You have an old PC or without a Wi-Fi module and you are tired of using the ethernet cable and want to upgrade to new 802.11AX standard? Today we propose you ASUS AX3000 PCE-AX58BT, a tab in PCI Express X1 format which will drastically change the connection of your PC within your home network. In addition to supporting the new 6AX Wi-Fi 802.11 standard, this particular card also has a 5.0 type Bluetooth chip, capable of allowing the connection of multiple devices simultaneously, as well as offering a transfer speed almost doubled together with a range four times wider.
The packaging that encloses the ASUS AX3000 PCE-AX58BT is quite similar to what we could see with the Asus AX 3000 RT-AX58U. The very basic packaging alternates black and gray colors. On the front we find, in addition to the name of the product, an image and some technical features, such as support for the 160 Mhz band, compatibility with the new WPA3 encryption and the presence of the bluetooth 5.0 module.
In the back we find the same characteristics, but with the addition of a brief description for each, as well as an example of installation inside the PC. The bundle is essential: in addition to the PCI Express card we find a DVD, yes you read that correctly, they still exist and contain the drivers, an extension for the Wi-Fi antennas, obviously the removable and interchangeable antennas and an instruction booklet and one concerning the guarantee.
The installation inside the PC is extremely simple and practicable by anyone, even the less experienced. Just open the bulkhead of your case and insert it into a free PCI Express slot and finally connect the antennas. Here we will have two possibilities: we can connect the extension with support base and position it in a strategic point, useful if we have the router far from the PC, or we can directly connect the antennas to the ASUS AX3000 PCE-AX58BT card. Once the operating system is started, it will immediately recognize the card and we can immediately start using it, otherwise we will have to use the DVD to install the drivers, if you have a DVD player inside your PC. Otherwise you will have to resort to the expensive hotspot via smartphone.
As we have already said ASUS AX3000 PCE-AX58BT supports the new 802.11AX Wi-Fi standard and is capable of reaching a maximum transfer speed of 2400MB / s, or more than double what is offered by the most common ethernet cards present inside motherboards. The card also supports OFDMA and MU-MIMO capabilities, allowing it to reach maximum Wi-Fi speed, even when many other devices are connected to the network simultaneously. Instead of alternating data transfer to the router, MU-MIMO allows multiple devices to transfer data simultaneously without waiting. As already mentioned a few lines above, ASUS AX3000 PCE-AX58BT also supports the new Bluetooth 5.0 standard, offering a transfer speed twice as fast as the old standard, with a coverage four times wider: we will therefore have the possibility to connect mouse, keyboard, headphones, and any other device and use them all at the same time.
We tested ASUS AX3000 PCE-AX58BT in paired with Asus AX 3000 RT-AX58U router reviewed a few days ago, so you can take full advantage of the new 802.11AX Wi-Fi standard. During our tests, we copied several large files from one PC to another. All the PCs in question are equipped with SSD drives capable of achieving truly remarkable read and write speeds.
Thanks to the proximity of the PC used for our tests to the router, we were able to connect with a carrier of 2400 MB / s, therefore the maximum speed allowed by the ASUS AX3000 PCE-AX58BT. While copying, we were able to achieve quite remarkable speeds compared to what we can achieve with an ethernet connection, this is because many routers and motherboards are still equipped with 1 GB / s network cards. We managed to get a peak speed of around 220MB / s, but then settle on around 190MB / s. We also tested Steam's remote play functionality, which managed to play smoothly and flawlessly at 4K resolution and with a really high bit-rate, all without compression problems.
We also tried to play in our PC a film with 4K HDR resolution and a total weight of about 80 GB present in our NAS. Needless to say, the streaming took place flawlessly, without any kind of slowdown or annoying buffering, in practice it seemed that the file was present inside our PC. ASUS AX3000 PCE-AX58BT has managed to satisfy our every need to the fullest, all without using other annoying cables! We also tested the card with different Bluetooth devices, connecting mouse, keyboard, headphones and AirPods, all while keeping all devices active and managing two audio streams simultaneously. Needless to say, we were able to walk around the house quietly listening to Spotify from our PC, all without interrupting the Bluetooth connection.
ASUS AX3000 PCE-AX58BT has proven to be a really performing upgrade inside our PC, obviously all if you have a router that supports the new 802.11 AX Wi-Fi standard. The transfer speeds between one PC and another were truly amazing, making us forget the ethernet cables. The integrated bluetooth module allows us to connect many devices at the same time without incurring various disconnections.
If you want to upgrade your PC and want to use the new 6AX Wi-Fi 802.11 standard, ASUS AX3000 PCE-AX58BT is the ideal choice for you and you can buy it for around 99 €.
