Killer Wi-Fi 6 AX1650 Review: Ultra Fast, Affordable Next-Gen Wi-Fi

Killer Wi-Fi 6 AX1650: Uncorking Next-Gen Wireless Networking

Over the past few months, we have seen a spatter of Wi-Fi 6 ( 802.11ax ) routers enter the fray, including the ASUS ROG GT-AX11000 and Netgear Nighthawk AX8, both of which we recently put to the screen. There was a caution to our testing, however—we had to benchmark them using Wi-Fi 5 ( 802.11ac ) hardware, because at the time, Wi-Fi 6 had not however in truth permeated the market on the customer side. That ‘s to say, much every modern device with Wi-Fi connectivity is sporting a Wi-Fi 5 arranger.

In a feel, companies like ASUS and Netgear had put the cart before the horse. It is not that these companies are obtuse. Rather, they recognized where the market was headed and basically got a jump on what had been next-gen radio connectivity. It is no longer a next-gen standard, though, with the Wi-Fi Alliance having recently rolled out an official Wi-Fi 6 certificate plan

so technically, Wi-Fi 6 has nowadays arrived, merely not in businesslike. It is a bantam snowball on top of a wireless mountain, overlooking a greenwich village of Wi-Fi 5 households. Things are about to change, though, because Rivet Networks and Intel are each making Wi-Fi 6 adapters broadly available, both as standout features in the newest laptops ( and finally desktops ), and as standalone receivers that users can purchase and install inside their current notebooks. That bantam snowball has begun rolling down the mountainside and is beginning to gain momentum.
In a sense, Rivet Networks is hitching a ride on Intel ‘s sled down that same mountainside. Its newfangled Killer Wi-Fi 6 AX1650 radio adapter is based on the lapp Wi-Fi 6 chipset and driver stack as Intel ‘s own module, but on the software side, Rivet Networks amps things up with its own customs features, tweaks, and technologies. What some may find surprise is the lack of a significant markup on the Killer hardware— it sells for good $ 35 on Amazon, making it an low-cost upgrade choice.

That is in blunt contrast to some of the early Wi-Fi 6 router options. The ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AX1100 and Netgear Nighthawk AX8 sell for $ 449.99 and $ 399, respectively, on Amazon. Pricing for Wi-Fi 6 routers will become low-cost in time, but on the adapter slope, Rivet Networks has done gamers ( and consumers in general ) a elephantine solid.
so, what precisely are we looking at here ? Let ‘s beginning with a summation of the specification …

Rivet Networks Killer Wi-Fi 6 AX1650 Wireless Adapter
Specifications & Features
Wi-Fi Technology

2×2 Wi-Fi 6 ( 802.11ax )
UL and DL OFDMA ( Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access )
20/40/80/160MHz channel support
Data rate
2.4Gbps
Chipset

Intel
WLAN Frequency Band

5GHz and 2.4GHz
module Options

AX1660x : M.2, module size = 22mm x 30mm
AX1650i : M.2, module size = 22mm x 30mm ( leverages integrated MAC )
AX1650w : M.2, faculty size = 12mm x 16mm soldered down
AX1650s : M.2, module size = 12mm x 16mm solder down ( leverages integrated MAC )
Bluetooth
Bluetooth 5.0
security
WPA and WPA 2 Personal and Enterprise ; WPA3 ( pending OS support )
Authentication

1X EAP-TLS, EAP-TTLS/MSCHAPv2, PEAPv0-MSCHAPv2 ( EAP-SIM, EAP-AKA )
encoding

64-bit and 128-bit WEP, TKIP, 128-bit AES-CCMP, 256-bit AES-GCMP
Wi-Fi Direct Encryption

WPA2-PSK, AES-CCMP
Price
$35 @ Amazon

The AX1650 is a small M.2 module that is available in a few different variants, including a traditional 22mm x 30mm card ( which we have in-house ). There is besides a smaller adaptation available for OEMs that can be soldered inside a laptop, mini personal computer, or some other device .

Rivet Networks is billing the Killer Wi-Fi 6 AX1650 as the “ first Wi-Fi 6 faculty specifically designed to deliver the fastest gameplay, the best streaming, and the most immersive communication experiences. ” note that “ gameplay ” is the foremost point of focus. That is not by accident, as Rivet Networks has gamers squarely in its sights .

much of that boils down to the software, and we will cover those aspects in a bite. As for the hardware, this is a dual-band, 2×2 Wi-Fi 6 module with support for 160MHz channels and Bluetooth 5.0. On the 5GHz groove, the maximal theoretical throughput is 2.4Gbps .

here are the speed claims …

• Up to 3X more throughput than previous generation 80MHz 2×2 AC devices
• Up to 40 percent more throughput than previous generation 160MHz 2×2 AC devices
• Up to 4X more network capacity in dense environments than previous generation wireless AC networks

Faster throughput is one of the advantages of Wi-Fi 6, but not the lone one. It is besides well equipped to handle multiple simultaneously connected devices ( even more indeed than MU-MIMO on Wi-Fi 5 hardware ) and has the potential to lower latencies, to boot .

Rivet Networks

The first Killer NIC launched in 2006
Before we go any further, let’s take a moment to talk about Rivet Networks as a company, and the Killer branding, which has been around for over a decade. The industry’s first introduction to a Killer product came in 2006, with the
Before we go any far, let ‘s take a moment to talk about Rivet Networks as a party, and the Killer brand, which has been around for over a ten. The diligence ‘s first insertion to a Killer intersection came in 2006, with the first Killer NIC. At the prison term, Killer products were being marketed and hyped by Bigfoot Networks, and the eminent claims did not always translate to real-world experiences that were worth the cost of a costly NIC. Sill, the company ‘s efforts helped push the estimate that advanced dealings shaping engineering could potentially benefit enthusiasts and specially gamers.
Networking hardy Qualcomm Atheros acquired Bigfoot Networks in 2011, and then in 2014, it was spun out into a new company called Rivet Networks. That is the inadequate adaptation, anyhow. For an more in-depth look at Rivet Networks, check out our Q & A with the company from a few years ago.
One of the takeaways from that Q & A is that Rivet Networks acknowledged its original Killer NIC from 2006 was expensive when it launched, and for many users the biggest topic was the pricing—the original Killer NIC launched at $ 279, which is around $ 355 today if you factor in inflation. That was a hood sell.

While the M.2 interface is familiar, Killer warns it should alone be used in laptops. It ‘s not going to work if you plug it into an M.2 interface in a desktop personal computer. Give it time and we may see a Killer PCI Express card ( some off-brand Wi-Fi PCIe cards have already infiltrated Amazon ), there precisely is not one correct now. “ We listened. When we left the unload chip design for a gigabit Ethernet accountant, we completely changed the cost structure. While Killer used to be expensive years ago, it is now very comparable to other standard network solutions. Getting this cost structure right was critical for the emergence we have had over the end few years, and now users can go pick a system that has our technology and get all the great benefits without spending the price premium they would have had to spend years ago, ” Rivet Networks said at the time .

That ‘s not lip service, at least not in regards to the Killer Wi-Fi 6 AX1650 adapter. At $ 35, the latest Killer arranger cannonballs into low-cost territory, and is a far cry from the fantastic premium that was attached to the original Killer NIC.

quick history lesson out of the means, let ‘s take a closer look at the features and performance of the Killer Wi-Fi 6 AX1650 …