D-Link, the maker of wireless routers and networking gear, is taking aim at this space, too, and offering what it says is another tool they can use to get that edge -- its latest Xtreme N Gaming router (DGL-4500). The Test Center decided to give it a try and found that while it may not help gamers level up competitively, it can boost the overall gaming experience.

This is a router that is engineered for gamers' sensibilities. It's coated with a futuristic, shiny black finish and has a day-glow LCD that shows the current status of the device and connections. The router is a perfect accessory to the most high-end and snazzy of gaming chassis. Even the start-up wizard is reminiscent of a game, complete with hard-pumping music and flashy animation.

The Xtreme N Gaming router has two bandwidth channels: 2.4GHz and 5GHz. It comes with three external antennae and, as mentioned, an LCD screen to display network activity. It is 802.11n draft 2.0-compliant and supports other wireless networking modes.

We decided to set up via the management console. The management interface hand-holds a user through the setup. We established a DHCP connection to the Internet. The router is easy to get up and running, for both the Internet and internal wireless settings, but it does require a reboot after each major setting change.

The meat of this interface, however, lies in the advanced features and tools. For instance, you can set up Virtual Server options. This allows you to define a single public port on the router for redirection to an internal LAN IP address and private LAN port -- useful for hosting online services like FTP or Web servers.

There is also a Special Applications feature. This lets you create special application rules, a way to open a single or multiple ports on a router when a particular application trigger is met.

GameFuel is another technology that can be accessed and configured through the interface. GameFuel helps to optimize and improve gaming performance. Once enabled, you can specify settings like activating Dynamic Fragmentation, enabling Automatic Uplink Speed or enabling Automatic Classification. We enabled all of these settings to see if it made a difference during a session of the latest World of Warcraft version, Wrath of the Lich King.

Some other configurable aspects in the interface include setting up static routes, adding Access Control to control access to devices in and out of your network. Access Control can be used to set Parental Controls; granting or denying access to approved sites; limiting access during certain, specified times; or allowing or denying access to specified applications (such as peer-to-peer apps).

There are also some advanced firewall controls. Stateful Packet Inspection can be enabled. SPI allows for dynamic packet filtering and helps to prevent cyberattacks by tracking more state per inspection. It validates that the traffic passing though the session conforms to the protocol. For example, when the protocol is TCP, SPI checks that the packet sequence numbers are within the valid range for the session and discards those packets that do not have valid sequence numbers.

So with our settings optimized, game play was smooth and without the lag that so often comes with World of Warcraft, particularly in bandwidth-heavy areas like player-on-player raids, or within areas where many online players congregate and challenge one another to duels.

The Xtreme N Gaming Router is compatible with Xbox Live systems, and features Xcelerator 8 technology, which upgraded gamers to Gigabit and Powers Broadband connections at X8.

This router is well worth every penny of its $199.99 list price and is sure to please the most hardcore gaming customer.