Help choosing a proper wireless adapter

ClarkJohns

ClarkJohns

ClarkJohns

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Hello!
I'm in the process of building a new system. I realized that the cat5 network cable i used with my old configuration is from archaic ages, it's been built into the house around 2000. For the new one I'd like to use something better than that, but getting a better cable is not really an option - the old one would be needed to be extracted from the walls of the apartment, and a lot of walls, along at least 20 meters or so.
So I'm looking at wireless options for my internet connection. This part seems to be quite tricky, as my room is rather far away from the router (~30 feet, and 1-2 walls in the way) from which the signal comes, so I need to find a device with good range on it. Did a bit of reading and found a few pcie/usb devices that might solve the problem, but I'd like to see the opinions of those with more knowledge on the matter before committing. I use a TP-Link Archer C5 (AC 1200) as my router and source of wifi.
Cheaper options would be usb 3.0 wifi adapters.
Found two devices for this category:
Netis WF 2910 - my cheapest option, the size on the antennas seem to help with the range
Netgear AC 6210 - reviews shown it to have very good range, but also quite a few people stated it broke after about a year of use
I could also go with adapters with PCI-E connection. I've read i can get better stability on my connection, but the proximity of the computer case might give some problems. I found:
TP-Link Archer T6e - cheaper option of the two. Has good and bad reviews, bad mostly comes from bad Win10 support (no driver, you have to use those from win 8.1)
ASUS PCE-AC56 - this one is the most (almost too) expensive from the bunch. The ability to move the antennas seems like a nice feature.
So my questions regarding the above: Do you recommend either method (usb/pci-e) over the other? From the products mentioned, do you recommend either over the others, do you have experience with them? Do you think I'll get a faster connection than my old cables (100 megabits/sec) from the above mentioned range? Are there any similar products you'd recommend over these?
Thanks a lot in advance for any replies! I apologize for the lengthy question, I want to collect as much information as I can before deciding.
 
You say the Network Cable is old but is there actually anything wrong with it?

Edit- Ahh i see near the end of your post you say you sync at 100Mbit.
 
What's actually wrong with the cable?

Even if it does only support 100Mbps I'd take that over wireless for most things. Is your Internet connection significantly faster than 100Mbps?

Have you checked why it's only running at 100Mbps? I've had good success over the years running Gigabit over Cat5 where it was too much effort to replace it with something better.
 
I had no problems with the cable. The new system will have a bigger case that would make placing it where the previous system was uncomfortable, so i'm going to put it on top of a table. Now the problem is that the old cable isn't long enough to reach it there. I originally wanted to just extend it a bit to reach, but after reading that the cat5 has a slower transfer rate compared to what we mostly have now i thought moving to wifi could work better.
I feel a bit silly now after reading your replies. I started from the presumption that we have 100 Mbps+ internet connection and my cable could be bottlenecking it - windows says my connection to the router is 100. Having checked it just now it turns our subscription is only 30 Mbps, so I guess it doesn't really matter what cable I use. You guys are probably the saviors of my wallet.
I think I'll just extend it a bit. Can I extend a cat5 cable with cat5e/cat6 cables?
 
Grab yourself a Cat5e rated joiner/coupler and a suitable Cat5e cable and you'll be fine.

You could also use Cat6 or better but you'll gain nothing so don't spend extra to get it.

If you want to connect more than one device to the cable you could connect a network switch and then connect multiple local cables from there.

BTW does you PC actually have a Gigabit rated NIC?
 
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It's not going to be the PC NIC that's the issue (and looks like OP has confirmed that) it's going to be the ports on your router/modem are only 100Mb.

Plugging in a degraded CAT5 cable into a Gigabit capable network port on both ends isn't going to result in a 100Mb sync.

I'm almost 100% sure that is going to be the issue - and yeah, as others have pointed out, it's academic unless your internet speed exceeds that.

If you upgrade your internet connection you may well find that you get issued a new router/modem with Gigabit ports.
 
I'd take a wired 100Mb over a wireless 1000Mb any day.

As someone else has pointed out, check that the router is actually gigabit not 10/100 as that could be the problem. A long patch cable is cheap enough for your case moving to elsewhere and it really is worth keeping it cabled where you can.
Response times via cable should be <1ms (even on a 100Mb connection) where as wireless you're looking at >10ms minimum
 
For now you can grab a cheap RJ45 coupler - https://www.google.ro/search?q=rj45...tKnUAhXiIcAKHQXKCY0Q_AUICigB&biw=1536&bih=735 and a standard patch lead to extend the cable.

Also might be worth grabbing a cheap cable tester - https://www.google.ro/search?q=rj45...tKnUAhXiIcAKHQXKCY0Q_AUICigB&biw=1536&bih=735 and connecting it to each end of the cable and seeing which lights light up.

Or do as bledd says and attach a cable to the current one and pull it through, its no different to what a lot of cablers do with drop cables.
 
For most users they're WAN limited in terms of speed, so 100mbit isn't an issue, for those that aren't (lucky), I'd still take a reliable 100mbit cat5 cable over wifi.

If it were me I'd likely re-pull the cable if I wanted gigabit speeds. If that genuinely isn't an option, sink a back box into the wall or surface mount, then run a cable to where I wanted, cheap, quick and easy and stay at 100mbit.

If that doesn't appeal and assuming you are on the same circuit, then powerline is an expensive option - buy the gigabit versions though - at least the 1000 or 2000 ranges, anything less usually comes with a 100mbit port which means you're going to be limited to the same speed as the cable you're so eager to replace.
 
The pulling through option sounds managable, i might try doing that one. If I understood that correctly, I attach new cable to one end of the already existing one, and then pull the other end so that in the end the new one replaces the old?
In case it's not possible for some reason, I'm fine with just extending the old cables a bit for the time being. As long as my internet subscription does not surpass 100 Mbps, it won't really matter.
If and when I get a faster subscription I'll plan ahead and get new cables out here.
Thank you very much for your replies, I think my problem is solved :)
 
If you have a crimp tool I normally resort to cutting the connectors off, tape or a pair of cable ties to secure the two cables together and pull the old through and the new with it then cut to desired length and re-crimp, but I normally have a roll end to play with.
 
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