AX200 compatibility with legacy MB

[Modd]

Hi there. Newbie here and look for any suggestions. Thanks in advance.

Try to update home router from Netgear R7000 to Asus AX86u. Also try to change some intel 9000 series wireless adapter to AX200/210. The problem is my z97+4790 rig now outdated a lot, and the intel representative told me the AX200 adapter unable to run on that platform.

The thing is I can’t find in the market any meaningful PCIe Wifi adapters using solutions predated AX200, and I indeed found an intel doc saying there shouldn’t be a problem when you run AX200 with a legacy CPU.

So, should I take the risk to update the PCIe WIFI adapter?

 

[L&LD]

Welcome to the forums @Modd.

I almost never recommend 'upgrading' a PCIe WiFi adaptor. Those things are going the way of the dinosaur for many years now and have never given a 'guaranteed' improvement in many cases.

What I do recommend is using a spare (or inexpensive) router as a Media Bridge instead. You may even find one for less than the WiFi adaptor you're considering.

The benefits of a Media Bridge are that the routers full power is used to connect back to your main router (with 3x3:3 or 4x4:4 antenna: streams), much more than any WiFi adaptor will currently allow. And it does so at full radio power (for your jurisdiction). You then plug in your desktop via Ethernet and experience the fastest connection possible. Without any dismantling of the PC, nor any fiddling with the drivers, etc.

Simply place the Media Bridge router where it has the strongest signal from the main router. Now, connect the PC (and any other wired capable devices) to the Media Bridge router.

 

[Modd]

Oh, my. I should have come here years ago to seek you guys’ inputs. Never thought about this before, although sometimes have been suspicious about the “updates” or “improvements”. Definitely I will give it a try this time.

 

[sfx2000]

Also try to change some intel 9000 series wireless adapter to AX200/210. The problem is my z97+4790 rig now outdated a lot, and the intel representative told me the AX200 adapter unable to run on that platform.

while some might disagree - a late model 2 stream Intel WiFi5 adapter will be 'just fine' - you won't notice a difference for the most part compared to a AX200/2xx card.

 

[L&LD]

@Modd, if it's still warm enough where you are to get to a garage/lawn sale, you may find a great router at bargain basement prices too.

 

[Samir]

And if you never want to worry about speeds--just run a cable over to the router. Once you've felt wired, you'll never deal with wireless again.

 

[Modd]

And if you never want to worry about speeds--just run a cable over to the router. Once you've felt wired, you'll never deal with wireless again.

Sure, but can’t risk my 2-year-old chewing the wire with joy.

 

[Modd]

Welcome to the forums @Modd.

I almost never recommend 'upgrading' a PCIe WiFi adaptor. Those things are going the way of the dinosaur for many years now and have never given a 'guaranteed' improvement in many cases.

What I do recommend is using a spare (or inexpensive) router as a Media Bridge instead. You may even find one for less than the WiFi adaptor you're considering.

The benefits of a Media Bridge are that the routers full power is used to connect back to your main router (with 3x3:3 or 4x4:4 antenna: streams), much more than any WiFi adaptor will currently allow. And it does so at full radio power (for your jurisdiction). You then plug in your desktop via Ethernet and experience the fastest connection possible. Without any dismantling of the PC, nor any fiddling with the drivers, etc.

Simply place the Media Bridge router where it has the strongest signal from the main router. Now, connect the PC (and any other wired capable devices) to the Media Bridge router.

Followed your advice with huge enthusiasm. But new problems arose.

Now I set the old Netgear r7000 on bridge mode, tried to connect it to the primary router Asus AX86u but failed.

It seems that my PC (connected to r7000 with wire) can’t get a proper IP address. The only thing this old rig can get is an IP like 169.254.xx. And I could find neither the r7000 or the PC in primary router’s DHCP client list.

Btw, I am not sure whether a bridged device (r7000) is able to get an IP because Google told me they work on different levels (layers).

Except that, The AX86u works fine. Other devices (including the PC) can connect to the internet through it without a blink. Tried on r7000 to turn off its own DHCP, update to latest firmware, change device name, manually or automatically set its IP and gateway, factory reset many times, no luck.

This is my first time setting up a bridged device. Never expected all these because the Netgear official doc describes the bridge mode settings with smooth and ease. I guess I missed something basic here but couldn’t figure out what it is. Any help?

 

[Modd]

It turns out that the latest Netgear stock firmware caused all these fuss. After I downgraded the firmware to some old version, it so far has not a single problem to connect to the AX86u all the way through the internet.

Doubt it’s my fault to “dirty flash” the latest stock firm.

 

[glens]

Also try to change some intel 9000 series wireless adapter to AX200/210. The problem is my z97+4790 rig now outdated a lot, and the intel representative told me the AX200 adapter unable to run on that platform.

The thing is I can’t find in the market any meaningful PCIe Wifi adapters using solutions predated AX200, and I indeed found an intel doc saying there shouldn’t be a problem when you run AX200 with a legacy CPU.

So, should I take the risk to update the PCIe WIFI adapter?

I've got an older laptop using PCIe for the wireless card, and wired is out of the question as it's only 100 Mb.

The Intel rep told you that because they never made a PCIe version of the AX200, but I found one on Amazon from someone who does put that chip on a PCIe card, and it works very well. Only downside is it was like $35.