Intel Killer NIC WiFi 7 Notebook Wireless Chipset Review

1. Introduction2. MSI Vector 16 HX AI A2XWIG and ASUS ROG Rapture GT-BE983. Intel Killer NIC Software4. Intel Killer NIC Analysis5. Closing Thoughts6. View All Pages

The normal rule of thumb is, if you want smooth, low latency gaming, you're better off with a wired network. But Intel reckons its Killer NIC technology can deliver the throughput and response for any kind of online entertainment – particularly when combined with WiFi 7. We explored what Intel Killer NIC has to offer, using an MSI laptop equipped with the technology and an ASUS router.

You probably won't be buying Intel Killer NIC WiFi technology on its own. You can purchase M.2 cards to upgrade your laptop, but the more likely approach will be obtaining the capabilities built into hardware from third parties. In our case, we based our review on an MSI Vector 16 HX AI A2XWIG laptop, equipped with Intel Killer BE WiFi 7 networking, and an ASUS ROG Rapture GT-BE98 wireless gaming router. The latter has the the ability to prioritise traffic from client systems with the Intel Killer Prioritization Engine, of which more later in this review.

The ASUS ROG Rapture GT-BE98 is an extremely high-end WiFi 7 router. This has a BE25000 rating, implying an aggregate 25,000Mbps bandwidth. This is split between four WiFi radios. The 2.4GHz one delivers up to 1,376Mbps, then there are two 5GHz radios offering 5,764Mbps apiece, and finally a single 6GHz radio providing 11,529Mbps. With the right WiFi 7 client, extremely high bandwidths will be available.

The main benefits of Intel Killer NIC technology come from configurations that optimise for different use cases, particularly gaming. The Intel Killer Prioritization Engine lets you give certain websites and apps precedence. The Intelligence Engine lets you analyse WiFi performance. DoubleShot Pro enables aggregation of wired LAN and WiFi for increased bandwidth. Read on to find out how this all works in practice.

The MSI Vector 16 HX AI A2XWIG is available from Scan UK for £2,699.99 inc VAT.

The ASUS ROG Rapture GT-BE98 is available from Scan UK for £599.99 inc VAT.

Specification (ASUS ROG Rapture GT-BE98):

• Wireless protocols: MU-MIMO with 802.11b/g/n/be 2.4GHz, 802.11a/n/ac/ax/be 5GHz and 6GHz
• Performance: BE25000 (11,529 + 5,760 + 5,760 + 1,376 Mbits/sec)
• Antenna Configuration: 8×8 external antennas
• Ports: 1 x 10Gigabit LAN, 3 x 2.5Gigabit LAN, 1 x Gigabit LAN, 1 x 2.5Gigabit Ethernet WAN/LAN, 1 x 10Gigabit WAN/LAN, 1 x USB 3.2 Gen1, 1 x USB 2.0
• Modem Support: Fibre, VDSL/ADSL 2+ or cable

Specification (MSI Vector 16 HX AI A2XWIG):

• CPU: Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX 24-core processor
• Memory: 32GB DDR5
• GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080
• Screen: 16in, 2,560 x 1,600
• SSD: 1GB NVMe M.2
• Networking: 2.5Gbit LAN, Intel Killer BE WiFi 7

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