Alternative to the Asus PCE-AC68 802.11ac card?

[JimmiG]

I had read about the compatibility issues with the PCE-AC66 and Haswell chipsets, and also that the AC68 was supposed to have fixed them all.

However this doesn't appear to be completely true. If I just download single files using the browser, it's OK. However, torrents generate a BSOD almost instantly, referring to bcmwl63a.sys, which is the Broadcom Wireless driver. Using multiple download streams in Free Download Manager also causes a BSOD. Sometimes, just watching a Youtube clip is enough to trigger this BSOD, though it works fine most of the time, as long as I'm not downloading anything else in the background. Basically it's too flaky to use. I've tried multiple different drivers and switched PCI-E slots, but it just isn't stable. I'm basically sick of trying to get it stable at this point. Googling the problem shows I'm not alone.

So I was wondering if there are any alternatives to the PCE-AC68, preferably something that doesn't use a Broadcom chip. The TP-Link Archer T9E is the only other one that seems to offer AC1900 speeds, but it seems to be using the same chip as the AC68.. So is it the Broadcom chip itself or the PCE-AC66/68 board that's causing BSODs with Haswell systems? Should I go with an Intel one even though theoretical performance might be lower? Any decent Atheros or Realtek based ones?

 

[Hi-Fi Man]

I would consider getting an Intel mini-PCIe card and using a mini-PCIe to PCIe adapter card with antenna.

 

[XavierMace]

I don't see any reports of the T9E having the same issue. I've got a T9E in an Ivy Bridge build, no issues.

 

[JimmiG]

I don't see any reports of the T9E having the same issue. I've got a T9E in an Ivy Bridge build, no issues.

I think the issues with the PCE-AC66 were limited to Haswell systems. I'm not sure I'm experiencing an issue related to that since I got the PCE-AC68 which was supposed to have fixed that. However there are plenty of matches for "pce-ac68 bsod" on Google, where as other brands/models and "bsod" don't turn up any matches.

I just picked up a D-Link DWA-192 USB 3.0 Wi-Fi adapter and it seems to be working fine so far. Downloaded several GB with 30 threads in Free Download Manager without BSODs or corruption. I bought the AC68 PCI-Express card because I thought it would be faster and more reliable than USB, but that just seems to introduce issues.

 

[PliotronX]

 

[Auric]

I researched a bit recently and found https://wikidevi.com/ a good resource.

Higher speed Intel cards (AC 9260?) seem unavailable, though the advantage of using a PCIe adapter with sufficent spec is low cost -both initially and to upgrade.

Besides the D-Link DWA-192, the only other AC1900 USB forthcoming is the TRENDnet TEW-809UB based upon the same Realtek chip. Neither are low cost compared to the glut of AC1200 devices with widely varied quality and support, but the DWA-192 is less unreasonable at $40 from Newegg until March 9.

 

[stfual]

Im also suffering from the ASUS PCE-AC68
BSOD - Page error in nonpaged area in windows 10
under almost the same circumstances (torrenting and heavy load).
Because this was a PC that had been upgraded from windows 7 - 8 - 10 I assumed it was ancient WiFi crud causing it and did a brand new install of windows 10 and reloaded everything. It got worse as I went from having great performance with an occasional BSOD to great performance with a guaranteed BSOD 5 or 10 minutes into a torrent.
ASUS and Broadcom must be aware of this problem because enough people have it. Disabling the driver and using a phone or fixed ethernet solves the problem - plus whocrashed reports every crash as a Broadcom driver problem. Its expensive and ASUS are marketing this as their premium networking solution. Its a very fast turkey at the moment.

{EDIT 24 March]

This problem now appears to be fixed. While I live in Asia and purchased the card in Asia they told me to download and try the ''EU only'' driver which seems to work.
I asked for an explanation of the differences but they closed the case without answering.