ASRock offers the 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6E Kits, two expansion modules with Wi-Fi 6E with 6 GHz for systems with AMD and Intel CPUs. The modules designed for use in the M.2 slot in 2230 format use the CNVi2 interface and support Bluetooth 5.2 in addition to antenna technology 2 × 2 MU-MIMO.
Wi-Fi 6E for retrofitting for AMD and Intel
The expansion modules AMD 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6E Kit and Intel 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6E Kit measure 22 × 30 × 2.4 mm and extend existing systems via M.2 over PCIe with Wi-Fi 6 in the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands and the latest Wi-Fi 6E standard over the 6 GHz -Band.
802.11ax Wi-Fi 6E Kit for Intel (Image: ASRock)For users who want to upgrade their system with Wi-Fi 6E, however, there are some restrictions associated with the purchase of the kits. On the one hand, only ASRock motherboards are supported, on the other hand, Wi-Fi 6E is generally limited to Windows 11. Only Wi-Fi 6 – formerly IEEE 802.11ax – is available on Windows 10, Linux and Chrome OS.
The official technical specifications of the two expansion kits read as follows:
- AMD RZ608 NIC
- MediaTek MT7921K
- CNVio2
- Wi-Fi 6E (6 GHz)**
- Wi-Fi 6 (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz)
- 22 × 30 × 2.4mm
- 2 × 2 MU-MIMO
- Bluetooth 5.2
- M.2 2230
- Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX211
- CNVio2 Wi-Fi 6E (6GHz)**
- Wi-Fi 6 (2.4GHz, 5GHz)
- 22 × 30 × 2.4mm
- 2 × 2 MU-MIMO
- Bluetooth 5.2
- M.2 2230
*) only ASRock motherboards **) Wi-Fi 6E only with Windows 11
Support for socket AM4, 1151, 1200 and 1700
Officially, the AMD kit supports all chipsets for AMD's AM4 chipset and all PCH platforms for the three LGA sockets 1151, 1200 and 1700 from Intel. The Intel kit, however, is limited to the 600 chipsets Z690, H670 and B660 of the current Alder Lake CPU generation.
- Compatibility list for AMD 802.11ax Wi-Fi Kit
- Compatibility list for Intel 802.11ax Wi-Fi Kit
Ultimately to also be able to use Wi-Fi 6E, but you also need a router that already supports the new standard.
Windows 11 is becoming artificially compulsory
Even if many high-end mainboards already offer the Intel AX210 chipset, which already supports Wi-Fi 6E with the latest drivers, this alone is not enough to use Wi-Fi 6E as a private customer but Windows 11 must also be used. The editors also noticed this artificial limitation when testing the mesh WLAN system TP-Link Deco XE75 (test) with Wi-Fi 6E.