The arrival of WiFi 6 (or 802.11ax) brought numerous improvements to wireless Internet communications. The new standard enables faster speeds, lower latency, and more consistent connections in crowded wireless environments. The march of technology never stops, though, and even WiFi 6 is getting a major update. Say hello to WiFi 6E connectivity for your existing PC with the ASUS PCE-AXE58BT adapter card, launching at CES 2021.
The ASUS PCE-AXE58BT comes in the PCIe x1 form factor, making it dead simple to upgrade any PC new or old with WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 goodness. Just plug the card in and you’re done. The dual-band antenna base connects to the card with a generous length of cabling so that you can position it at an optimal location and angle for the best reception. The direct PCIe bus connectivity ensures you’re never constrained by USB port speeds and enjoy the lowest possible latency.
WiFi 6E is a superset of WiFi 6 that adds a huge 1.2GHz-wide chunk of radio spectrum for WiFi communication in the 6GHz band. Standard WiFi 6 makes excellent use of 5Ghz frequencies to offer speedy connectivity, but communications laws limit the number and width of channels in that range. That means that in crowded networks with many 5GHz devices, not everyone might get as fast a connection as theoretically possible.
The 6GHz spectrum, on the other hand, is fully available for WiFi devices, granting them all the airwaves they need to operate at supersonic speeds. What’s more, the 6GHz band will be open to devices that use the WiFi 6 protocols only, so even as many more devices begin talking on these airwaves, they’ll play well together.
With a compatible router, the PCE-AXE58BT can transfer as much as 2401Mbps across the 6GHz and 5GHz bands, and up to 574Mbps in the 2.4GHz band. In the higher frequency ranges, the PCE-AXE58BT can use the widest 160MHz channels and 1024-QAM for maximum bandwidth. Dual-stream connectivity is supported across any two active bands: 2.4GHz and either 5GHz or 6GHz.
The PCE-AXE58BT brings Bluetooth 5.2 to the party, too. This protocol is a superset of Bluetooth 5.0 and provides a handful of handy improvements. True wireless stereo transmits left and right audio channels independently from each other, instead of over one unified stream that must travel to the left headphone first, then be split and re-transmitted to the right side. This way, headphones and earbuds can save precious battery life and improve audio latency.
A new and improved LE Audio tunable codec also helps connected devices’ battery life by minimizing data usage. It allows you to easily share what you’re listening to (like YouTube or Spotify) with your friends, too. LE Power Control dynamically changes a device’s Bluetooth signal strength, bringing transmission power down when the devices are close or the airwaves are clear. Once more, this saves battery and makes for less-crowded airwaves in general, improving coexistence with other Bluetooth devices nearby.
For more information about pricing and availability of the PCE-AXE58BT wireless add-in card in your region, please contact your local ASUS representative.