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Tom Alexander
2026-10-23 22:45:26 -04:00
parent 2fc157cbb5
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posts/2026/10/15/qcncm865-mt7927-comparison/index.org
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@@ -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]].