All the Wi-Fi 7 cards on the market have a theoretical peak speed of ~6 gigabytes per second (Gbps), but unless you have an internet connection with a fiber-optic cable (which isn't even available in most US cities), you won't get more than 2 Gbps. Most cable internet providers in 2025 currently deliver less than 1 Gbps. My Comcast connection gives 200-550 Mbps, depending on the time of day, well short of 1 GB. So all this card has to do is do its job without any headaches.
This card uses the Mediatek MT7927 chipset, and that's why the drivers take a little while longer to mature than the Intel chipsets and why you have to plug it into a USB port for bluetooth (Intel's offering uses proprietary CNVi instead, but almost nobody has a motherboard wired for that -- only the latest high end Intel ones). The heatsink casing is just for looks; it doesn't generate enough heat to do anything.
In my experience, my Gigabyte motherboard came with a WiFi 5 card connected via M.2 connection instead of the PCI-e one this one uses, and I was only getting 10 Mbps. So I first got an M.2 Intel BE200 WiFi 7 card that was half the price of this one, thinking I'd just swap it out, and then when I did I got 40 Mbps. That was way too slow, and it probably has to do with a sub-par antenna or how the M.2 connection was wired.
Then I tried this Wi-Fi 7 card and instantly saw 500Mbps, which is as much as Comcast will send me. So all I can say is it worked for me. Of course, you're going to want to download the latest drivers onto your computer before installing the card. You can use the mini CD that came with if you have a player, but that's only a plan B or plan C solution. I've had no problems with the Bluetooth.
If you have an Intel chipped motherboard with CNVi capability, go with an an Intel chipped one like Fenvi. But otherwise this one works fine. The provided antenna has good reception, which was the key for me.
| Brand | TP-Link |
|---|---|
| Item model number | Archer TBE552E |
| Product Dimensions | 7.85 x 12.09 x 2.16 cm; 58.97 g |
| Item dimensions L x W x H | 7.8 x 12.1 x 2.2 Centimetres |
| Colour | Black |
