this post was submitted on 06 Sep 2024
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Best PCIE wifi/bt for Linux at the moment (lemmy.ca)
submitted 2 months ago by BuoyantCitrus@lemmy.ca to c/linuxhardware@programming.dev
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Last time I needed to add rf to a desktop, Intel AX200 seemed like the chipset to get. But now there are various new standards and the BE200 apparently has issues with AMD systems? So is there something newish from Qualcomm or others that I should be aiming for or would I probably be better off just picking up an AX210?

Since the card might be kicking around a while I'm curious what has the best overall Linux support with as many significant 802.11 standards and Bluetooth codecs as possible for general future-proof-ness. Would also be nice if it had good support for AP mode as that's sometimes handy or I might repurpose it into a router at some point.

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[–] Jesus_666@lemmy.world 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Given that WiFi 7 isn't finished yet (everyone's working with a draft spec that's assumed to be closer enough to final) I'd go with an AX210 right now.

There are non-Intel WiFi 7 chipsets available (including a Qualcomm) but they're hard to obtain and obviously pretty bleeding edge. I'd just wait for now. If you need WiFi 7 later you can always upgrade. WiFi chipsets aren't terribly expensive.

[–] BuoyantCitrus@lemmy.ca 1 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Thanks, that's a significant detail. It also seems like Bluetooth 5.4 adds nothing relevant to my expected use cases: https://devzone.nordicsemi.com/nordic/nordic-blog/b/blog/posts/whats-new-in-bluetooth-v5-4-an-overview

Is there such a thing as a particularly good PCIE -> m.2 E key adapter or are they all pretty much equivalent? Specifically, are some antennae better than others or they're pretty much simple enough devices that they're going to be equivalent if they're remotely aiming at the same spec?

Unfortunately, it seems like Intel may be a bad bet in terms of use as an AP:

Intel cards are only usable as access points either in the 2.4 GHz band or (very rarely) on channel 36. This hardware restriction is stemming from the fact that they don't have the circuitry required for reacting to radar pulses, and therefore rely on the "proper" access point to tell them about radars.

Also it needs a USB header on my motherboard as apparently the BT aspect is based on that bus. So perhaps I'd be better off with a fully USB adapter, I wonder if there is a downside to that approach... Edit: PCIE is the way to go