Spec me a wifi adapter (PCIE or USB?)

almoststew1990

almoststew1990

almoststew1990

Soldato
Joined
12 May 2011
Posts
6,307
Location
Southampton
What would be better? A PCI-E Wifi adapter like this, squeezed around the back of my PC near the floor near the wall, or a USB adapter like this, sat on my desk?


My router is nearly directly below me on the floor below. My current USB adapter a TP Link WN722N connects with full strength but keeps dropping connection- I think it is a usb connection issue (I sat on it...)
 
Hmm, let's see. The former is dual band, wireless-n, 450 Mbit/s implying it's got three aerials (the photo shows three as well).

The latter is dual band, wireless-n/ac, AC1200 (867+300 Mbit/s) implying it's got two aerials.

What's the AP (router)?

If it's vertically through a floor I expect the 5 GHz connection will be the best for you (more than that and it might be a toss up between n and ac). If your AP only has two aerials then the one you linked is fine, especially as it's only through one floor. I'd look for something to complement the AP though if it's got more than two aerials.
 
OK, according to this
Hub 3.0 is actually very similar to its predecessor, the Super Hub 2AC (on the right), offering dual band wi-fi on the 802.11ac standard, with wireless connectivity up to 1,300Mb. It has five internal antennae - two for 2.54GHz wi-fi and three for 5GHz.
Click to expand...
I suppose that means 1300 on the 5 GHz alone (and presumably 300 on the n/2.4).

If the budget allows you could go for a 3x antenna 802.11ac card such as the following

My basket at Overclockers UK:


​

You can then experiment with ac/5GHz and n/2.4GHz to see which plays best in your circumstances.

Beyond that it's a bit hard to make a recommendation. It depends on how many other 2.4/5 GHz signals there are in the area, the layout of your rooms, the thickness of the ceiling, the speed of your internet connection, whether you need high throughput around the LAN, etc.
 
Thanks for the recommendation. Can my router do both 5GHz and 2.4GHz at the same time? Our phones and TV is connected to the router at the same time (and probably can't do ac/5GHz as they're old)?
 
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