Is Intel gatekeeping WiFi 7? A very quick look at the Intel BE200.

SamB@lemmy.world to Technology@lemmy.world – 71 points –
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It seems that Intel is gatekeeping WiFi 7 and I analyzed the options that we currently have.

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I agree that it's very early to go with WiFi 7 at the moment. The issue that I have with the current situation is that Qualcomm managed to make a Wi-Fi 7 adapter which apparently works with AMD and Intel, while the BE200 is 'locked' to their platform only. They didn't even go with CNVi this time. It's just strange and may sway people towards a certain platform due to a simple compatibility issue like this.

Okay, so then the BE200 is an Intel product that offloads to the northbridge or CPU extensions...not that unusual. If it specifically says it supports only Intel chipsets, then you're getting exactly what they are promising, right?

Honestly, I don't know how the BE200 works and whether there's a strict communication protocol only with Intel CPUs. I hope that's not the case and a firmware update will widen its reach. As for why I don't like this situation is that we only get one solution working with one platform. Qualcomm, apparently made it available for both (from what I could find on the web), but since the card is not in stock since maybe November, we're stuck with what Intel wants to feed us. Sure, Intel can do whatever it wants, but it's not really fair for AMD users. Edit: spelling.

Honestly, I don't know how the BE200 works

My guess after skimming this thread:

Bare bones radio interface with all the smarts being done by CPU extensions and coprocessors in your existing chipset. If you don't have the extensions/coprocessors, no deal.

Very similar to Intel's video decoding enhancements where they stack a bunch of special instructions and hardware in the CPU to take the load off software video decoding.

Bare bones radio interface with all the smarts being done by CPU extensions and coprocessors

So if I understand this right, that means you already have wifi7 support, you just need to unlock it with the m.2 shaped key.

I've looked into getting one for my AMD laptop but I haven't actually got one yet. Some models are locked, some are not, here's my research:

  • The common BE200.NGWG is a CNVi module and everything except the radio itself was moved into Intel's CPUs, for cost savings.
  • The BE200.NGWG.NV is a normal NIC and should support AMD.
  • The BE200.NGWG.NVX - same as above but with an X?
  • Anything starting with BE202 sucks, avoid it.

I checked the official Intel page (https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/sku/230078/intel-wifi-7-be200/specifications.html) and there was no mention of CNVi. If you search for the visual difference between cards that use CNVio2 and those that use PCie, there is an actual difference at the connector level. I still don't think that the BE200 works in the same manner as the AX211.