Is the Netduma R3 really the best router for me?

[Iced Soul]

Friends, I'm a Call of Duty enthusiast, and it's practically the only game I can still enjoy.

I have a Netduma R1 and want to upgrade. I had already decided to buy a friend's Asus ROG Rapture GT-AXE11000 for an attractive price, but after reading a little more about the Netduma R3, I had doubts.

I've seen many experts saying that a modern gaming router must have "Smart Queue Management" – also known as SQM. It seems to be a more modern version of QoS. I've read a lot about the Duma R3, but I haven't seen anywhere mention the term "Smart Queue Management" or SQM with any relevant features it offers.

My choice of router is solely based on gaming. For other purposes, I already have another good router that works perfectly, with Wi-Fi even better than the Duma R3. Price isn't important either. I insist on being the best for playing Call of Duty.

That said, I asked the experts if the Netduma R3 is the most recommended router for me, if it has Smart Queue Management technology, or if the Asus ROG Rapture GT-AXE11000 is the best choice.

[Netduma Fraser]

SQM isn't really new per se and is already what we offer with our QoS solution which will only get better with the next update we're working on. 

It really depends on how you're going to integrate your gaming router into your setup. If for example your setup will be:

Main Router (All Devices Connected) > Gaming Router (Just Gaming Device Connected)

then QoS/SQM is irrelevant because the router won't be able to control the entire network. It would only be able to control the gaming device which from the gaming router perspective isn't competiting with any other device. However, it's actually competing with every other device connected upstream to the main router. If you really wanted to do it this way then the main benefit you would get would be from using the Geo-Filter on the R3, something no other gaming router has.

If for example your setup will be:

Main Router > Gaming Router (All Devices Connected Including Gaming Device)

or some variant of that then QoS/SQM is a lot more relevant as it can control most if not all (it really should control everything for max effect) of the devices on the network. In which case I'd still suggest the R3 for our current QoS implementation but then even more so for the next iteration of QoS that we have planned.

[Iced Soul]

On 9/9/2025 at 11:15 AM, Netduma Fraser said:

SQM isn't really new per se and is already what we offer with our QoS solution which will only get better with the next update we're working on. 

It really depends on how you're going to integrate your gaming router into your setup. If for example your setup will be:

Main Router (All Devices Connected) > Gaming Router (Just Gaming Device Connected)

then QoS/SQM is irrelevant because the router won't be able to control the entire network. It would only be able to control the gaming device which from the gaming router perspective isn't competiting with any other device. However, it's actually competing with every other device connected upstream to the main router. If you really wanted to do it this way then the main benefit you would get would be from using the Geo-Filter on the R3, something no other gaming router has.

If for example your setup will be:

Main Router > Gaming Router (All Devices Connected Including Gaming Device)

or some variant of that then QoS/SQM is a lot more relevant as it can control most if not all (it really should control everything for max effect) of the devices on the network. In which case I'd still suggest the R3 for our current QoS implementation but then even more so for the next iteration of QoS that we have planned.

First of all, thanks for the reply.

I have two internet connections at home. One for my PC and one for the rest of the house. Therefore, I wouldn't need to connect one router to the other. They will use different internet connections.

I understood you to say that the R3 has SQM technology. I had doubts because I watched several videos about the R3 and didn't see the option to enable SQM in DumaOS, but I did see it in the operating systems of other routers.

Is SQM already native and can't be enabled or disabled in DumaOS? Where in the technical specifications is it mentioned that it has SQM technology?

In your opinion, should I choose the R3 because it has superior SQM? Is this its biggest advantage over the Asus GT-AX11000?

I spent many years without updating myself about routers and ended up becoming obsolete in relation to new technologies and I'm still having a bit of difficulty processing so many new features and innovations that manufacturers promote in their hardware.

[Netduma Fraser]

This blog may help: https://netduma.com/blog/how-to-fix-bufferbloat so our current implementation, Congestion Control & SmartBOOST is literally a form of SQM. The ACC referenced there is what I mentioned we're also working on that goes beyond this. 

As before, the fact you have a whole connection I assume purely dedicated to gaming even further reduces your need for QoS/SQM as that's only working on your side of the router to reduce bufferbloat/lag etc but with literally an entire connection just for gaming it really isn't needed. So if that is correct then the R3 would be the one to get with the idea that ACC will be more useful for you in the future.

[Iced Soul]

On 9/9/2025 at 12:23 PM, Netduma Fraser said:

This blog may help: https://netduma.com/blog/how-to-fix-bufferbloat so our current implementation, Congestion Control & SmartBOOST is literally a form of SQM. The ACC referenced there is what I mentioned we're also working on that goes beyond this. 

As before, the fact you have a whole connection I assume purely dedicated to gaming even further reduces your need for QoS/SQM as that's only working on your side of the router to reduce bufferbloat/lag etc but with literally an entire connection just for gaming it really isn't needed. So if that is correct then the R3 would be the one to get with the idea that ACC will be more useful for you in the future.

Well, I'm having problems with buffer bloat after moving to a state far from the COD servers. In waveform tests, I'm experiencing 10 to 15ms of jitter during peak hours, after 5 PM. This only stopped happening after I moved. And since I sold my R1, I don't know if it's something other than buffer bloat.

I don't know if it's my biggest problem, but in Black Ops 6, my controller has been feeling heavy, slow, lethargic, and unresponsive.

[Netduma Fraser]

38 minutes ago, Iced Soul said:

Well, I'm having problems with buffer bloat after moving to a state far from the COD servers. In waveform tests, I'm experiencing 10 to 15ms of jitter during peak hours, after 5 PM. This only stopped happening after I moved. And since I sold my R1, I don't know if it's something other than buffer bloat.

I don't know if it's my biggest problem, but in Black Ops 6, my controller has been feeling heavy, slow, lethargic, and unresponsive.

If that's with just the one device on the network then it's peak time congestion, nothing to be done on your side. What ping do you get to the game on average?

[Iced Soul]

1 hour ago, Netduma Fraser said:

If that's with just the one device on the network then it's peak time congestion, nothing to be done on your side. What ping do you get to the game on average?

So, I'm using the QoS of a TP-Link AX5400, and it's improved considerably, but it's not perfect. I also use Exitlag.

I'm getting between 45 and 50 ping.

[Netduma Fraser]

28 minutes ago, Iced Soul said:

So, I'm using the QoS of a TP-Link AX5400, and it's improved considerably, but it's not perfect. I also use Exitlag.

I'm getting between 45 and 50 ping.

You're using it with 1 device only? Exitlag may improve the routing to the game servers if your routing is less than optimal. That's a fairly high ping, where abouts are you located?

[Iced Soul]

23 hours ago, Netduma Fraser said:

You're using it with 1 device only? Exitlag may improve the routing to the game servers if your routing is less than optimal. That's a fairly high ping, where abouts are you located?

Only my PC. I'm in Brazil, 1,300 miles from the server.

[Iced Soul]

I'd also like to ask if the Netduma R2 has the same SQM, ping reduction, and optimization features as the R3.

Geo-Filter 2.0, Ping Heatmap, and Hybrid VPN are unnecessary for me.

I'm asking because I just found a Netduma R2 for sale near me.

[Netduma Fraser]

Okay that would explain that ping then, I still don't believe you need it for SQM but yes it does have the same implementation as the R3 currently although in Early Access though you can try pre DumaOS 4 but you won't get many more updates for that router.

[Iced Soul]

3 hours ago, Netduma Fraser said:

Okay that would explain that ping then, I still don't believe you need it for SQM but yes it does have the same implementation as the R3 currently although in Early Access though you can try pre DumaOS 4 but you won't get many more updates for that router.

Sorry I don't understand, but could you explain what you meant by "I still don't believe you need it for SQM?"

Wouldn't that be the most important feature to eliminate the feeling of my mouse feeling heavy, lethargic, and unresponsive in Black Ops 6?

[Netduma Fraser]

7 minutes ago, Iced Soul said:

Sorry I don't understand, but could you explain what you meant by "I still don't believe you need it for SQM?"

Wouldn't that be the most important feature to eliminate the feeling of my mouse feeling heavy, lethargic, and unresponsive in Black Ops 6?

You have 1 device using a dedicated internet connection. Smart Queue Management does just that, it manages network queues, with just one device being used there is no network queue, there is just 1 'lane' and the gaming device is in it, nothing for it to get stuck behind. Its very unlikely that would eliminate those feelings in BO6, it's more likely your distance/routing to the game server.

[Iced Soul]

1 hour ago, Netduma Fraser said:

You have 1 device using a dedicated internet connection. Smart Queue Management does just that, it manages network queues, with just one device being used there is no network queue, there is just 1 'lane' and the gaming device is in it, nothing for it to get stuck behind. Its very unlikely that would eliminate those feelings in BO6, it's more likely your distance/routing to the game server.

So, I just bought the Netduma R3. However, after your explanation, allow me to contextualize my reading of the entire situation.

When I run the bufferbloat test on waveform.com before 5 PM, I get very good results, with less than 4 ms of latency and about 8 ms of jitter. After 5 PM, I get a result with 10-15 ms of jitter, plus an increase in download latency of about 14 ms and 10 ms of upload latency.

Won't the Duma R3 help me get results as good as the previous 5 PM result after 5 PM?

Did I waste my money? 😔

I'm referring to the waveform bufferbloat test, because when the test gives very good results, close to zero, I have very satisfactory gameplay.

[Krush]

Si ton FAI a de la congestion aux heures de pointes... Tu ne peux pas faire grand chose, le QoS est géré en Local pas en Amont de ton FAI !

Si tu as plusieurs lignes à disposition.. le mieux est d'utiliser celle qui n'a pas de congestion aux heures de pointes pour le jeux !!!!

 

[Netduma Fraser]

45 minutes ago, Iced Soul said:

So, I just bought the Netduma R3. However, after your explanation, allow me to contextualize my reading of the entire situation.

When I run the bufferbloat test on waveform.com before 5 PM, I get very good results, with less than 4 ms of latency and about 8 ms of jitter. After 5 PM, I get a result with 10-15 ms of jitter, plus an increase in download latency of about 14 ms and 10 ms of upload latency.

Won't the Duma R3 help me get results as good as the previous 5 PM result after 5 PM?

Did I waste my money? 😔

I'm referring to the waveform bufferbloat test, because when the test gives very good results, close to zero, I have very satisfactory gameplay.

As I mentioned before that is peak time congestion from your ISP, nothing has changed on your side when that happens so there is nothing you can do on your side at that time. When ACC is available for the R3 it may help with that but I can't guarantee it.