20 years in the Republic of Gamers, part six: gamers go wireless without settling for compromises

When you’re glued to a game, you might not notice a thing about the world around you. But achieving that level of immersion isn’t a given. For many gamers, the clutter of wires stretching across their desk and dangling from their desktop or laptop PC are a constant, nagging distraction, a set of cords that keeps them tethered to the mundane world. And  these cords can be more than a potential eyesore. Cable snags can hinder your online gaming performance, Ethernet cables can be a hassle to run even when they’re a viable option, and your system might not have enough ports to handle all the things that you want to plug in. 

Today, high-performance wireless peripherals, next-gen wireless networking technology, convenient cable management features, and sleek PC designs empower gamers to minimize, if not eliminate, any visible cords in their gaming rigs. But it wasn’t always this way. For too much of PC gaming history, “wireless” was all-but synonymous with “compromise.” Tackling the desktop clutter — not to mention latency, dropped connections, and insufficient bandwidth — required our engineers to conduct an assault on all fronts.  

This is part six of our multi-part ROG 20th Anniversary Retrospective. Click here to see the full series of articles. 

Making it possible to cut the (Ethernet) cord  

Out of all the cords that end up plugged into desktop and laptop PCs, the Ethernet cord has been the most stubborn. It’s just not ready to retire gracefully. In large part, that’s a compliment to copper. The rock-solid reliability and potentially top-shelf bandwidth of Ethernet make it a no-brainer in any scenario where cables can be run unobtrusively.  

Unfortunately, it’s not always cheap or convenient to run Ethernet cables to all the places in your home where you might want to set up your gaming rig. Yet even in scenarios where the Ethernet cord is right out in the open, if not stretched across their household to reach their gaming desk, many gamers have historically preferred to keep the wire rather than trust their online gaming experiences to a wireless connection. Legacy WiFi standards taught us to put our faith in Ethernet for latency-sensitive scenarios — and nobody’s more sensitive to latency than a gamer in the 25th round of a Valorant match.  

To keep gamers on top of the action, we launched the first ROG router back in 2017: the ROG Rapture GT-AC5300. Not only did this router offer three bands (two 5GHz and one 2.4GHz), but it also supplied each of those bands with its own CPU. That cumulative I/O processing allowed the Rapture to achieve a combined total data speed of up to 5,334Mbit/s, a figured that dropped more than a few jaws back in the day.  

As things turned out, the first ROG Rapture didn’t get to hang on to its performance trophy for too long. WiFi 6 charged onto the scene shortly after, paving the way for the launch of the ROG Rapture GT-AX11000, the world’s first tri-band WiFi 6 router. WiFi 6 came as a breath of fresh air for environments with lots of wireless devices — in other words, most gamers’ homes. With greater capacity for concurrent connections, WiFi 6 routers turned competing end-user devices into good neighbors able to cooperate without constantly bumping elbows.  

What WiFi 6 didn’t do was significantly crank up top theoretical networking speeds over WiFi 5. That took WiFi 7 — the current generation. The ROG Rapture GT-BE98 Pro is the reigning flagship wireless router, delivering aggregate throughput of 30 Gbps across four bands. Compared to WiFi 6/6E, it offers up to 2x more capacity and up to 20% faster data transmission rates. Its wired networking options are hard-hitting, too, with 31Gbps total capacity across seven Ethernet ports. ROG Rapture routers cater to networking enthusiasts, but we deliver the goods for mainstream gamers, too. Through options like the ROG Strix GS-BE18000, we bring high-end networking tech, easy network management tools, and dedicated networking tech into the hands of mainstream gamers.  

Between the congestion-busting tech ushered in by WiFi 6 and the raw speed increases brought by WiFi 7, 2026 could be the year that your well-used Ethernet cord finally gets put out to pasture. With wired networking being optional for your online competitive play, you’ll have more freedom for placing your gaming setup without the hassle or expense of running wires.  

More advances are coming, too. Back in the lab, we’re hard at work on WiFi 8. We’re not ready to make too many announcements on this front, but we’re already finding that the next wave of wireless innovations significantly boost reliability in the most challenging signal conditions, allowing you to access the greater speeds and lower latency of WiFi 7 more often.  

Wireless gear that performs like wired  

Perhaps you’ve had the experience of trying out a game on your smartphone only to find that your wireless earbuds just weren’t good enough. The buds probably streamed music or podcasts just fine, but proved naggingly slow when you loaded up Pokemon Unite or PUBG Mobile. The sounds associated with every input, footstep, and environmental cue were always a heartbeat behind the action, and the disconnect derailed your immersion and distracted you from the action.  

The trouble that you encountered was latency. Earbuds, headsets, mice, and keyboards with poor latency always feel like they’re a step behind. Using such equipment is like talking over Discord with a friend who’s having severe problems with ping: the gaps and delays in the conversations are constant irritations. Due to latency concerns, early wireless peripherals from the mid-2000s were best suited for everyday computing, productivity, and entertainment. Wired options remained the only competitive options for gamers, even the ones looking to eliminate desktop clutter and cord drag.

ROG engineers recognized that many in the Republic were tired of choosing between wireless freedom and wired performance. They wanted both. So when we updated the ROG Strix Impact II gaming mouse with a wireless version in 2020, we used a 2.4GHz radio frequency link for ultra-low latency and excellent range. The ROG Gladius III Wireless, which debuted in 2021, offered even more versatility with a tri-mode connectivity suite that included 2.4GHz wireless for low latency, Bluetooth for on-the-go convenience, and wired operation for moments when its battery needed a top-off. 

But it’s with the original ROG Azoth, launched in 2023, that ROG established air supremacy with our wireless peripherals. This keyboard launched with ROG SpeedNova wireless technology. Optimized to achieve maxed-out speed, reliability, and power efficiency, SpeedNova blew past the competition to deliver industry-leading, low-latency performance. For convenience, we revamped the USB dongle, too. The ROG Omni Receiver allows you to connect multiple compatible peripherals all through one dongle, freeing up precious ports on your desktop or laptop.  

Today, your entire peripherals loadout can benefit from the freedom of high-performance wireless. The ROG Harpe Ace II gaming mouse blazes into action with ROG SpeedNova 8K wireless technology. Controller fiends can get in the fast lane with the ROG Raikiri II Xbox wireless controller. The ROG Delta II gaming headset gives you the versatility of tri-mode connectivity and the performance of ROG SpeedNova. Looking for earbuds with similar credentials? A bundled USB-C adapter lets the ROG Cetra True Wireless SpeedNova gaming earbuds offer both Bluetooth and 2.4GHz modes, bringing ultra-low latency audio to an incredible range of systems. For your keyboard, you’re spoiled for high-quality wireless options. The ROG Azoth, ROG Falcata, ROG Strix Scope II 96 Wireless, ROG Falchion RX Low-Profile, ROG Azoth 96 HE and others await your perusal.   

No wires, no limits  

For too long, gamers who wanted to live the wireless life had to put up with compromise. The wireless routers, keyboards, mice, and headsets of the past just didn’t provide the high-performance, low-latency connections that they needed for immersive, competitive gaming. So they either put up with cable stretching across their gaming setups or they put up with slow connections. 

Today, you don’t have to tolerate the wires or the latency. With cutting-edge WiFi 7 and ROG SpeedNova technologies, you can get wireless that trades blows with wired connections. Desktop clutter, cable drag, dropped connections, stuttery performance — even the tripping hazard of having an Ethernet cord stretched across the room — they've all been relegated to the museum of PC gaming history. The wireless future is here.