diff --git a/posts/2026/10/15/qcncm865-mt7927-comparison/index.org b/posts/2026/10/15/qcncm865-mt7927-comparison/index.org index ea5312d..b134611 100644 --- a/posts/2026/10/15/qcncm865-mt7927-comparison/index.org +++ b/posts/2026/10/15/qcncm865-mt7927-comparison/index.org @@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ This article is at AI level: None. [[https://fizz.buzz/post_ai_levels][Click her * Conclusion -The MT7929 is the clear winner in terms of raw performance (speed / latency) whereas the QCNCM865 used less power. Personally, I am going to stick with the MT7927 because I find the random latency spikes in the QCNCM865 concerning. +The MT7929 is the clear winner in terms of raw performance (speed / latency) whereas the QCNCM865 used less power. Personally, I am going to stick with the MT7927 because I'm almost always plugged in, so the power usage difference isn't much of a concern, and I find the random latency spikes in the QCNCM865 concerning. If I used my laptop on battery more often, that 1-2 extra watts consumed by the MT7927 could have a meaningful impact on battery life. * Comparison @@ -94,110 +94,89 @@ For the signal strength test, I ran src_bash[:exports code]{iw dev wlan0 link} e In addition to measuring the performance of the cards, I also dumped information about the cards by reading from =/sys=, executing =iw list=, and executing =iw reg get=. The differences I found noteworthy are below. -# TODO: See what iw reg means with the 2nd entry. - *** Supported Ciphers -The MT7927 supports a couple more ciphers than the QCNCM865. That being said, those two additional supported ciphers are for WEP [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wired_Equivalent_Privacy#Weak_security][which should not be in use in 2026]]. +The MT7927 supports WEP104 and WEP40, whereas the QCNCM865 does not. That being said, those ciphers [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wired_Equivalent_Privacy#Weak_security][should not be in use in 2026]]. -**** MT7927 -- CCMP-128 -- CCMP-256 -- CMAC -- CMAC-256 -- GCMP-128 -- GCMP-256 -- GMAC-128 -- GMAC-256 -- TKIP -- WEP104 -- WEP40 -**** QCNCM865 -- CCMP-128 -- CCMP-256 -- CMAC -- CMAC-256 -- GCMP-128 -- GCMP-256 -- GMAC-128 -- GMAC-256 -- TKIP -*** Beamformee SS in 6GHz -# TODO add explanation -**** MT7927 -#+begin_src text - Beamformee SS (80MHz): 1 - Beamformee SS (160MHz): 1 - Beamformee SS (320MHz): 1 -#+end_src -**** QCNCM865 -#+begin_src text - Beamformee SS (80MHz): 7 - Beamformee SS (160MHz): 3 - Beamformee SS (320MHz): 3 -#+end_src -*** WoWLAN support -# TODO add explanation -**** MT7927 -#+begin_src text - ,* wake up on disconnect - ,* wake up on magic packet - ,* wake up on pattern match, up to 1 patterns of 1-128 bytes, - maximum packet offset 0 bytes - ,* can do GTK rekeying - ,* wake up on network detection, up to 10 match sets -#+end_src -**** QCNCM865 -#+begin_src text - ,* wake up on disconnect - ,* wake up on magic packet - ,* wake up on pattern match, up to 22 patterns of 1-134 bytes, - maximum packet offset 114 bytes - ,* can do GTK rekeying - ,* wake up on GTK rekey failure - ,* wake up on network detection, up to 16 match sets -#+end_src -*** Supported extended features -# TODO add explanation -**** MT7927 -#+begin_src text - ,* [ RRM ]: RRM - ,* [ SET_SCAN_DWELL ]: scan dwell setting - ,* [ BEACON_RATE_LEGACY ]: legacy beacon rate setting - ,* [ BEACON_RATE_HT ]: HT beacon rate setting - ,* [ BEACON_RATE_VHT ]: VHT beacon rate setting - ,* [ FILS_STA ]: STA FILS (Fast Initial Link Setup) - ,* [ CQM_RSSI_LIST ]: multiple CQM_RSSI_THOLD records - ,* [ CONTROL_PORT_OVER_NL80211 ]: control port over nl80211 - ,* [ ACK_SIGNAL_SUPPORT ]: ack signal level support - ,* [ TXQS ]: FQ-CoDel-enabled intermediate TXQs - ,* [ CAN_REPLACE_PTK0 ]: can safely replace PTK 0 when rekeying - ,* [ AIRTIME_FAIRNESS ]: airtime fairness scheduling - ,* [ AQL ]: Airtime Queue Limits (AQL) - ,* [ CONTROL_PORT_NO_PREAUTH ]: disable pre-auth over nl80211 control port support - ,* [ SCAN_FREQ_KHZ ]: scan on kHz frequency support - ,* [ CONTROL_PORT_OVER_NL80211_TX_STATUS ]: tx status for nl80211 control port support - ,* [ BEACON_RATE_HE ]: HE beacon rate support (AP/mesh) - ,* [ POWERED_ADDR_CHANGE ]: can change MAC address while up -#+end_src -**** QCNCM865 -#+begin_src text - ,* [ RRM ]: RRM - ,* [ FILS_STA ]: STA FILS (Fast Initial Link Setup) - ,* [ CQM_RSSI_LIST ]: multiple CQM_RSSI_THOLD records - ,* [ CONTROL_PORT_OVER_NL80211 ]: control port over nl80211 - ,* [ ACK_SIGNAL_SUPPORT ]: ack signal level support - ,* [ TXQS ]: FQ-CoDel-enabled intermediate TXQs - ,* [ STA_TX_PWR ]: TX power control per station - ,* [ BEACON_PROTECTION ]: beacon protection support - ,* [ CONTROL_PORT_NO_PREAUTH ]: disable pre-auth over nl80211 control port support - ,* [ SCAN_FREQ_KHZ ]: scan on kHz frequency support - ,* [ CONTROL_PORT_OVER_NL80211_TX_STATUS ]: tx status for nl80211 control port support - ,* [ FILS_DISCOVERY ]: FILS discovery frame transmission support - ,* [ UNSOL_BCAST_PROBE_RESP ]: unsolicated broadcast probe response transmission support - ,* [ BSS_COLOR ]: BSS coloring support - ,* [ POWERED_ADDR_CHANGE ]: can change MAC address while up - ,* [ PUNCT ]: preamble puncturing in AP mode -#+end_src +*** Peer to Peer + +The MT7927 supports [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TDLS][T-DLS]] whereas the QCNCM865 supports RSN-IBSS. + +*** Mesh + +The QCNCM865 supports mesh but the MT7927 does not. + +*** Beamformer + +The QCNCM865 supports SU Beamformer but the MT7927 does not. + +*** Spatial Streams + +The QCNCM865 supports more spatial streams than the MT7927. + +| | MT7927 | QCNCM865 | +|---------+--------+----------| +| 80 MHz | 1 | 7 | +| 160 MHz | 1 | 3 | +| 320 MHz | | 3 | + +*** MU-MIMO + +The MT7927 supports MU-MIMO whereas the QCNCM865 does not. + +*** Feedback + +The MT7927 supports feedback whereas the QCNCM865 does not. + +*** Target Wake Time + +The QCNCM865 supports Broadcast TWT whereas the MT7927 does not. + +*** Longer Than 16HE SIG-B OFDM Symbols + +The MT7927 supports Longer Than 16HE SIG-B OFDM Symbols but the QCNCM865 does not. + +*** Restricted TWP + +The QCNCM865 supports Restricted TWP but the MT7927 does not. + +*** Supported Commands + +The MT7927 supports a few more commands than the QCNCM865. Those commands being: + +- =tdls_mgmt= +- =tdls_oper= +- =start_sched_scan= +- =set_sar_specs= + +*** Software Interface Modes (can always be added) + +The MT7927 supports AP/VLAN but the QCNCM865 does not. + +*** Other Features + +**** Only MT7927 + +Device supports active monitor (which will ACK incoming frames) + +[ SET_SCAN_DWELL ]: scan dwell setting +[ BEACON_RATE_LEGACY ]: legacy beacon rate setting +[ BEACON_RATE_HT ]: HT beacon rate setting +[ BEACON_RATE_VHT ]: VHT beacon rate setting +[ AQL ]: Airtime Queue Limits (AQL) + +**** Only QCNCM865 + +Device supports AP scan + +Device can update TPC Report IE +Device supports static SMPS +Device supports dynamic SMPS + +Maximum associated stations in AP mode: 512 + +[ UNSOL_BCAST_PROBE_RESP ]: unsolicated broadcast probe response +[ BSS_COLOR ]: BSS coloring support +[ PUNCT ]: preamble puncturing in AP mode * Test Setup My test setup consisted of a Framework 13 AMD 7040 laptop with each of the wifi cards, connecting to a [[https://techspecs.ui.com/unifi/wifi/u7-pro][Ubiquiti UniFi U7 Pro]].