Intel is keen to highlight the compatibility of its recent processors with the Wi-Fi 6E standard. AMD wants to follow the same path. That’s why the company announced this week a partnership with MediaTek. The agreement between the two will make it easier for technology to reach Computers based on Ryzen chips.
Although it has now been made official, the partnership has been around for a few months. The proof came in May when the Aya Neo handheld PC was officially launched. At the time, AnandTech and other vehicles noticed that the final version of the device has a module for Wi-Fi 6E identified as AMD RZ608.
This detail caused surprise, after all, AMD does not develop modules for Wi-Fi. But AnandTech didn’t take long to figure out that the component is actually a MediaTek MT7921K module supplied with the AMD brand.
With this week’s announcement, AMD and MediaTek make this partnership official. Two products come out of it: the AMD RZ608 module itself, which works with 80 MHz channels and can transmit data at up to 1.2 Gb/s (gigabits per second); and the AMD RZ616 module, which works with 160 MHz channels and a 2.4 Gb/s rate.
Both components are based on MediaTek’s Filogic 330P chip, which is compatible with Wi-Fi 6 2×2 (at frequencies 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz) and 6E Wi-Fi (in bands from 6 GHz to 7.125 GHz). The chip also supports the Bluetooth 5.2 standard.
The two modules also have M.2 2230 format. The AMD RZ616 also has a version based on M.2 1216, a very small format and therefore suitable for portable equipment.
According to AMD, RZ608 and RZ616 modules will be present in Notebooks and Ryzen processor desktops released from 2022.
There is a good reason for AMD to invest in a partnership with a company that has no tradition in SOLUTIONS for PCs: to reduce the distance from its main rival.
Unlike AMD, Intel has its own Wi-Fi chips and, since May 2020, owns Rivet Networks, a company known for killer-branded Wi-Fi modules.
Both AMD and MediaTek ensure that the new modules have been optimized for a good experience. Regarding this aspect, both claim that they “developed and certified PCIe and USB interfaces for advanced states of hibernation and power administration, which are vital elements in customer use experiences.”