Rivet Networks Launches Killer AX1650 Wi-Fi 6 Module For Gaming PCs
Like the AX200, the Killer AX1650 adopts the 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) protocol and uses a 2x2 antenna for TX/RX channels. The card supports 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands and supports maximum throughput speeds of 2.4Gbps, which represent a 40 percent boost over 802.11ac, at least in theory.
Rivet Networks is also promising a 4x uplift in throughput in dense operating environments and increased battery life for laptops due to the increased throughput speeds. In other words, less time spend downloading data should help cut down on power consumption. Wi-Fi 6 devices on average should only require about 70 percent of the energy necessary to transmit data compared to Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac).
Both Intel and Rivet Networks’ Wi-Fi 6 modules use the same base Intel driver stack, but the Killer AX1650 gets some additional optimizations that go above and beyond what Chipzilla provides. That includes Killer Control Center 2.0, which provides a sleek UI for managing your network devices along with real-time visual representations of your network traffic.
The Killer Intelligence Engine prioritizes network traffic to ensure that your video traffic, gaming sessions, and background downloads are all able to coexist in harmony. You can also find other Killer staples like GameFast (protects CPU cycles and memory to improve gaming performance), DoubleShot Pro (prioritizes network traffic over multiple connections, i.e. Wi-Fi and wired) and xTend (allows the Wi-Fi module to serve as an access point).
According to Rivet Networks, the first systems that will ship with the Killer AX1650 will come from Alienware. We’d expect to see these systems arriving sometime around Computex, which kicks off on May 28th in Taipei, Taiwan.
