Network card for WiFi 6 (160 MHz bandwidth)

[fabi_aka_gorky]

Hi!

I am looking for a PCI-E network card for my desktop computer that will support WiFi 6 at 160 MHz bandwidth.

My router is Huawei AX3 WS7100-20 (Dual-Core)
System: Windows 11 (64 bit)
 

So far I have had the opportunity to test 2 cards:
- Tenda E30
- Asus PCE-AX3000
 

The problem with them was that they were not able to connect to the network if the network’s bandwidth was set to 20/40/80/160 MHz.
Windows was showing that I was connected to the network but I couldn’t access the Internet or even router’s page.
In the case of 20/40/80 MHz cards were connecting without any problems, but the speed was ~250-300 Mbps
Other devices (Xiaomi 12, Quest 2) connect to the network without any problem (160 MHz) and reach speeds of 900+ Mbps
 

Both cards were using Intel AX200 module and I assume this is where the problem is
https://community.intel.com/t5/forums/searchpage/tab/message?q=AX200 160 MHz
 

Could you recommend any card that is reliable and will work with WiFi 6 160 MHz?

I was thinking about the Gigabyte GC-WBAX210, but I'm afraid of having problems again

Thanks in advance

[Alex Atkin UK]

9 hours ago, fabi_aka_gorky said:

Both cards were using Intel AX200 module and I assume this is where the problem is

https://community.intel.com/t5/forums/searchpage/tab/message?q=AX200 160 MHz
 

Could you recommend any card that is reliable and will work with WiFi 6 160 MHz?

I was thinking about the Gigabyte GC-WBAX210, but I'm afraid of having problems again

Thanks in advance

Interesting, I have several AX200 adapters and not had any problems connecting to a 160Mhz network.

I will say however I never got 160Mhz speeds out of the Honor Router 3, rarely do on any network I've tried.  It seems for 160Mhz to work you need absolutely ideal conditions, it will usually end up the same throughput as 80Mhz despite the link rate suggesting otherwise.

[Falcon1986]

23 hours ago, fabi_aka_gorky said:

Both cards were using Intel AX200 module

Most WiFi 6 network adapters out there are based on the Intel AX200 chipset. Third parties simply add on extra hardware like heatsinks or a conversion interface (e.g. to use in a PCIe slot) then rebrand as theirs. So you're not technically getting a different card if you buy another brand. However, I believe Broadcom has one, too. Might be difficult to find.

 

Some have said the Intel AX210 performs better and is more stable. This card has support for WiFi 6e, but is backwards compatible with WiFi 6.

 

23 hours ago, fabi_aka_gorky said:

I assume this is where the problem is
https://community.intel.com/t5/forums/searchpage/tab/message?q=AX200 160 MHz

I don't see anything useful there.

 

23 hours ago, fabi_aka_gorky said:

I am looking for a PCI-E network card for my desktop computer that will support WiFi 6 at 160 MHz bandwidth.

For what purpose? I hope you realize that doing this might only improve the link speed between adapter and AP. If your WAN speed is less, then you're wasting your time.

 

23 hours ago, fabi_aka_gorky said:

The problem with them was that they were not able to connect to the network if the network’s bandwidth was set to 20/40/80/160 MHz.
Windows was showing that I was connected to the network but I couldn’t access the Internet or even router’s page.
In the case of 20/40/80 MHz cards were connecting without any problems, but the speed was ~250-300 Mbps

What many people don't understand is that getting WiFi to run at 160MHz is not going to work all the time. Not only does the AP have to support that channel bandwidth, but the client adapter must be willing to negotiate a connection at the same bandwidth.

 

Firstly, Huawei and many other Asian brands of wireless routers design their hardware for their specific region, so certain channels (or channel blocks) might be restricted. As wide as the 5GHz spectrum is, once you start using 160MHz, you're now limited in what you can use, especially if there are other interfering wireless broadcasts.

 

Secondly, if your wireless router or AP only allows you to set channel widths like "20/40/80/160MHz", your router/AP will dynamically choose the channel width based on surveillance scans. If it detects radar on the DFS range or other strong broadcasts elsewhere, it will automatically downgrade the width to minimize interference. Sometimes, it's choices aren't quite compatible with some client devices, so these clients will not connect at all.

 

Finally, when you activate use of 160MHz, the range is reduced because more of the antenna output power has to be dedicated to the wider channel. Furthermore, it can take a while for a radio to become fully useable as scans try to determine what are best settings to settle on.

 

80MHz or even 40MHz might provide a more consistent connection for all your devices if they can still allow you to utilize close to the full speed of your internet connection.

[Alex Atkin UK]

1 hour ago, Falcon1986 said:

80MHz or even 40MHz might provide a more consistent connection for all your devices if they can still allow you to utilize close to the full speed of your internet connection.

Indeed.  I have a point to point link heavily obstructed across the road.  On a good day 80Mhz nets me a higher speed, but on a bad day (eg rain) 80Mhz will actually perform slower and less reliable than 40Mhz.

 

The basic principle is the narrower the channel width, the more reliable it will be especially at longer ranges.

 

I'm also the person who was singing the praises of the AX210, it does seem to perform better, though mainly on WiFi 5 funnily enough.

 

I'm also kinda confused at you saying its a Huawei AX3 WS7100-20 (Dual-Core) as everything I can find says that the only difference between the the AX3 and the Honor Router 3 is its quad-core with some extra router software features.  But I can say in my experience, 160Mhz didn't really offer any benefits on the Honor Router 3, I got identical speeds to 80Mhz except in some weird scenarios where the AX200 was under-performing which I think was just early driver issues.