Asus PCE-AC68 802.11ac Dual-band Wireless-AC1900 PCI-E Adapter

[RTN]

Asus PCE-AC68 802.11ac Dual-band Wireless-AC1900 PCI-E Adapter

• 5th generation 802.11ac chipset gives you dualband 2.4GHz/5GHz for up to superfast 1.30Gbps
• Flexible extended antenna placement helps you pinpoint the best reception in your environment
• Instant Wi-Fi upgrade for your desktop: no more messy Ethernet cables needed
• High-power design clears up dead zones with 150% greater coverage
• Custom heatsink dissipates heat for more stable and reliable non-stop operation

http://www.asus.com/Networks/Wireless_Adapters/PCEAC68/

Asus RT-AC68U

• 802.11ac Concurrent Dual-band AC1900. (600Mbps/2.4GHz* + 1300Mbps/5GHz)
• Two high speed and high powered USB ports for network storage and multifunction printer support.
• 4 x Gigabit Ethernet ports. 1 x USB 3.0 + 1 x USB 2.0 ports for fast file and printer sharing.
• High level current usage for superior download and gaming performance or multi client connections.

* In order to reach 600Mbps/2.4 GHz, RT-AC68U must connect to the ASUS PCE-AC66/68 or RT-AC68U in media bridge mode.

Specifications

Network Standard

IEEE 802.11ac​

Interface

PCI Express​

Antenna

3 x R SMA Antenna​

Operating Frequency

2.4GHz/5.1~5.8GHz​

Product Segment

AC1900 ultimate AC performance;
600*Mbps (802.11n) + 1300Mbps (802.11ac)​

Operation Channel

11 for N.America, 13 Europe (ETSI)​

Data Rate

802.11a/b/g/n/ac : downlink up to 1300Mbps,
uplink up to 1300Mbps (20/40/80MHz)​

Output Power

ac mode : 18 ~22 dBm
b mode : 22 dBm
g mode : 19 ~22 dBm
n mode : 18 ~22 dBm​

Modulation

64QAM, 16QAM, CCK, DQPSK, DBPSK, OFDM​

Management

Wireless configuration
connection management
connection profile setup​

Security

64-bit WEP, 128-bit WEP,
WPA2-PSK, WPA-PSK​

Certificates

CE, FCC, IC​

Dimensions

103.3 x 68.9 x 21 mm (WxDxH)​

Weight

125 g (Device Only)​

OS Support

Windows® 8
Windows® 7
Windows® 2000
Windows® XP​

ftp://ftp.asus.com.tw/PUB/ASUS/wireless/PCE-AC68

http://wl500g.info/entry.php?4657-Asus-PCE-AC68

 

[p71]

What is the advanctage of the AC68 version over the AC66?

 

[RMerlin]

TurboQAM support most likely:

Product Segment

AC1900 ultimate AC performance;
600*Mbps (802.11n) + 1300Mbps (802.11ac)

No idea if TurboQAM support will be implemented on the PCE-AC66.

 

[wrugoin]

What is the advanctage of the AC68 version over the AC66?

For one thing, it is supposed to be compatible with the new Intel Z87 chipset for Haswell based CPUs. I upgraded my desktop with a new Asus Maximus Hero IV and found that the computer would not properly boot when my PCE-AC66 card was installed. I would get boot hangs and BSOD.

The incompatibility was confirmed by Asus and customers were informed (myself included via support emails) they were eligible for a refund or that they could wait for the PCE-AC68 to be released and a replacement would be sent at no cost.

I'm patiently waiting to be contacted by Asus customer support when the 68 is available to begin the RMA process.

 

[drs101]

For one thing, it is supposed to be compatible with the new Intel Z87 chipset for Haswell based CPUs. I upgraded my desktop with a new Asus Maximus Hero IV and found that the computer would not properly boot when my PCE-AC66 card was installed. I would get boot hangs and BSOD.

The incompatibility was confirmed by Asus and customers were informed (myself included via support emails) they were eligible for a refund or that they could wait for the PCE-AC68 to be released and a replacement would be sent at no cost.

I'm patiently waiting to be contacted by Asus customer support when the 68 is available to begin the RMA process.

I found out about this just minutes after having paid for my ac66. i was lucky enough to be able to cancel the order quickly and i'm in the process of getting my money back. however neither the asus website or store websites seem to inform of this major problem. I am hoping the new ac68 will work with Z87. Please let me know if it works when you get it. i am interested.

greetings

 

[ronny]

not connecting to channel 149 to 165 on 5ghz?

I cant get this card to connect to channel 149 to 165 on 5ghz? Live in the US.. The wifi network shows on PC but I can't connect... Says check password. If I switch to channel any channel between 36 to 44 the card connects fine. Took me a while to figure our since I had my router (RT-AC68) on auto channel.. Anybody with similar problems? Using latest driver for card (and latest firmware for router).

I should say that the card is phenomenal as long as I set the channel on my router between 36 and 44! Great speeds and great reception!

 

[SO333]

Same problem here. I asked the Asus support, answer is: "not possible". Apparently, this is a "feature" of the card...
In addition, the WiiU's tablet hops between the allowed channels, causing major interference for both devices :-(

There seems to be a possibility to change the driver settings of the card (http://forums.smallnetbuilder.com/showthread.php?t=10932&page=2), but this puts security holes in Windows (allowing un-signed drivers).

 

[whitey019]

I have a PCE-AC68 connected to a RT-AC68U using channel 157 and all seems to be well (US).

 

[SO333]

Ah OK. I live in Europe, where DFS is required, and this seems not to be implemented in my version...

 

[sam]

Does the PCE-AC68 still not support DFS (in Europe) ?

 

[SO333]

I have not seen any driver update, the version on the Asus page is dated June 2014.

 

[bodean]

I have not seen any driver update, the version on the Asus page is dated June 2014.

Wonder if support died for this? Thinking of buying too

 

[Zooks64]

I cant get this card to connect to channel 149 to 165 on 5ghz? Live in the US.. The wifi network shows on PC but I can't connect... Says check password. If I switch to channel any channel between 36 to 44 the card connects fine. Took me a while to figure our since I had my router (RT-AC68) on auto channel.. Anybody with similar problems? Using latest driver for card (and latest firmware for router).

I should say that the card is phenomenal as long as I set the channel on my router between 36 and 44! Great speeds and great reception!

OMG I love you! I have an RT-AC68 router that I have had for a few weeks that I paired with this adapter (arrived today) for my gaming son. I could not figure out why that stupid thing could not see any 5ghz signals.

After several attempts at googling the problem I found this thread. I don't know why I didn't look here first since I'm big fan of the Merlin firmware and currently use it on my router.

The boy is more than pleased with his new setup.

Thanks!