

Netgear has been at the forefront of the SDVoE (Software-Defined Video over Ethernet) initiative with multiple AV switches serving the growing market. The ProAV lineup of managed switches have been sold primarily in a B2B setting by the Netgear Business division. These switches are increasingly becoming part of luxury residential installations requiring an AV-over-IP solution. As part of the CEDIA Expo 2022, Netgear is announcing a new 'Netgear Home Solutions' push. The intention is to take the same lineup of Netgear AV products sold by Netgear Business and target it towards both commercial and residential installations.

As part of this initiative, Netgear will be selling ProAV Managed Switches and ProWiFi Access Points to residential installers, along with the Pro version of Insight Remote Management and Pro Support. While the ProAV Managed Switches are already in the market, the new WAX628 and WAX638E APs are complementary to the currently existing [members of the Insight Access Point Portfolio](https://www.anandtech.com/show/17272).

[![](https://images.anandtech.com/doci/17592/ntgr-cedia-00_575px.png)](https://www.anandtech.com/show/17592/netgear-introduces-wifi-6-6e-access-points-and-services-for-residential-installers)

The WAX628 (already available for residential installers) slots in-between the dual-band AX3600 WAX620 and the tri-band AX6000 WAX630. This AX5400 dual-band solution supports 160 MHz channel bandwidth, and is accompanied by the AX7800 WAX638E which adds 6 GHz band support to the mix. The Wi-Fi 6E AP is slated to come to the market in the next few months.

Netgear is promising margin protection for installers by selling the ProAV and ProWiFi products only through the channel and not via Amazon or other e-tailers. Since these products are going to reach end-consumers through custom installers who have their own cost structures, the lack of any pricing information from Netgear is not surprising.

[![](https://images.anandtech.com/doci/17592/ntgr-cedia-01_575px.png)](https://www.anandtech.com/show/17592/netgear-introduces-wifi-6-6e-access-points-and-services-for-residential-installers)

Netgear's traditional consumer Wi-Fi router market has evolved rapidly over the last few years. Despite the success of Orbi (in both the consumer and SMB markets), new entrants like eero have gained significant mind and market share. In this context, Netgear has to look towards services and expand into new markets in order to maintain and build upon their technical leadership. Forays into lucrative niches like the residential installer market are not surprising.

Gallery: [Netgear Introduces Wi-Fi 6 / 6E Access Points and Services for Residential Installers](https://www.anandtech.com/Gallery/Album/8191)

[![](https://images.anandtech.com/galleries/8191/ntgr-cedia-00_carousel_thumb.png)](https://www.anandtech.com/Gallery/Album/8191#1)[![](https://images.anandtech.com/galleries/8191/ntgr-cedia-01_carousel_thumb.png)](https://www.anandtech.com/Gallery/Album/8191#2)[![](https://images.anandtech.com/galleries/8191/ntgr-cedia-carousel_thumb.png)](https://www.anandtech.com/Gallery/Album/8191#3)

[![](http://dynamic1.anandtech.com/www/delivery/avw.php?zoneid=24&cb=954250342&n=a1f2f01f)](http://dynamic1.anandtech.com/www/delivery/ck.php?n=a1f2f01f&cb=954250342)![](http://toptenreviews.122.2o7.net/b/ss/tmn-test/1/H.27.3--NS/0)

Netgear Introduces Wi-Fi 6 / 6E Access Points and Services for Residential Installers

Qualcomm this morning is taking the wraps off a pair of new SoCs for the mid-range and entry-level smartphone markets. Refreshing the company’s longstanding 600 and 400 series of chips, Qualcomm is announcing the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 and Snapdragon 4 Gen 1. Both SoCs are receiving similar spec bumps, incorporating newer and faster IP blocks from Qualcomm – such as Arm Cortex-A78 derived CPU cores – as well as moving to newer, more contemporary manufacturing processes.

The Snapdragon 600/400 lineups were last updated in mid and early 2021 respectively, so as Qualcomm is already preparing for 2023, the time has finally come to update the bottom half of their product stack. Following Qualcomm’s broad cascading IP strategy, this generation of parts sees both SoC lineups migrate to Cortax-A78 CPUs for their main CPU cores, and in the case of the 6 Gen 1, doubling the number of high-performance CPU cores. Both SoCs also come with faster Adreno GPUs, though in traditional Qualcomm fashion, the company isn’t offering much in the way of details on the underlying hardware there.

Notably, however, Qualcomm’s 2023 mid-range/low-end parts aren’t making the jump to the Armv9 architecture. Unlike the 8 Gen 1 and 7 Gen 1, which incorporated Arm’s new Armv9 cores, Qualcomm’s cascading development strategy means that the 6 and 4 series will remain a bit farther behind the curve. For end users this should have little significance for the moment, but for smartphone vendors and software developers, it does mean Qualcomm won’t complete the Armv9 transition for at least another generation.

Meanwhile, coming up on nearly a year since Qualcomm announced their initial [Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC](https://www.anandtech.com/show/17091/qualcomm-announces-snapdragon-8-gen-1-flagship-soc-for-2022-devices), today’s announcement from Qualcomm brings their remaining smartphone SoC families in alignment with their new product branding strategy. The 6 and 4 series pick up from where the 600 and 400 series left off, respectively, resetting the counted with the inaugural Gen 1 parts. Like the rest of simplified “Gen” series, this also means that Qualcomm is doing away with individual model numbers for its Kyro/Hexagon/Adreno/Spectra blocks, obfuscating a bit what generation of IP Qualcomm is using there.

Qualcomm Unveils Snapdragon 6 And 4 Gen 1 Platforms To Supercharge Midrange Devices

The new Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 and Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 will bring some premium features to affordable smartphones

Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 and Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 chips launch for mid-range and budget phones

Qualcomm Unveils Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 and 4 Gen 1 SoCs: Updating Mid-Range and Entry-Level Phones

Over the last decade or so, advancements in CPU and GPU architectures have combined extremely well with the relentless march of Moore's Law on the silicon front. Together, these have resulted in hand-held devices that have more computing power than huge and power-hungry machines from the turn of the century. On the desktop front, small form-factor (SFF) machines are now becoming a viable option for demanding professional use-cases. CAD, modeling, and simulation capabilities that required big iron servers or massive tower workstations just a few years back are now capable of being served by compact systems.

Workstation notebooks integrating top-end mobile CPUs and professional graphics solutions from AMD (FirePro) or NVIDIA (Quadro Mobile / RTX Professional) have been around since the mid-2000s. The advent of UCFF and SFF PCs has slowly brought these notebook platforms to the desktop. Zotac was one of the [early players](https://www.anandtech.com/show/12315/zotac-ces-2018-workstation-zbox-nvidia-quadro-p5000-p3000-p1000) in this market, and continues to introduce new products in the Zotac ZBOX Q Series. The company has two distinct lines - one with a notebook CPU and a professional mobile GPU (with a 2.65L volume), and another with a workstation CPU (Xeons up to 80W) and a professional mobile GPU (with a 5.85L volume).

Today, Lenovo is also entering the SFF workstation PC market with its ThinkStation P360 Ultra models. The company already has tiny workstations that do not include support for discrete GPUs, and that is fixed in the new Ultra systems. Featuring desktop Alder Lake with an Intel W680 chipset (allowing for ECC RAM option), these systems also optionally support discrete graphics cards - up to NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile. Four SODIMM slots allow for up to 128GB of ECC or non-ECC DDR5-4000 memory. Two PCIe Gen 4 x4 M.2 slots and a SATA III port behind a 2.5" drive slot are also available, with RAID possibility for the M.2 SSDs. Depending on the choice of CPU and GPU, Lenovo plans to equip the system with one of three 89% efficiency external power adapters - 170W, 230W, or 300W.

Gallery: [Lenovo ThinkStation P360 Ultra](https://www.anandtech.com/Gallery/Album/8158)

[![](https://images.anandtech.com/galleries/8158/01_P360_Ultra_Hero_Front_Facing_Right_thumb.jpg)](https://www.anandtech.com/Gallery/Album/8158#1)[![](https://images.anandtech.com/galleries/8158/02_P360_Ultra_Hero_Front_Facing_Left_thumb.jpg)](https://www.anandtech.com/Gallery/Album/8158#2)[![](https://images.anandtech.com/galleries/8158/03_P360_Ultra_Hero_Front_Facing_Right_thumb.jpg)](https://www.anandtech.com/Gallery/Album/8158#3)[![](https://images.anandtech.com/galleries/8158/04_P360_Ultra_Hero_Front_Facing_Left_thumb.jpg)](https://www.anandtech.com/Gallery/Album/8158#4)[![](https://images.anandtech.com/galleries/8158/05_P360_Ultra_Hero_Flat_Right_thumb.jpg)](https://www.anandtech.com/Gallery/Album/8158#5)[![](https://images.anandtech.com/galleries/8158/07_P360_Ultra_Tour_Front_Forward_Facing_thumb.jpg)](https://www.anandtech.com/Gallery/Album/8158#6)

The front panel has a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A and two Thunderbolt 4 Type-C ports, as well as a combo audio jack. The vanilla iGPU version has four USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, three DisplayPort 1.4 ports, and two RJ-45 LAN ports (1x 2.5 GbE, and 1x 1 GbE). On the WLAN front, the non-vPro option is the Wi-Fi 6 AX201, while the vPro one is the Wi-Fi 6E AX211. In addition to the PCIe 4.0 x16 expansion slot for the discrete GPU, the system also includes support for a PCIe 3.0 x4 card such as the Intel I350-T2 dual-port Gigabit Ethernet Adapter.

[![](https://images.anandtech.com/doci/17458/cut-out_575px.png)](https://www.anandtech.com/show/17458/lenovo-thinkstation-p360-ultra-melds-desktop-alder-lake-and-nvidia-professional-graphics)

With dimensions of 87mm x 223mm x 202mm, the whole package comes in at 3.92L. In order to cram the functionality into such a chassis, Lenovo has employed a custom dual-sided motherboard with a unique cooling solution, as indicated in the teardown picture above. A blower fan is placed above the two M.2 slots to ensure that thte PCIe Gen 4 M.2 SSDs can operate without any thermal issues.

[![](https://images.anandtech.com/doci/17458/cooling-01_575px.png)](https://www.anandtech.com/show/17458/lenovo-thinkstation-p360-ultra-melds-desktop-alder-lake-and-nvidia-professional-graphics)

As is usual for Lenovo's business / professional-oriented PCs, these systems are tested to military grade requirements and come with ISV certifications fro companies such as Autodesk, ANSYS, Dassault, PTC, Siemens, etc. Pricing starts at $1299 for the base model without a discrete GPU.

The ThinkStation P360 Ultra joins Lenovo's already-announced [P360 Tiny](https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/p/workstations/thinkstation-p-series/thinkstation-p360-tiny/30fa0023us) and the [P360 Tower](https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/p/workstations/thinkstation-p-series/thinkstation-p360-tower/len102s0006) models. The P360 Tiny doesn't support discrete GPUs, while the P360 Tower goes overboard with support for 3.5" drives, and up to four PCIe expansion cards, along with a 750W PSU. Most workstation use-cases can get by without all those bells and whistles. Additional options for the end consumer are always welcome, and that is where the P360 Ultra comes into play.

Lenovo’s Latest ThinkStation Shoves Big Specs in a Small Package

Lenovo's Latest ThinkStation Is A Diminutive Workhorse

Lenovo Announces ThinkStation P360 Ultra Desktop Workstation

Lenovo ThinkStation P360 Ultra Melds Desktop Alder Lake and NVIDIA Professional Graphics

Western Digital is announcing a host of consumer-focused SSD solutions today at its _What's Next Western Digital Event_. The gaming-focused WD\_BLACK is getting the SN850X NVMe SSD and the P40 Game Drive SSD, while the SN740 is now making an appearance as PCIe 4.0-capable M.2 2230 NVMe SSD under the regular _Western Digital_ brand.

The WD\_BLACK drives are slated for a summer release. The SN850X is a PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe SSD with read speeds of up to 7300 MBps, and will be available in 1TB ($190 MSRP), 2TB, and 4TB capacities. The 1TB and 2TB models have an optional heat sink with RGB lighting included. Official datasheets with additional details are expected closer to launch in July 2022.

[![](https://images.anandtech.com/doci/17380/sn850x_575px.jpg)](https://www.anandtech.com/show/17380/western-digital-announces-wd_black-sn850x-nvme-and-p40-game-drive-ssds)

[![](https://images.anandtech.com/doci/17380/p40-rgb_575px.png)](https://www.anandtech.com/show/17380/western-digital-announces-wd_black-sn850x-nvme-and-p40-game-drive-ssds)

The P40 Game Drive SSD is a USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20Gbps) external drive that builds upon the [P50 model](https://www.anandtech.com/show/17052) by adding RGB lighting to the casing. It will be available in 500GB ($120 MSRP), 1TB, and 2TB capacities in summer 2022.

Western Digital also talked about the new 'Game Mode 2.0' feature in the WD\_BLACK Dashboard for unlocking additional performance-boosting features on Windows PCs. This mode is available for the SN850X NVMe SSD. The dashboard software can also be used with the P40 Game Drive to control the RGB lighting.

Western Digital Announces WD_BLACK SN850X NVMe and P40 Game Drive SSDs

The last few months have seen multiple vendors launch products in the Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) space. Mediatek [demonstrated](https://corp.mediatek.com/news-events/press-releases/mediatek-shows-the-worlds-first-live-demos-of-wi-fi-7-technology-to-customers-and-industry-leaders) working 802.11be-compliant silicon under the Filogic lineup earlier this year. Concrete technical details and part numbers were not announced during the event. Last month, Broadcom [introduced](https://www.anandtech.com/show/17346) a comprehensive Wi-Fi 7 portfolio, detailing multiple 802.11be radios for access points, a networking SoC built keeping 802.11be bandwidth in mind, and a client radio for mobile applications.

### Wi-Fi 7 / 802.11be Background

The 802.11 Working Group's focus with 802.11be has been on extremely high throughput. This has been achieved primarily through a combination of three different aspects:

*   Support for up to 16 spatial streams
*   Support for channel widths up to 320MHz (with operation in 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz bands)
*   Support for 4096-QAM (4K-QAM) resulting in better utilization of available spectrum (a faster modulation / coding scheme).

It must be noted that wider channels are available only in the 5 GHz and 6 GHz bands.

[![](https://images.anandtech.com/doci/17369/03-chwd4qam_575px.png)](https://www.anandtech.com/show/17369/qualcomm-launches-wifi-7-networking-pro-series-for-10gbps-access-points)

Theoretically, these aspects allow for up to around 46 Gbps of wireless throughput. 802.11be also aims to enable usage of Wi-Fi for real-time applications by including features for low-latency communications such as Multi-link operation (MLO). This allows a client and an access point to simultaneously communicate over multiple channels that might even belong to different bands.

[![](https://images.anandtech.com/doci/17369/04-mloop_575px.png)](https://www.anandtech.com/show/17369/qualcomm-launches-wifi-7-networking-pro-series-for-10gbps-access-points)

The 802.11be specifications also allow for better performance in environments with heavy interference by permitting adaptive puncturing - the desired channel need not be necessarily contiguous. This improves on the preamble puncturing feature already available as part of the 802.11ax specifications.

[![](https://images.anandtech.com/doci/17369/05-adappunc_575px.png)](https://www.anandtech.com/show/17369/qualcomm-launches-wifi-7-networking-pro-series-for-10gbps-access-points)

Interference and co-existence with non-Wi-Fi users of the same spectrum is handled using automatic frequency coordination (AFC). Unlike the Open AFC initiative (of which Broadcom is a part), Qualcomm is opting to provide its own turnkey solution for its customers.

[![](https://images.anandtech.com/doci/17369/07-qcomafc_575px.png)](https://www.anandtech.com/show/17369/qualcomm-launches-wifi-7-networking-pro-series-for-10gbps-access-points)

As expected, AFC will require the device agent to be connected to the Internet for channel configuration and power modulation purposes.

### Qualcomm's Wi-Fi 7 Portfolio

At MWC 2022, Qualcomm had provided details of their 802.11be client silicon targeting mobile devices. The [FastConnect 7800](https://www.qualcomm.com/news/releases/2022/02/28/qualcomm-extends-connectivity-leadership-worlds-first-and-fastest-wi-fi-7) is expected to become available in H2 2022, and integrates Bluetooth 5.3 support with key Wi-Fi 7 features. Today, the company is introducing its Wi-Fi 7 Networking Pro Series access point platforms to expand its Wi-Fi 7 portfolio.

[![](https://images.anandtech.com/doci/17369/00-compecos_575px.png)](https://www.anandtech.com/show/17369/qualcomm-launches-wifi-7-networking-pro-series-for-10gbps-access-points)

Qualcomm started marketing its Wi-Fi solutions under the Networking Pro and FastConnect monikers back in 2019, with the launch of its [Wi-Fi 6 solutions](https://www.anandtech.com/show/14789/qualcomm-wifi-6-2019). The 2nd generation products catered to the Wi-Fi 6E ecosystem, and it comes as no surprise that today's 3rd Gen. launch focuses on Wi-Fi 7.

The introduction of the Networking Pro tag has contributed to opaqueness in the composition of the router / AP platforms from a end-consumer perspective. Unlike Broadcom's public announcement of core details of the networking SoC, and characteristics of the various radio options for its reference designs, Qualcomm provides these details only to their customers. Eventually, these details do become public after market availability of the products. For example, the Networking Pro 800 platform's breakdown is available [here](http://www.bitswrt.com/ipq817x.html) - we see a core WiSoC with integrated MAC and baseband coupled with discrete radios. Therefore, it is disappointing that Qualcomm has not given us much to analyze in today's announcements beyond basic product specifications. These high-level feature specifications match the features in Broadcom's products announced last month.

[![](https://images.anandtech.com/doci/17369/01-imhmnpro_575px.png)](https://www.anandtech.com/show/17369/qualcomm-launches-wifi-7-networking-pro-series-for-10gbps-access-points)

It must be noted that Qualcomm also provides the 'Immersive Home' platform for entry-level Wi-Fi routers. These are typically similar to the 'Networking Pro' platforms, except for cut-down stream counts and reduced WiSoC capabilities in terms of CPU core counts and frequencies. Given that Qualcomm refused to provide any details of CPU core counts or frequencies for the Networking Pro series being launched today, we need to wait for an official announcement related to their Wi-Fi 7 portfolio for the cost-sensitive segment.

The 3rd Gen. Networking Pro series consists of four members, with stream counts ranging from 6 in the Networking Pro 620 to 16 in the Networking Pro 1620. Radio options exist for two or four streams in each of the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz bands.

[![](https://images.anandtech.com/doci/17369/02-npro3gen_575px.png)](https://www.anandtech.com/show/17369/qualcomm-launches-wifi-7-networking-pro-series-for-10gbps-access-points)

Qualcomm claims peak system PHY rates of up to 33 Gbps, and per-channel wireless PHY rates of more than 10 Gbps, with the capability of supporting more than 500 users in each channel.

The availability of 6 GHz spectrum for Wi-Fi is not universal. Qualcomm indicated that different configurations of the Networking Pro 3rd Gen series are possible, based on the allocation.

[![](https://images.anandtech.com/doci/17369/06-band2cfg_575px.png)](https://www.anandtech.com/show/17369/qualcomm-launches-wifi-7-networking-pro-series-for-10gbps-access-points)

Qualcomm's Wi-Fi 7 Networking Pro series will allow its customers to create a wide range of enterprise-class and premium wireless access points / routers. The platforms are already sampling - we should be seeing market availability of BE10000, BE16000, BE21000, and BE33000 Wi-Fi routers based on them in a few quarters.

5G-based fixed wireless access is fast becoming an attractive option for many consumers - sometimes even as the primary broadband connection. Qualcomm's strengths in 5G will act as an asset from a bundling perspective for integrated Wi-Fi 7 / 5G platforms. However, Broadcom has significant presence with service providers for 10G PON and DOCSIS 4.0. It is likely that those high-speed ISPs will find Broadcom's possible bundled offerings attractive for their Wi-Fi 7-capable consumer gateways. While we wait for Mediatek and MaxLinear (to whom Intel sold their Home Gateway Platform Division) to reveal their Wi-Fi 7 cards fully, it appears that initial battle will be between products based on Qualcomm's 3rd Gen. Networking Pro series and those using Broadcom's Wi-Fi 7 portfolio.

Qualcomm Launches Wi-Fi 7 Networking Pro Series for 10Gbps Access Points

Kicking off what’s set to be a busy May, this morning the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA), the PC display industry’s primary consortium, is rolling out a new set of performance standards for variable refresh rate displays. Dubbed AdaptiveSync and MediaSync, these new test standards are designed to offer an industry-neural and open specification for the behavior and performance of DisplayPort displays. AdaptiveSync is a standard designed for high-end gaming displays, while MediaSync is aimed at eliminating video jitter on a much wider array of devices.

VESA Launches Variable Refresh Display Performance Standards: AdaptiveSync and MediaSync

Kioxia this morning is rolling out its next-generation of full-size client SSDs, the XG8 family. Like its predecessors, the XG8 is aimed at the OEM market, for customers who are after a full M.2 2280-sized drive and are looking for better performance than the company’s more integrated and compact BG-series drives. Notable features for the latest-generation drive include a PCIe 4.0-capable controller, as well as capacities as high as 4TB.

And while we’d normally use the company’s previous-generation drive as a baseline to illustrate what’s new with the latest drive, today’s announcement of the XG8 is a bit weird, even by Kioxia’s own OEM-centric standards. The predecessor to the XG8 is the [XG7](https://www.anandtech.com/show/16231/kioxia-announces-xg7-pcie-40-client-ssds), which was launched in November of 2020 with a very similar feature set: a PCIe 4.0 M.2 2280 SSD with capacities up to 4TB. However, for reasons we’re still not entirely clear on, the XG7 only saw a very limited deployment among OEMs, to the point that Kioxia never even put together a proper product page for the part. As a result, the company is taking a mulligan of sorts and is starting fresh with the XG8, positioning it as the successor to the PCIe 3/BiCS4-based [XG6](https://www.anandtech.com/show/13254/the-toshiba-xg6-1tb-ssd-review-first-96l-3d-nand).

Kioxia XG8 SSD Specifications

Capacity

512 GB

1 TB

2 TB

4 TB

Form Factor

M.2 2280

Interface

PCIe Gen4 x4, NVMe 1.4

NAND Flash

112L BiCS5 3D TLC

Starting with the basics, the XG8 is a M.2 2280 form factor SSD with a PCIe 4.0 x4 connection. Kioxia is using their 5th generation, 112-layer BiCS5 NAND, with capacities ranging from 512GB up to 4TB. That NAND is being paired with their own in-house controller, which offers NVMe 1.4 support as well as the option for the usual OEM-centric security features such as TCG Pyrite 2.01 and TCG Opal 2.01.

Kioxia classifies the drive as a high-end product – particularly in relation to the [BG5](https://www.anandtech.com/show/17068/kioxia-updates-m2-2230-ssd-lineup-with-bg5-series-adding-pcie-40-and-bics5-nand) – though as this is again by OEM standards, it’s a bit up in the air by enthusiast standards. Unfortunately, Kioxia isn’t providing any hard performance figures in advance of today’s announcement, so we don’t even have on-paper numbers to go by. For the moment, Kioxia is primarily throwing around 2x the performance of the XG6, most of which I’d expect to come from the switch to PCIe 4.0 and the additional host-to-controller bandwidth that affords.

Based on the lack of specification information and the fact that so many figures line up with the absentee XG7, it’s not at all clear what sets the XG8 apart from its more recent sibling. Presumably something has changed, if only to avoid another misfire, but at this point we’d just be guessing. Though it is notable that this drive family appears to be doing away with the ‘P’ designation that Kioxia used for high capacity drives in previous generations (e.g. XG6-P), as there is no mention of that sub-family of drives this time around.

Finally, this is probably one of the last BiCS5 client drives we’ll see from Kioxia. The WD/Kioxia joint venture has been producing BiCS5 NAND since late 2020, and according to recent WD earnings calls, 162L BiCS6 is expected to go into mass production late this year.

In the meantime, the XG8 is now sampling to Kioxia’s customers, and should start showing up in OEM laptops and desktops soon.

Kioxia Announces XG8 Client SSDs: PCIe 4.0 and BiCS5 For OEMs

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. has solid plans for the next few years, but the foundry's manufacturing technology design cycles are getting longer. As a result, to address all of its clients' needs, the company will have to keep offering half-nodes, enhanced, and specialized versions of its fabrication processes.TSMC's success in the last 20 years or so was largely conditioned by the company's ability to offer a new manufacturing technology with PPA (power, performance, area) improvements every year and introduce a brand-new node every 18 – 24 months while maintaining predictably high yields. But as complexity of modern fabrication processes gets to unprecedented levels, it is getting much harder to keep the pace of innovation while also sustaining predictable yields and simple design principles.With TSMC's [N3 node](https://www.anandtech.com/show/16024/tsmc-details-3nm-process-technology-details-full-node-scaling-for-2h22), the gap between N5 (5 nm-class) ramp up and N3 (3 nm-class) ramp up will increase to around 2.5 years, which may pose some challenges to the foundry's key customer, Apple. The good news is that N3's follow up, N3E, seems to be coming in ahead of schedule. Meanwhile, with N2, the cadence is set to stretch to about three years, which largely means a strategic shift in TSMC's strategy of node development.

TSMC Roadmap Update: N3E in 2024, N2 in 2026, Major Changes Incoming

The last few years have seen heightened consumer focus on wireless networking. The industry has also been quite busy, enabling the operation of Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) in the 6GHz band with Wi-Fi 6E. In parallel, the 802.11 Working Group had started work on 802.11be with a focus on extremely high throughput (EHT). Wi-Fi 7 is set to become the consumer-facing moniker for 802.11be.

802.11be aims to achieve high throughput primarily through a combination of three aspects:

*   Support for up to 16 spatial streams
*   Support for 320MHz-wide channels (with operation in 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz bands)
*   Support for 4096-QAM (4K-QAM) resulting in better utilization of available spectrum (a faster modulation / coding scheme).

Theoretically, these aspects allow for up to around 46 Gbps of wireless throughput. 802.11be also aims to enable usage of Wi-Fi for real-time applications by including features for low-latency communications such as Multi-link operation (MLO). This allows a client and an access point to simultaneously communicate over multiple channels that might even belong to different bands. Interference and co-existence with non-Wi-Fi users of the same spectrum is handled using automatic frequency coordination (AFC).

[![](https://images.anandtech.com/doci/17346/wifi7-features_575px.png)](https://www.anandtech.com/show/17346/broadcom-launches-wifi-7-portfolio-for-access-points-and-client-devices)

A number of additional features targeting these two thrust areas are under consideration for the final standard. However, multiple silicon vendors have already started introducing silicon supporting variations of the aspects included in the first 802.11be draft specifications.

Mediatek was one of the first vendors to [demonstrate](https://corp.mediatek.com/news-events/press-releases/mediatek-shows-the-worlds-first-live-demos-of-wi-fi-7-technology-to-customers-and-industry-leaders) working 802.11be-compliant silicon earlier this year. Though Mediatek indicated that the products would be marketed under the Filogic lineup, concrete technical details and part numbers were not announced. At MWC 2022, Qualcomm provided details of their 802.11be client silicon targeting mobile devices. The [FastConnect 7800](https://www.qualcomm.com/news/releases/2022/02/28/qualcomm-extends-connectivity-leadership-worlds-first-and-fastest-wi-fi-7) is expected to become available in H2 2022, and integrates Bluetooth 5.3 support with key Wi-Fi 7 features.

Broadcom is announcing a comprehensive portfolio of products targeting various Wi-Fi 7 markets today.

[![](https://images.anandtech.com/doci/17346/brcm-prod-eco_575px.png)](https://www.anandtech.com/show/17346/broadcom-launches-wifi-7-portfolio-for-access-points-and-client-devices)

The table below summarize the key features of the products targeting access points. All of these support 4K-QAM and Multi-Link Operation.

Broadcom 802.11be (Wi-Fi) Access Point Radios Specifications

 

BCM67263

BCM6726

BCMN43740

BCMN43720

Target Market

Residential Wi-Fi APs

Enterprise Wi-Fi APs

Operational Band

6 GHz

2.4 GHz (or) 5 GHz (or) 6 GHz

Stream Count

4

2

Max. Channel Width

320 MHz

160 MHz

320 MHz

160 MHz

PHY Rate

11.5 Gbps

5.75 Gbps

11.5 Gbps

2.88 Gbps

The AP products support AFC in order to ensure that 6GHz range is not affected (the APs are mandated to receive regularly scheduled clearance from a central authority to prevent interference with 6 GHz spectrum users). Broadcom has applied to be an AFC operator and will offer AFC service with their chips. This will use [Open AFC code](https://www.broadcom.com/blog/open-afc-is-the-key-to-next-generation-6ghz-wi-fi). Broadcom also believes a vibrant Wi-Fi 7 ecosystem requires an AFC service that the device makers can use independent of the chip vendor. Organizations such as the Wi-Fi Alliance, and Wireless Broadband Alliance have applied to be AFC operators, with Open AFC already gaining traction in this.

Tying these together in Broadcom's Wi-Fi 7 router reference design is the BCM4916 network processor. This ARM v8-compatible quad-core SoC includes a dual-issue Runner packet processor (DI-XRDP), an integrated NBASE-T (up to 10G) Ethernet PHY for WAN or LAN, four integrated 1GbE PHYs, three USXGMII interfaces, multiple USB ports, and a 32-bit DDR3/DDR4 DRAM interface.

[![](https://images.anandtech.com/doci/17346/bcm4916nproc_575px.png)](https://www.anandtech.com/show/17346/broadcom-launches-wifi-7-portfolio-for-access-points-and-client-devices)

The quad-core CPU is a custom Broadcom design with 64KB of L1 cache and 1MB of L2 cache, providing up to 24K DMIPS horsepower. Without the knowledge of exact clock speeds, it is difficult to compare against the standard Cortex cores from ARM. Based on the DMIPS number, this appears to slot in-between a Cortex-A53 and an A57, but does not include the ARM v8.2 features of the A55.

[![](https://images.anandtech.com/doci/17346/wifi7-ref-design_575px.png)](https://www.anandtech.com/show/17346/broadcom-launches-wifi-7-portfolio-for-access-points-and-client-devices)

Broadcom's customers can play around with the radio configuration in the above design to create products at different price points. Tri-band support becomes compulsory in Wi-Fi 7. The extremely high throughput enabled by this means that 10G support on the WAN/LAN side and NBASE-T support on the LAN front will become the de-facto standard for routers and APs in the coming years.

Broadcom is also introducing the BCM4398 - an integrated Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5 combo chip targeting smartphones and other mobile applications. It supports two streams of Wi-Fi 7, channel width of up to 320 MHz, and a 6.05 Gbps PHY rate. On the client side, one of the key user-visible updates is low-latency operation. Broadcom claims that the BCM4398 can achieve sub-millisecond latencies for lightly congested environments in the 6 GHz band. The client multi-link operation feature can keep both uplink and downlink latencies between 5 and 10ms in situations where both 5 and 6 GHz bands are highly congested. This provides determinism for AR/VR knowing that worst case latencies will be down to a few milliseconds even during heavy congestion.

[![](https://images.anandtech.com/doci/17346/wifi7-adv-last_575px.png)](https://www.anandtech.com/show/17346/broadcom-launches-wifi-7-portfolio-for-access-points-and-client-devices)

Broadcom is the first vendor to announce a complete portfolio of Wi-Fi 7 products, with sampling for key customers already in progress. The new products should give end-consumers a taste of the values delivered by Wi-Fi 7 for different applications a few quarters from now.

Broadcom Launches Wi-Fi 7 Portfolio for Access Points and Client Devices

There's been a lot of focus on how both Intel and AMD are planning for the future in packaging their dies to increase overall performance and mitigate higher manufacturing costs. For AMD, that next step has been V-cache, an additional L3 cache (SRAM) chiplet that's designed to be 3D die stacked on top of an existing Zen 3 chiplet, tripling the total about of L3 cache available. Now AMD's V-cache technology is finally becoming available to the mass market, as AMD's EPYC 7003X "Milan-X" server CPUs have now reached general availability.

As first announced late last year, [AMD is bringing its 3D V-Cache technology to the enterprise market through Milan-X](https://www.anandtech.com/show/17053/amd-confirms-milan-x-with-768-mb-l3-cache-coming-in-q1-2022), an advanced variant of its current-generation 3rd Gen Milan-based EPYC 7003 processors. AMD is launching four new processors ranging from 16-cores to 64-cores, all of them with Zen 3 cores and 768 MB of stacked L3 3D V-Cache.

AMD Releases Milan-X CPUs With 3D V-Cache: EPYC 7003 Up to 64 Cores and 768 MB L3 Cache

Mushkin's lineup of PCIe 4.0 SSDs has largely remained a Phison affair. The Delta series was based on the Phison E16 and the Gamma on the Phison E18. Recently, the company launched a new series of PCIe 4.0 SSDs - the Redline VORTEX. The key here seems to be the usage of a new SSD controller - the Innogrit Rainier IG5236. It appears to be taking over the flagship mantle from the Gamma - besting it in both read and write random access IOPS and also sequential read speeds. However, unlike the Delta and Gamma, which came to the market in 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB flavors, the Redline VORTEX series has three capacity points - 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB. Detailed specifications are provided in the table below.

Mushkin Redline VORTEX SSD Specifications

Capacity

512 GB

1024 GB

2048 GB

Controller

Innogrit IG5236

NAND Flash

?? 3D TLC NAND

Form-Factor, Interface

Single-Sided M.2-2280, PCIe 4.0 x4, NVMe 1.4

DRAM

512 MB DDR4

1 GB DDR4

2 GB DDR4

Sequential Read

6750 MB/s

7430 MB/s

7415 MB/s

Sequential Write

2635 MB/s

5300 MB/s

6800 MB/s

Random Read IOPS

200K

390K

730K

Random Write IOPS

645K

1085K

1500K

SLC Caching

Yes

TCG Opal Encryption

No

Warranty

5 years

Write Endurance

250 TBW  
0.27 DWPD

500 TBW  
0.27 DWPD

1000 TBW  
0.27 DWPD

MSRP

[$78](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09T5GPMH8?tag=hawk-future-20&&ascsubtag=anandtech) (15.23¢/GB)

[$125](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09T5SPLRR?tag=hawk-future-20&&ascsubtag=anandtech) (12.21¢/GB)

??

The SSD adopts a graphene heat dissipating label for its thermal solution - typical for the price point targeted. The performance numbers (aided by dynamic SLC caching) make it sitable for content creation and gaming - workloads that typically benefit from the capabilities provided by PCIe 4.0 SSDs.

[![](https://images.anandtech.com/doci/17320/mushkin-vortex-pipe-0_575px.jpg)](https://www.anandtech.com/show/17320/mushkin-redline-vortex-pcie-40-nvme-ssd-launched-affordable-flagship)

Mushkin is not the first to market with the Innogrit Rainier controller. The Patriot Viper VP4300 series and the ADATA XPG GAMMIX S70 Blade were introduced late last year. While the Viper VP4300 is priced quite high, the Mushkin Redline VORTEX manages to undercut the XPG GAMMIX S70 blade by $12 at the 512GB capacity point and $5 at the 1TB point (based on current street pricing). The company is yet to announce availability and pricing for the 2TB SKU. The appearance of more affordable PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSDs in the market is good news for consumers.

Mushkin Redline VORTEX PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD Launched: Affordable Flagship

Since the launch of AMD’s Zen 3-powered Ryzen 5000 desktop processors in late 2020, the company’s retail desktop chip offerings have been rather static. With AMD facing heavy demand for products on multiple fronts – from CPUs to GPUs to console APUs – and all during an unprecedented chip crunch, the company has held back on expanding its desktop offerings. Instead, AMD has focused its limited TSMC 7nm wafer allocations on trying to keep up with demand for some of their most important (and highest margin) products, such as server CPUs, laptop chips, and high-end desktop CPUs.

However, as the chip crunch has ever-so-slightly abated, AMD is now turning their attention back to the desktop space, to finally focus on fleshing out their desktop processor product lineups. We saw our first glimpse of that last week with the announcement of the long-awaited [Threadripper Pro 5000 series](https://www.anandtech.com/show/17296/amd-announces-ryzen-threadripper-pro-5000-wx-series-zen-3-core-for-oem-workstations) for workstations. And now for this week the company is announcing the launch dates of several new Ryzen desktop processors, including the much-awaited Ryzen 7 5800X3D with V-Cache, as well as 6 new low-to-mid-range Ryzen SKUs for the retail market.

AMD's Ryzen 7 5800X3D Launches April 20th, Plus 6 New Low & Mid-Range Ryzen Chips

[![](https://images.anandtech.com/doci/17049/Cenaur_Quadcores_575px.jpg)](https://www.anandtech.com/show/17049/via-to-offload-parts-of-x86-subsidiary-centaur-to-intel-for-125-million)

As part of their third quarter earnings release, VIA Technologies has announced this morning that the company is entering into an unusual agreement with Intel to offload parts of VIA’s x86 R&D subsidiary, Centaur Technology. Under the terms of the murky deal, Intel will be paying Centaur $125 million to pick up part of the engineering staff – or, as the announcement from VIA more peculiarly puts it “recruit some of Centaur's employees to join Intel,” Despite the hefty 9-digit price tag, the deal makes no mention of Centaur’s business, designs, or patents, nor has an expected closing date been announced.

A subsidiary of VIA since 1999, the Austin-based Centaur is responsible for developing x86 core designs for other parts of VIA, as well as developing their own ancillary IP such as deep learning accelerators. Via Centaur, VIA Technologies is the largely aloof third member of the x86 triumvirate, joining Intel and AMD as the three x86 license holders. Centaur’s designs have never seen widescale adoption to the extent that AMD or Intel’s have, but the company has remained a presence in the x86 market since the 90s, spending the vast majority of that time under VIA.

Centaur’s most recent development was the [CNS x86 core](https://fuse.wikichip.org/news/3099/centaur-unveils-its-new-server-class-x86-core-cns-adds-avx-512/2/), which the company announced in late 2019. Aimed at server-class workloads, the processor design is said to offer Haswell-like general CPU performance, which is combined with AVX-512 support (executed over 2 rounds via a 256-bit SIMD). CNS, in turn, would be combined into a product Centaur called CHA, which added fabric and I/O, as well as an integrated proprietary deep learning accelerator. The first silicon based on CHA was originally expected in the second half of 2020, but at this point we haven’t heard anything (though that’s not unusual for VIA).

As for the deal at hand, VIA’s announcement leaves more questions than answers. The official announcement from VIA comes with very few details other than the price tag and the information that Intel is essentially paying Centaur for the right to try to recruit staff members to join Intel. Despite being the buyer in this deal – and buyers typically being the ones to announce acquisitions – Intel has not said anything about the deal from their end.

We’ve reached out to both Intel and Centaur for more information, but we’re not expecting to hear from them until later this morning given the significant time zone gap between Taiwan and the US. In the meantime, local media reports are equally as puzzling, as language barriers aside, apparently even the local press isn’t being given much in the way of concrete details. None the less, local media such as [United Daily News](https://udn.com/news/story/7240/5867855) is reporting that the Intel deal is indeed not a wholesale sale of Centaur’s team, and that VIA is retaining the Centaur business. So what Intel is getting out of this that’s worth $125 million is, for the moment, a mystery.

Adding an extra wrinkle to matters, the [Centaur website](https://www.centtech.com/) has been partially scrubbed. Active as recently as the end of last week, the site’s contents have been replaced with an “under construction” message. In which case it would seem that, even if VIA is retaining Centaur and its IP, the company no longer has a need for a public face for the group.

Meanwhile, given the overall lack of details, news of the acquisition raises a number of questions about the future of VIA’s x86 efforts, as well as just what Intel is getting out of this. If VIA isn’t selling the Centaur business, then does that mean they’re retaining their x86 license? And if Intel isn’t getting any IP, then what do they need with Centaur’s engineering staff? Does Intel want to make their own take on the CNS x86 core?

Overall, it’s not too surprising to see Intel make a play for the far-flung third member of the x86 ecosystem, especially as the combination of AMD and Arm-based processors is proving to be stiff competition for Intel, dampening the need for a third x86 vendor. Still, this isn’t what we envisioned for Intel buying out Centaur.

As always, we’ll have more details on this bizarre story as they become available.

[![](http://dynamic1.anandtech.com/www/delivery/avw.php?zoneid=24&cb=1380758561&n=a1f2f01f)](http://dynamic1.anandtech.com/www/delivery/ck.php?n=a1f2f01f&cb=1380758561)![](http://toptenreviews.122.2o7.net/b/ss/tmn-test/1/H.27.3--NS/0)

VIA To Offload Parts of x86 Subsidiary Centaur to Intel For $125 Million

[![](https://images.anandtech.com/doci/17013/tsmc_wafer_semiconductor_chip_300mm_fab_575px.jpg)](https://www.anandtech.com/show/17013/tsmc-update-3nm-in-q1-2023-3nm-enhanced-in-2024-2nm-in-2025)

TSMC has introduced a brand-new manufacturing technology roughly every two years over the past decade. Yet as the complexity of developing new fabrication processes is compounding, it is getting increasingly difficult to maintain such a cadence. The company has previously acknowledged that it will start producing chips using its N3 (3 nm) node about four months later than the industry is used to (i.e., Q2), and in a recent conference call with analysts, TSMC revealed additional details about its latest process technology roadmap, focusing on their N3, N3E, and N2 (2 nm) technologies.

### N3 in 2023

TSMC's [N3 technology](https://www.anandtech.com/show/16024/tsmc-details-3nm-process-technology-details-full-node-scaling-for-2h22) will provide full node scaling compared to N5, so its adopters will get all performance (10% - 15%), power (-25% ~ -30%), and area (1.7x higher for logic) enhancements that they come to expect from a new node in this day and age. But these advantages will come at a cost. The fabrication process will rely extensively on extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography, and while the exact number of EUV layers is unknown, it will be a greater number of layers than the 14 used in N5. The extreme complexity of the technology will further add to the number of process steps – bringing it toto well over 1000 – which will further increase cycle times. 

As a result, while mass production of the first chips using TSMC's N3 node will begin in the second half of 2022, the company will only be shipping them to an undisclosed client for revenue in the first quarter of 2023. Many observers, however, expected these chips to ship in late 2022.

"N3 risk production is scheduled in 2021, and production will start in second half of 2022," [said](https://investor.tsmc.com/english/encrypt/files/encrypt_file/reports/2021-10/4ea2e4e79a78e8cc67898e66998b00fbf1c7d8a0/TSMC%203Q21%20Transcript.pdf) C.C. Wei, CEO of TSMC. "So second half of 2022 will be our mass production, but you can expect that revenue will be seen in first quarter of 2023 because it takes long — it takes cycle time to have all those wafer out."

### N3E in 2024

Traditionally, TSMC offers performance-enhanced and application-specific process technologies based on its leading-edge nodes several quarters after their introduction. With N3, the company will be changing their tactics somewhat, and will introduce a node called N3E, which can be considered as an enhanced version of N3. 

This process node will introduce an improved [process window](https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/1866975.1866976) with performance, power, and yield enhancements. It is unclear whether N3 meets TSMC's expectations for PPA and yield, but the very fact that the foundry is talking about improving yields indicates that there is a way to improve it beyond traditional yield boosting methods. 

"We also introduced N3E as an extension of our N3 family," said Wei. "N3E will feature improved manufacturing process window with better performance, power and yield. Volume production of N3E is scheduled for one year after N3."

TSMC has not commented on whether N3E will be compatible with N3's design rules, design infrastructure, and IPs. Meanwhile, since N3E will serve customers a year after N3 (i.e., in 2024), there will be quite some time for chip designers to prepare for the new node.

### N2 in 2025

TSMC's N2 fabrication process has largely been a mystery so far. The company has confirmed that it was considering gate-all-around field-effect transistors (GAAFETs) for this node, but has never said that the decision was final. Furthermore, it has never previously disclosed a schedule for N2. 

But as N2 gets closer, TSMC is slowly locking down some additional details. Particularly, the company is now formally confirming that the N2 node is scheduled for 2025. Though they are not elaborating on whether this means HVM in 2025, or shipments in 2025.

"I can share with you that in our 2-nm technology, the density and performance, will be the most competitive in 2025," said Wei.

[![](http://dynamic1.anandtech.com/www/delivery/avw.php?zoneid=24&cb=1839951308&n=a1f2f01f)](http://dynamic1.anandtech.com/www/delivery/ck.php?n=a1f2f01f&cb=1839951308)![](http://toptenreviews.122.2o7.net/b/ss/tmn-test/1/H.27.3--NS/0)

TSMC Roadmap Update: 3nm in Q1 2023, 3nm Enhanced in 2024, 2nm in 2025

[![](https://images.anandtech.com/doci/17005/carousel_575px.jpg)](https://www.anandtech.com/show/17005/netgear-updates-orbi-lineup-with-wifi-6e-quadband-mesh-system)

Mesh networking kits / Wi-Fi systems have become quite popular over the last few years. Despite competition from startups such as eero (now part of Amazon) and Plume (with forced subscriptions), as well as big companies like Google (Google Wi-Fi and Nest Wi-Fi), Netgear's Orbi continues to enjoy popularity in the market. Orbi's use of a dedicated backhaul provides tangible benefit over other Wi-Fi systems using shared backhauls. However, the costs associated with the additional radio have meant that the Orbi Wi-Fi systems have always carried a premium compared to the average market offerings in the space.

Netgear introduced their first Wi-Fi 6E router - the [Nighthawk RAXE500](https://www.anandtech.com/show/16379/) - at the 2021 CES. Priced at [$600](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08R58D9FH?tag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=anandtech), the router utilized a Broadcom platform (BCM4908 network processing SoC + BCM46384 4-stream 802.11an/ac/ax radio). Today, the company is updating the Orbi lineup with a Wi-Fi 6E offering belonging to the AXE11000 class. Based on Qualcomm's Hawkeye ([IPQ8074](https://www.qualcomm.com/products/ipq8074)) / Pine (QCN9074) platform, the company is touting their RBKE960 Orbi series to be the world's first quad-band Wi-Fi 6E mesh system.

Netgear's high-end Orbi kits have traditionally been tri-band solutions, with a second 5 GHz channel as a dedicated backhaul. With Wi-Fi 6E, a tri-band solution is mandated - 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz support are all needed for certification. The 6 GHz channel, as discussed [previously](https://www.anandtech.com/show/15327), opens up multiple 160 MHz channels that are free of interference. The RBKE960 series supports the three mandated bands, and also retains a dedicated 5 GHz backhaul, making it a quad-band solution with combined Wi-Fi speeds of up to 10.8 Gbps across all four considered together.

[![](https://images.anandtech.com/doci/17005/00_575px.png)](https://www.anandtech.com/show/17005/netgear-updates-orbi-lineup-with-wifi-6e-quadband-mesh-system)

Netgear has opted to retain 5 GHz for the backhaul in order to maximize range. While the 6 GHz band is interference-free, the power restrictions prevent the communication in those channels from having as much range as the existing 5 GHz ones. Having a dedicated backhaul ensures that all the 'fronthaul' channels are available for client devices (shared backhauls result in a 50% reduction in speeds available for client devices for each additional node / satellite). The benefits of Wi-Fi 6E and what consumers can expect from the 6GHz band have already been covered in detail in our [Nighthawk RAXE500 launch piece](https://www.anandtech.com/show/16379/). The Orbi RBKE960 series supports up to seven 160 MHz channels, allowing for interference-free operation even in dense apartments with multiple neighbors.

The RBKE960 supports 16 Wi-Fi streams, making for an extremely complex antenna design. Netgear has made improvements based on past experience to the extent that the new Orbi RBKE960 performs better than the Orbi RBK850 even for 5GHz communication (the larger size of the unit also plays a part in this).

[![](https://images.anandtech.com/doci/17005/01_575px.png)](https://www.anandtech.com/show/17005/netgear-updates-orbi-lineup-with-wifi-6e-quadband-mesh-system)

In terms of hardware features, the router sports a 10G WAN port, 3x 1GbE, and 1x 2.5GBASE-T ports. The satellite doesn't have the WAN port, but retains the other three. The 2.5GBASE-T port can be used to create an Ethernet backhaul between the router and the satellite. On the software side, the new Orbi creates four separate Wi-Fi networks for different use-cases.

[![](https://images.anandtech.com/doci/17005/02_575px.png)](https://www.anandtech.com/show/17005/netgear-updates-orbi-lineup-with-wifi-6e-quadband-mesh-system)

The reduced range in the 6GHz band means that large homes might require multiple satellites to blanket the whole area with 6GHz coverage.

Installation and management is via the Orbi app. Netgear also includes the NETGEAR Armor cyber-security suite with integrated parental controls - some features in Armor are subscription-based.

[![](https://images.anandtech.com/doci/17005/03_575px.png)](https://www.anandtech.com/show/17005/netgear-updates-orbi-lineup-with-wifi-6e-quadband-mesh-system)

Netgear is also introducing an 'Orbi Black Edition' available exclusively on Netgear's own website. With the RAXE500 setting the stage with its $600 price point, it is no surprise that the RBSE960 satellite costs the same (trading the WAN port and other features for an extra 4x4 radio). A kit with a router and a single satellite (RBKE962) is priced at $1100, while the RBKE963 (an additional satellite) bumps up the price tag to $1500. With home Wi-Fi becoming indispensable thanks to the work-from-home trend among other things, Netgear believes consumers will be ready to fork out what is essentially the price of a high-end smartphone or notebook for a reliable and future-proof Wi-Fi solution.

[![](http://dynamic1.anandtech.com/www/delivery/avw.php?zoneid=24&cb=510676020&n=a1f2f01f)](http://dynamic1.anandtech.com/www/delivery/ck.php?n=a1f2f01f&cb=510676020)![](http://toptenreviews.122.2o7.net/b/ss/tmn-test/1/H.27.3--NS/0)