Killer AX1650 vs Intel AX200NGW - Which wifi card?

Title. They're both about the same price on Amazon. Which would you guys recommend over the other?

 

in hardware, they are both the same card, the 1650 is based on the intel 200. the 1650 just uses a different software package. i opted for the intel 200 because of easier sourcing and lower pricing.

 

Intel AX200. I have the Killer AX1650, you don't get anything useful from it, unless if you have a Killer Ethernet NIC. I also ordered an Intel AX200 to replace the Killer card that came with my laptop.

 

getting annoyed by the killer software suite? haha

 

I was okay with it at first, but after removing the software suite, I noticed I have much more stable download speeds, and my streaming doesn't collide with downloading, anymore. I then removed the software using the appropriate methods. These methods worked up until several days ago, when Windows Update forced the software back onto my computer, and the blocking process ceased to work again.

Having experience the "Killer" software suite, I am now much more sympathetic to complaints against it, especially since it's just corrupting a perfectly good Intel card.

 

Always intel, they are far more competent than Killer is when it comes to networking. Intel made the card, I trust intel knows how to write drivers for it. Killer 1103 and killer 1535 I’ve owned, both were terrible and replaced with proper high end intel cards with no regrets.

 

Killer makes 0 WiFi cards or drivers, both hardware and driver aspects come from the actual manufacturers Qualcomm for the 1535/1435 (rebranded QCA6174A) and Intel for the 1550 (aka Intel 9260ac) and 1650 (Intel AX200/201). Intel it seems does provide newer drivers on occasion to Killer before officially releasing it for the AX200, probably using Killer consumers as guinea pigs lol.

Only product Killer makes in house is that atrocious QoS software. Causes more issues than it’s worth. Also kinda pointless if you look at their test case scenarios to prop up their QoS software with like multiple video streams, downloads and a game running at the same time along with other stuff. I mean who does all that while playing a game, most don’t. Windows does a half decent job by itself honestly.

Just get the AX200, that way no auto installation through Windows Update of the Killer nonsense and no need to do extra work by installing the Killer blocking driver which at times has failed to “block” the Killer software package. Even after uninstalling you need to use a separate Killer uninstaller to remove residual files and I believe one running service, this is based on recent experience. Only reason I got the 1650 was because it was the only way to get an AX200 when it was first released. My recent purchases since then have been the actual AX200.


While people may argue over various things in tech like SSDs etc, dislike for Killer really brings people together lol.

 

Every time I get a laptop with killer wifi card, I always delete their killer programs.

 

And the likes of "Doubleshot Pro" work with your setup.
An assumption that Killer Networking Software makes is that there's no need to enable "Doubleshot Pro" if your machine's WiFi and ethernet are connected to the same router, making the feature moot for most home users with a similar setup.

The second biggest gripe with Killer Networking software's "Advanced Stream Detect" is how it messes up with DSCP Marking used by many network vendors for traffic prioritization and shaping (such as Cisco and Palo Alto). I kept wondering why, oh why no VPN connections made on Windows could be sustained for more than 5 minutes until I dug into this KB: https://support.killernetworking.co...websites-with-advanced-stream-detect-enabled/

Now, assume an average office guy/girl/them trying to figure out how and why his corporate VPN connection is not working and then boom, he/she/they are told to use a registry hack of sorts that explicitly disables DSCP marking to restore connectivity.

It's hard to take Rivet Networking seriously when a default installation breaks things it shouldn't be breaking with the assumption that some user will go into their registry to work around an issue that shouldn't be in the first place. Such an option to toggle DSCP marking should be on the main application's interface, right next to "Advanced Stream detect" with a big disclaimer on what its' likely to break.

Agreed.

 

Old topic, but had a question. Trying to decide if I need the 200 or 201 from Intel. Not sure what the difference is. I currently have an Aero 15xV8 with the killer 1550, if that helps. Thanks!

 

Get the AX200.. Functionally the AX200 and 201 are the same, the difference being that the AX200 is a full all in one solution as in WiFi chipset plus RF portion. The AX201 is a two part solution with the WiFi chipset in the CPU ( requires 9th gen Coffee Lake and newer CPUs) and the actual card only contains the RF (radio) portion. Some of the Coffee Lake based laptops seem to have bios issues when using the two part solutions so the AX200 is a safer bet.

 

@jrmtz85, unless your Aero came with the required complementary CPU/chipset, you can't use the AX201.

The AX200 is your best bet.

 

Thanks for clarifying, however, when I look for it on Amazon, like 6 versions of it show up, with different prices between 16-21... they made this hard didn't they...

 

Intel doesn't directly sell the cards anymore (last time was 8265, afaik), so basically everyone you find will be a 3rd party.