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The first WiFi 7 routers may be starting to appear, but it's early days yet for the next generation wireless standard. Until then, a WiFi 6 router is a more sensible choice. However, there's a new flavour of WiFi 6 to tide you over until version 7 matures, called 6E, which adds a 6GHz waveband above the 5GHz of the non-E version. MSI had a new range of gaming routers on show at CES 2023, including the RadiX AXE6600, which aims to give you WiFi 6E and a host of features to improve your wireless experience.
The MSI RadiX AXE6600, as the name suggests, has an AXE6600 rating, which means it offers three radios that can simultaneously offer an aggregated total of 6,600Mbits/sec. It can operate at 5GHz, 2.4GHz, and the latest 6GHz frequencies. At 2.4GHz, the router can deliver up to 573.5Mbits/sec, but this more than doubles to 1,200Mbits/sec at 5GHz. The 6GHz waveband offers 4,800Mbits/sec.
The RadiX also promises gaming focused features including Quality of Service (QoS) settings that can prioritise gaming traffic. MSI claims this can reduce the ping by 90 per cent for extremely low latency when gaming – ensuring you can be one of those “Low Ping B*****ds”.
However, the AXE6600 is not to be confused with the almost identically named MSI RadiX AX6600. This doesn't have the 6GHz WiFi 6E support, although it superficially looks very similar and also has the QoS features of the AXE6600. MSI supplied us with its new AX1800 USB adapter to go with this review, but that is only WiFi 6.
In fact, there are precious few devices that do support 6GHz yet. Some USB-based adapters are coming, but right now the only option is a PCI Express card for a desktop PC. A few Apple products also support 6E, and a selection of notebooks.
The most eye-catching feature of the MSI RadiX AXE6600, literally, is that it incorporates lighting into its antennae, with shades that indicate the priority mode enabled – gaming, streaming, working from home or AI auto. A fairly typical set of physical ports is available, including four Gigabit Ethernet connections for wired devices. However, the broadband WAN port stretches to 2.5Gbit Ethernet. There's a USB 3.0 port for attaching storage to share across the network.
With its plethora of lights and decent specification, the MSI RadiX AXE6600 shows promise. Priced at a suggested £319, it's not cheap, when you can pick up WiFi 6 routers without 6GHz support for £100 less. Let's find out if it's worth the extra money.
The MSI RadiX AXE6600 has a suggested retail price of £319 inc VAT. Keep an eye on your favourite retailer for availability.
Specification:
- Wireless protocols: MU-MIMO with 802.11b/g/n 2.4GHz, 802.11a/n/ac/ax 5GHz/6GHz
- Performance: AXE6600 (4,800 + 1,200 + 600 Mbits/sec)
- Antenna Configuration: 6×6 external antennas
- Ports: 4 x Gigabit Ethernet, 1 x 2.5Gigabit Ethernet WAN, 1 x USB USB 3.0
- Modem Support: VDSL/ADSL 2+ or cable
