Intel acquires Rivet, maker of Killer Wireless-AC gaming Wi-Fi gear

Enlarge / This Killer 1650x is really a rebranded Intel AX200 under the hood-but to be fair, Intel put stuff into the AX200 chipset just for Rivet, which only gets enabled on Rivet's version of the card. (credit: Rivet Networks)

On Wednesday, Intel announced its acquisition of Rivet Networks-makers of the Killer AC-brand line of gamer-oriented Wi-Fi gear-for an undisclosed price.

Intel Vice President Chris Walker describes the acquisition as "a terrific complement to our existing Wi-Fi products," going on to praise Rivet's products-the best known of which is the Killer Wireless-AC line of gaming-targeted Wi-Fi cards-and declare its intent to integrate the Killer line into Intel's broader PC Wi-Fi portfolio.

Aside from the branding, the major value Intel acquires with Rivet is far more likely to be software than hardware. When privately testing a Killer Wireless-AC Wi-Fi card in a gaming laptop, the card in the laptop did not distinguish itself above a standard Intel 7265 Wi-Fi interface in a Chromebook-but that was without using the Killer's software stack to specifically prioritize my test traffic.

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