From smartphones to portable computing devices to traditional desktop PCs, the world has gradually moved toward a wireless future at home and on the go. Wi-Fi is the wireless networking standard in the computing and technology industry, dating back to the late 1990s. With Wi-Fi 7, the seventh generation is ready to be unleashed, a groundbreaking upgrade that will improve everything from everyday productivity to gaming to the quality of streaming media.
9VIEW GALLERY – 9 IMAGES
The successor to Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E, Wi-Fi 7 represents a significant generational leap in wireless technology – effectively doubling bandwidth and introducing groundbreaking multi-band connectivity. Wi-Fi 7 is poised to take full advantage of high-speed internet connections.
In the PC sector, GIGABYTE is leading the transition to Wi-Fi 7 with motherboards such as the Z790 AORUS XTREME X, Z790 AORUS MASTER XAnd Z790 AORUS ELITE X WIFI7. What makes Wi-Fi 7 different? How does it compare to existing technologies like Wi-Fi 6 or 6E? What do these new features and capabilities bring to PC gaming, the modern smart home, and streaming? Let’s dive deeper.
Wi-Fi 7 explained
9At the most basic level, Wi-Fi 7 (IEEE 802.11be) is the latest version of Wi-Fi. It promises faster connection speeds and lower latency while offering better and more advanced network management. Like previous versions, Wi-Fi 7 is fully backwards compatible with Wi-Fi 6 (IEEE 802.11ax) and Wi-Fi 5 (IEEE 802.11ac) technologies. Although it uses the same 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz bands as Wi-Fi 6E, Wi-Fi 7 significantly improves overall speeds thanks to massive bandwidth and transmission upgrades.
Wi-Fi 7 supports channels up to 320 MHz wide compared to Wi-Fi 6E’s 120 MHz. If you think of wireless bandwidth as lanes on a highway, not only do you have more than twice the number of lanes with Wi-Fi 7, but with 12-bit 4K quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) technology, the data (or vehicles) are now 20% faster. Wireless signals are now more densely packed than with 10-bit Wi-Fi 6, resulting in more, faster data.
9The Wi-Fi 7 powered GIGABYTE Z790 AORUS XTREME X motherboard can achieve wireless speeds of up to 5800Mbps via its ultra-high gain antenna. Compared to the 2400Mbps of Wi-Fi 6E, the speed of Wi-Fi 7 is groundbreaking. However, Multi-Link Operation (MLO) takes it to the next level.
Previous standards like Wi-Fi 6 allowed network adapters or devices to connect over a single band: 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, or the new 6 GHz. Multi-link operation means that with Wi-Fi 7, a device can connect over multiple bands for the first time, boosting speed with the increased bandwidth. And thanks to bands being used simultaneously, you’ll also have a more reliable Wi-Fi connection. If you’ve ever experienced a spotty or inconsistent Wi-Fi network, this feature also makes Wi-Fi 7 a winner.
Wi-Fi 7 enables next-generation gaming
9From Call of Duty to Fortnite to Helldivers 2, PC gaming often takes place over a network. The modern PC gaming rig is a collection of finely tuned hardware, from the latest Intel Core processors to GeForce RTX 40 series graphics cards to high-speed PCIe Gen5 SSD storage and DDR5 memory. With its DIY-friendly design and cutting-edge features, the GIGABYTE Z790 AORUS ELITE X motherboard supports and connects the latest PC hardware with the bonus of the new Wi-Fi 7 standard.
Low latency is an essential parameter for PC gaming, from input devices to the speed at which images are rendered on a display and, of course, the connection to a network or game server. Since Wi-Fi 7 supports channel bandwidth of up to 320 MHz, faster data rates and increased throughput dramatically reduce latency. But with Wi-Fi 7’s exclusive Multi-Link Operation (MLO) technology, you can game across 5 GHz and 6 GHz simultaneously. The result is faster speeds through aggregation, with multiple routes ensuring a more reliable, lower latency experience.
9This also applies to downloading game updates and new releases, which are around 50GB in size. Thanks to MLO technology and the advancements of Wi-Fi 7, you can use the 2.4GHz band to download a brand new game while playing an online title like Helldivers 2 wirelessly over 6GHz.
Wi-Fi 7’s improved bandwidth and lower latency also represent a game-changer for the future of virtual reality (VR). Wi-Fi 7 enables smooth, ultra-sharp 4K, low latency, and a wireless VR experience. With Wi-Fi 7, you don’t have to worry about running an Ethernet cable to your gaming PC for Call of Duty or a super-long cable to your VR headset for Half-Life: Alyx.
Media streaming with Wi-Fi 7
9Modern internet connections are faster than ever, but having the bandwidth and capacity to stream high-quality 4K content to multiple devices over a home network still requires the technology and hardware to do so. Wi-Fi 7’s technologies and advancements directly address the problem of network congestion, interference, and bottlenecks.
Wi-Fi 7 supports 320MHz wide channels to deliver more data for more reliable streaming. With the ability to aggregate lower bands and connect across multiple bands to a single device like the GIGABYTE Z790 AORUS ELITE X, reduced latency lets you unlock the full potential of your internet connection faster and with minimal lag – ideal for streaming media and browsing services like Netflix.
With MLO (Multi-Link Operation), bottlenecks where another service or app is using up bandwidth – such as Windows Update – are a thing of the past. Wi-Fi 7 can manage multiple connections across multiple bands with increased bandwidth and throughput. As in the gaming example, your GIGABYTE Wi-Fi 7 device can ensure smooth 4K video playback over 5GHz while system updates occur in the background over the 2.4GHz band.
A networked smart home
9The modern smart home is more than a PC, smartphone and TV connected online through a single network. Everything from refrigerators to microwaves to portable speakers and home security shows that a home network can be just as complex and complicated as the networks in a corporate environment. With that in mind, it’s easy to see why the new Wi-Fi 7 standard relies on increased bandwidth, data throughput, lower latency and multi-link operating technology.
And Wi-Fi 7 has even more to offer: New and improved technologies ensure that everything runs smoothly in a household full of game consoles, PCs, laptops, smartphones, 4K TVs, security cameras and home appliances. With up to 16×16 MU-MIMO (Multi-User Multiple-Input Multiple-Output), Wi-Fi 7 doubles the network capacity compared to Wi-Fi 6, supporting more devices.
9Multi-Resource Units (MRU) and puncturing are Wi-Fi 7-specific technologies that allow unused portions of channels to carry more data, further improving the reliability and speed of a network or device. With Wi-Fi 7, the future of networking is here.
If you want to build a new PC, Here you can find GIGABYTE’s range of Wi-Fi 7 based motherboards This means you can safely do without wireless devices when gaming, streaming media and more.
/GettyImages-1322266026.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.616.411.suffix/1717597075699.jpeg)
