MSI RadiX AXE6600 WiFi 6E Tri-Band Gaming Router Launch Overview

MSI launches their RadiX AXE6600 WiFi 6 router at a virtual networking event

Today, MSI has hosted their virtual launch event for their RadiX series of gaming routers, and we have been lucky enough to get a sneak peak at their new RadiX AXE6600 WiFi 6E Gaming Router and the premium features that if offers. 

At their virtual launch event, MSI showcased their new networking hardware, and highlighted what makes their new routers different from the norm. This includes MSI’s AI QOS (AI Quality of Service) features, their use of a powerful quad-core Qualcomm processor, their “Game Accelerator” technology, and their enhanced router cooling technology. 

In this overview, we will be looking at, and testing, MSI’s RadiX AXE6600 WiFi 6E Tri-Band Gaming Router, their new AX1800 WiFi 6 USB Dongle, and discuss what MSI are bringing to the table with their new gaming-branded networking components.

Win one of MSI’s new RadiX Gaming routers

Over the next two weeks, MSI are allowing their fans to join a worldwide online raffle where they can win prizes that include Steam Gift cards, MSI RadiX routers, and a AX1800 WiFi 6 USB donble. 

You can enter MSI’s “Join RadiX” online raffle here. Below are a list of MSI’s available prizes.  

– 20 $50 Steam Gift Cards
– Two MSI RadiX AXE6600 Gaming Routers
– Two MSI RadiX AX6600 Gaming Routers
– One MSI AX1800 WiFi 6 USB Adaptor 

Meet the MSI RadiX AXE6600 WiFi 6E Gaming Router 

MSI’s new RadiX AXE6600 WiFi 6E gaming router is a new tri-band router that offers users access to up to eight streams across 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz bands simultaneously, offering users up to 6.6 Gbps of aggregate bandwidth. As you can see below, this router has six total antenna, and each of these antenna are RGB illuminated. 

While RGB support may seem like a non-essential feature for a router, for MSI’s RadiX line the router’s colour can signify which mode the router is currently in. A light blue signifies that the router is in AI QOS mode, while red signifies that the router is in Game Accelerator mode.  Those who prefer to customise the router’s colouring themselves can choose their own colour options using MSI’s Mystic Light option, allowing the router to match your stylistic preferences or the colour scheme of your gaming setup.

AI QOS (AI Quality of Service)

Depending on your current workload, some data may be more important to you than others. When you are streaming, you want to make sure that your streams are prioritised over non-essential data, and when you are gaming you do not want your time-sensitive data packets to be sent after unimportant data. 

MSI’s AI QOS feature is designed to help ensure that users of their RadiX products get the best experience possible, balancing networking tasks to give all users a great experience. MSI’s RadiX AXE6600 comes with Gaming, Work From Home, Streaming, and AI Auto modes, allowing users to prioritise their favoured data on the fly or allow MSI’s AI QOS technology to determine what data is the most important at any given time.

With more and more people working or learning from home, data management has become an increasingly important part of home networking. You don’t want a large download to ruin the quality of your work calls, video streams, or gaming experience, so it can be important for a router to know which data is most important and work accordingly.

Enhanced Cooling

I don’t know abut you, but is your router always hot? Mine was, even when it isn’t doing much. I currently use BT as my internet service provider, and touching their stock router often left me concerned. BT clearly does not take cooling too seriously with their routers, but that makes sense given how many routers they produce and the fact that their routers are the “stock” option for many. They just need to produce a router that is “good enough”, and one that won’t fail too often.

Based on what MSI shown us, their design teams take cooling very seriously. Their RadiX routers come with a premium cooling solution that is much larger than what you would see inside most common routers, and their heatsink is graphene coated to improve thermal conductivity and features multiple heat pipes to take heat away from hot components.

With their focus on cooling, MSI are certain that their new RadiX routers will stand the test of time and not buckle under heavy extended workloads. 

Three bands, 2.4GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz

 The RadiX AXE6600 WiFi 6E is a tri-band gaming router, supporting 2.4 GHz, 5.0 GHz, and 6.0 GHz connectivity. For the latest WiFi 6E devices, the 6 GHz band is used, a band where there is little competition between networks and minimal interference. For WiFi 6 and older generation WiFi connections, we have the 5GHz and legacy 2.4 GHz bands to utilise. 

With support for multiped bands, users of MSI’s RadiX can choose which bands they want to use and what devices they want to connect to them. My preference is to connect devices like smart speakers to 2.4 GHz and save the 5GHz and new 6GHz bands for more important devices, minimising the ability for devices like Alexa smart speakers to interfere with your other wireless devices.

At the rear of the RadiX AXE6600 are a 2.5Gb WAN/LAN port, and three 1Gb LAN ports. Should users wish, they can opt to utilise a 1Gb LAN port as a LAN port and connect the 2.5 Gb port to their PC. Ultimately, whichever port you use for LAN/WAN depends in the exact needs of your network. 

MIS’s RadiX routers also include a USB 3.2 Gen 1 port.

MSI has also launched their RadiX AX6600 WiFi 6 Tri-Band Router  

Alongside their RadiX AXE6600, MSI has also created their RadiX AX6000 WiFi 6 Tri-Band Gaming router, router that includes two 5 GHz bands and offers users most of the same features at the AXE6600. The only shortfalls of the AX6600 is its lack of MSI Mystic Light RGB support and its lack of WiFi 6E support, neither of which are a huge shortfall for those who have no plans to utilise WiFi 6E anytime soon. 

Both the AXE6600 and the AX6600 use the same quad-core Qualcomm 1.8GHz processor, and both devices can be connected to up to 60 devices simultaneously.

Up Close with MSI’s RadiX AXE6600 WiFi 6E Gaming Router