TP-Link TL-WN881ND 300 Mbps Wireless N PCI Express Adapter, PCIe Network Interface Card for Desktop, Low-Profile Bracket Included, Supports Windows…

I required a basic NIC and this card fit what I was looking for. Easy to install on the MOBO and the software with the driver installed nicely. I would recomment this inexpensive card for anyone needing a NIC for their tower.

Purchased this card as an upgrade over existing D-Link DWA-171 Wireless AC600 MU-MIMO Wi-Fi USB Adapter. Previously used that adapter and TP-Link TL-WN725N 150Mbps Wireless N Nano USB Adapter but was not happy because the inconsistency in connection. After research found out the issue may not be necessarily with the adopters but the USB connection having noises and interference which causes the connection to break for some mil-seconds which is enough to disconnect your gaming session. Though WiFi is not recommended for serious gamer but for recreational gamer like me the PCIe connection is consistent enough over USB. In the box you will get,
1. The Card with black PCB and heat sink (black). Looks premium and well build. The heat sink is the reason I have choose it over Asus AC2100 Dual-Band PCIe 160MHz Wi-Fi Adapter though it has BT5.0. The green pcb, no heatsink, extra cable of asus makes it ugly.
2. 2 Antenna
3. 1 low profile bracket for installing it in thin cases
4. Driver CD (Download driver from website and never use it)
5. Product documentation.
Installation is super easy even for dummies just go through any video tutorial and you will be good to go.

Pros,
1. Very good build quality. Feels well put together.
2. For 2.4GHz band, the signal reception is just fantastic. My router (modem+router) is the basic optic fiber one that comes with the service provider so no 5GHz support. But personally I don’t prefer 5GHz since there are few walls in-between my router and PC and I can’t use Ethernet cable for aesthetic purpose. Signal penetration reduces drastically with increase in frequency. And unless you are using a internet having 100Mbps+ you don’t need a 5GHz router. Now to handle interference of signal with your neighbors, I use 20MHz channel and reduced Tx power to 35%. Even then with this card i get full network.
3. Speed is good enough for my 20MBps capped broadband connection and ping is fantastic for a Wi-Fi. Only 2-3ms for local servers. For google.com I have tested ping which is 55-60ms. However if you are using a better connection your mileage will be better.
4. Decent for recreational gamer. If you are not very serious in your online sessions, this this card will be great. I play few online racing games (like FH4, Heat) and never faced any lag with this card.

Cons:
1. No Bluetooth.

So here is my verdict. If you are searching how to connect your desktop with your router wireless, then avoid dongles and get this card. It will serve you well for all of your day to day needs and some gaming as well. But not recommended for serious gamers and a Ethernet connection is way to go.

Update:
1. I have purchased a new router because the old one which which came with the ISP started to show problems. Purchased Netgear AC2000 (R6850) router with 5GHz support. I have tested this card with with 5GHz and as I have mentioned earlier due to 2 walls in between (but distance is very less), it is barely getting 2 bars and the signal strength is -70dBm not good I would say, BUT I have never faced a connection drop even with this low coverage of 5GHz.
2. Tested with online file transfer in the routers USB drive and I am getting 25-35MB/s speed which translates to approx. 300mbps connection speed not bad I would say at -70dBm signal strength.
3. Also increased my ISP speed to 40mbps and you can see in the pic that even with this coverage I am getting a constant 40mbps speed. I am using a 1 to 1 connection with constant speed not like Jio where the speed varies with network load.

Comprei pois montei meu pc sem reparar que ele ficaria muito longe do roteador, então o comprei para não passar o cabo de internet pela casa. Está funcionando perfeitamente, não percebo lentidão na internet nem falta de desempenho. O preço é muito bom pelo o que ele entrega.

I purchased this product as I was upgrading my desktop. I still have not switched to a WiFi 6 capable router as the current plan with my ISP would not give a better value return against the hefty investment.

With my 300 MB plan, my previous usb adaptor ( Archer T4u) manages to give me a consistent 230-240 MB bandwidth. However, in comparison, I do notice the PCIe card manages to give 250 MB+. So downloads are just a little bit faster and it’s future proof for at least next 5 years.

Windows setup on this is a breeze. Just go to the product page, download the drivers and you’re good to go.

One of my concern was that the product page on Amazon as well as tp-link’s official website does not list which chipset it uses. It means Linux users would need to figure it out themselves.

I called and emailed TP-link India support to know about the chipset model and I still have not heard an answer in over 3 weeks. Finally I reached out to TP-link US support and they responded within 24 hours. The chipset is AX200NGW. Furthermore, this device is listed EOL on TP-link US, but not on TP-link India. TP-link India support proves their incompetence and ignorance yet again!!

Now, if your kernel detects this OOB, that’s great. But I can confirm that Arch, ubuntu 22.04 LTS and openSUSE 15.4 did not detect this card out of the box for me, so only Bluetooth worked, but not wifi OOB. I’m going to save fellow Linux users some frustration and give the kernel module needed for this device: rtw89_8852be.

If you can manage a line of sight with your wireless router, the signal is great. For me, there’s half a wall in between and about 25 feet distance, so I get about 70% signal strength. But like I said, I find no issues with it.

Happy with the product, but crappy support from TP-link India.

Funcionó perfecto