TP-Link 2.5GB PCIe Network Card (TX201) – PCIe to 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet Network Adapter, Supports Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7, Win Server 2022/2019/2016, Linux

I've purchased 5 of these for my Lenovo Tiny PC servers in my homelab setup as I have a Trendnet 2.5GB switch. These cards are excellent value for the money. Linux, HomeAssistant, and Windows all recognized them immediately and got them running almost instantly. Great plug-n-play solution to upgrade network speed of your devices.

I bought one to upgrade my second PC to 2.5 gig speeds and it worked great. Easy install, went to 2.5 instantly and has been reliable.

Nice to be able to use my 2G internet speed. Simple quick setup. Workes perfectly

I purchased this adapter to add to my home server to increase the bandwidth available. TP-Link is a trusted name, and this device didn't disappoint. It arrived with both a tall and short slot cover and my server required the short one. This is the one issue I had with this board. One of the two screw holes on the short adapter wasn't tapped properly and wouldn't screw in, leaving the board with only one screw holding the slot cover in place. Highly annoying, but, out of sight, out of mind once the server was back in the rack. Other than the above issue, this adapter was plug and play and has worked flawlessly. It never fails to connect to my switch at full 2.5gbps speed, and I haven't experienced any transmission errors even under load. It came with a driver disk (who uses CDs these days?) but it wasn't needed. Windows 11 recognized the card immediately and it was configured before I could even get into the control panel. There isn't much more to say here. Plug it in, connect it, power it up and enjoy the more than doubled bandwidth!

Network Card was purchased for a 13-year-old Dell XPS with a malfunctioning Ethernet port. Installing the device was quick and easy. Windows 10 detected it and installed the driver for it. I finally have constant connection to the internet again. It works great with Broadband speeds. There is no fiber internet available where I live.

I ran into a weird POST/boot hang after switching to an ASRock Z490 Phantom Gaming 4/ac and adding a TP-Link TX201 2.5GbE PCIe NIC. With the TX201 installed, the machine would sometimes refuse to boot / hang during POST. What fixed it I put a small piece of tape over PCIe edge connector pins B5 (and even B6) on the NIC. After that, the system booted normally and the card worked fine in the OS. Why this works (the reasoning) PCIe has some “old-school” pins that the motherboard uses before the OS ever loads: B5 = PRSNT2# (presence detect) This is part of the hardware “card present / lane width” detection logic. If a motherboard BIOS/UEFI is picky (or buggy) during PCIe enumeration, a device can cause the firmware to stall while it’s trying to validate presence/configuration. By isolating B5, you’re basically forcing the board to be less strict about that early presence-detect logic and letting PCIe link training/device enumeration complete in a different code path. In plain English: you’re bypassing a firmware edge case that can hang POST. “But the TX201 says PCIe 2.1… why would this happen?” “PCIe 2.1” on many add-in cards is largely a compatibility claim, not a guarantee the device behaves like a 2008-era card electrically/firmware-wise. The TX201 is an Intel 2.5Gb controller-based NIC (varies by revision), and modern PCIe devices can still trigger weird BIOS timing/initialization issues on certain boards/BIOS versions. This is usually a UEFI enumeration bug, not the NIC being “too new” or “too high-end.” Why it still worked even when I taped B6 (+12V) B6 is +12V slot power. I taped B5 and B6 and the NIC still worked, which tells you something useful: Many low-power PCIe cards (NICs, USB cards, etc.) run entirely from the 3.3V rail provided by the slot and barely (or never) use slot 12V. So disconnecting B6 (+12V) didn’t matter for this NIC because it’s likely 3.3V-powered internally. That also reinforces that the original issue wasn’t “power” — it was detection/initialization during POST. Why this matters (and why it can save you money) If your system won’t boot with a NIC installed, it’s easy to assume: “My motherboard won’t support high-end / 2.5Gb / newer NICs.” But this kind of hang can be a firmware edge case during PCIe enumeration, not true incompatibility. A simple presence-detect workaround (taping B5) can get you booting and running normally without buying a different motherboard or NIC. Note / caution This is obviously a DIY hack: Prefer taping B5 only long-term (leaving power pins alone is cleaner). Also worth trying BIOS updates, toggling PCIe Gen settings (Gen3/Gen2), or disabling fast boot, but the tape fix can confirm it’s an enumeration/presence-detect problem quickly.

I got FIOs and realized my main work computer was only using 1/2 my available bandwidth, so I bought this card. I am able to easily hit the 2 Gig bandwidth now that my ISP provides. I looked at other nics and this one was cheaper. I find it a good value for the money. I just plugged it into my computer and it just worked, no driver issues. Im running Ubuntu 25. I like the small form factor of the card. Seems fairly durable. I would recommend buying this again.

Works as intended. I got over 2gbps speeds. Easy install too, not rocket science. But there was no screw with the adapter, which was unfortunate, so anyone who does not have extra screws with their pc case just know that. Stable connection too, haven't had any problems

A beast network card from a reputable network brand! This was needed to upgrade my slow motherboard LAN, which caps out at only 980 Mbps, and my modem has a 2 Gbps plan where a faster card can make use of my bandwidth. The installation was very easy as it just plugs into the smaller PCIEX1_1 slot with no problems. As soon as you boot into Windows 11, the drivers will automatically get installed, so the internet will work a few minutes after reboot. It’s plug and play! It works so well, and I’m getting very fast 2 Gbps speeds. Faster downloads hooray!

Muito bom

Mi internet no es muy rápido pero se siente más estable con este adaptador de 2.5GB.

Funciona muy bien, hay que descargar e instalar drivers para que funcione bien.

Muy mala calidad!, se pierde la conectividad a cada rato!