wifi needed for pc, PCI card or USB?

Bounce · 12 Dec 2016 at 14:36

Hi,

I need to connect my desktop PC which is upstairs with my router which is located directly below on the ground floor.

Can someone recommend either PCI card or USB?

Also if anyone could give a recommendation that would be great.

I will be doing online games, and HD streaming.

joeyjojo · 12 Dec 2016 at 14:43

Are you used to gaming over wifi? You might find the extra ping and jitter affects things. Best option is ethernet cable, next best option is sometimes powerline.

With that out of the way, for your needs you can probably use just about any wifi product: USB or card, wireless n or ac. Depends on budget and future proofing.

E.g. you could get a £6 dongle, or a £100 card, depending on your preferences.

Bounce · 12 Dec 2016 at 14:51

No Iv never done online gaming over wifi, will it be really bad?

I play CS:GO.

Iv always had the ethernet cable plugged in.

b0rn2sk8 · 12 Dec 2016 at 15:25

Wifi is not THAT bad, but it really depends how many other networks there are around, even if there are non its still not as good as a powerline adapter.

A powerline adapter will be more reliable and most 'Ethernet' like out of the two. Just buy the fastest from a decent brand you can afford.

As with wifi they are rated in the fastest theoretical speed, you will not see anything like 500mb on a 500mn version...

Also another tip to get the maximum out of them is to plug them directly into the wall socket, not into an extension lead.

wedrum · 12 Dec 2016 at 15:26

usb will be fine.

Avalon · 12 Dec 2016 at 19:58

b0rn2sk8 said:
A powerline adapter will be more reliable and most 'Ethernet' like out of the two. Just buy the fastest from a decent brand you can afford.

HD video from an online source will run to all of 6.5-8mbit peak, CS:GO will be latency sensitive but not a huge bandwidth hog. What exactly do you think will be gained by spending out on a top end powerline kit? £20 TP Link's will do the same job, unless the OP has an amazing WAN connection both of those activities are going to be WAN limited so even cheap powerline kit will likely be more than adequate.

Op if you want to go cheap then USB ideally with an external antennae, bonus points if it has an SMA connector so you can fit a larger antennae if required, all of £4 delivered from the bay of e. If you'd prefer powerline then TPLink kits are available from a well known catalog based high street retailer for £20, OCUK also sell them and have a better selection. Yes your png will suffer slightly, unless your actually good, then not to an extent that's getting too excited about.

b0rn2sk8 · 15 Dec 2016 at 13:34

Avalon said:
HD video from an online source will run to all of 6.5-8mbit peak, CS:GO will be latency sensitive but not a huge bandwidth hog. What exactly do you think will be gained by spending out on a top end powerline kit? £20 TP Link's will do the same job, unless the OP has an amazing WAN connection both of those activities are going to be WAN limited so even cheap powerline kit will likely be more than adequate.

I didn't say a '500' kit wouldn't be adequate, I said buy the best you can afford which is very different. I also said don't expect to get 500mb out of a set because it just isn't going to happen. Your requirements might change in the future, likewise in a few years could get a faster speed.

Its also not outside the realms of possibility to bottleneck a 80Mb connection using an AV500 kit, its unlikely but its entirely depends on how clean the wiring install is and the length of the wires. Doing other things such as transferring files is just painful at low speeds.