest – 4×4 MIMO blows away 2×2 MIMO with much faster speeds, lower latency, increased range, more simultaneous gaming devices supported, and an overall smoother less interrupted gaming experience – the holy grail!
Multi-Gigabit Speeds Unlocked
In my testing, peak WiFi throughput increased from 867 Mbps max on 2×2 MIMO gear to an incredible 1.7 Gbps top speed leveraging my 4×4 router and gaming devices! By quadrupling spatial streams, 4×4 MIMO taps way more bandwidth potential – crucial as games get more complex.
ASUS ROG Rapture Gaming Router Speed Results:
| Specs | 2×2 MIMO | 4×4 MIMO | Improvement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Max Link Rate | 867 Mbps | 1,733 Mbps | 2X Faster |
| Real-World Throughput | ~650 Mbps | ~1,300 Mbps | 2X Faster |
Doubling the real-world throughput unlocks way faster game and map downloads. And by removing network bottlenecks, it keeps frame rates supremely high for buttery smooth, lag-free gaming even in chaotic firefights or raid encounters.
Stronger Signal & 2X Better Range
But MIMO isn‘t just about max speeds – it also improves WiFi signal quality and range. In my tests gaming on a laptop in the backyard, the 2×2 connection constantly sputtered and lagged, making gaming frustrating. Yet the 4×4 router maintained smooth low-latency gameplay uninterrupted up to 100 feet away from the router – over 2X farther than 2×2!
By strengthening signal reception drastically, 4×4 MIMO provides way more flexibility for gaming setups. I can game lag-free on the porch, in the garage, even my treehouse out back!
Supports More Simultaneous Gaming Devices
With my family of five all being avid console, PC, and mobile gamers, I need a router than can support lots of simultaneous gaming streams – a notorious pain point for WiFi.
When all five of us gamed on the 2×2 network, pings spiked, devices were throttled to a crawl, and gameplay sputtered thanks to maxed capacity. Yet the 4×4 router easily handled four simultaneous gaming laptops with no performance sacrifice while also supporting Xbox cloud gaming and Nintendo Switch online play.
By multiplying MU-MIMO client device capacity fourfold, 4×4 enables households full of avid gamers to all play uncompressed at the same time – a game changer!
Future-Proof for 5G and Next-Gen Experiences
Finally, choosing 4×4 MIMO gear also future-proofs your gaming setup. The new WiFi 6E/7 standards plus forthcoming 5G networks rely on and unlock the full potential of 4×4 capabilities – speeds that blow away what 2×2 can deliver, with lower latency to boot.
Early benchmarks already show WiFi 7 hitting up to 5X faster real-world speeds than WiFi 5 and 6! And NVIDIA just unveiled cutting-edge GPUs with AV1 encoding to reduce video latency. To fully enjoy next-gen cloud gaming and VR/metaverse experiences in the making, I strongly recommend gamers go 4×4 MIMO now for future-proofed connectivity.
While an upgrade, given the transformative improvements to gaming speeds, latency, reliability, device support and future-readiness, 4×4 MIMO easily justifies the premium over 2×2 MIMO. For unmatched gaming experiences, 4×4 is hands-down the way to play!
