• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

Wireless adapter?

Joined
May 14, 2006
Messages
996 (0.15/day)
Location
Kentucky
System Name Sony Vaio - VGNFW390-CTO
Processor Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T9550 (2.66GHz)
Cooling Stock
Memory 4GB DDR2-SDRAM (DDR2-800, 2GBx2)
Video Card(s) ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 3650 with 512MB vRAM (pitiful card)
Storage 320GB SATA Hard Disk Drive [7200 rpm]
Display(s) LCD 16.4" (XBRITE-FullHD™)
Audio Device(s) SupremeFX
Software Windows 7
Just wondering what I should do about a wireless adapter for my pc. Should I go with a PCI adapter card or a USB adapter?
 

ex_reven

New Member
Joined
Sep 4, 2006
Messages
5,217 (0.81/day)
Id say it depends.
Does usb allow the wireless adapter to be further away from your case?

For example, my pci wireless adapter is excellent. But because its PCI, i cant put the case to the wall ( i have it sideways on my desk) because the wireless would not transmit very well if the signal just hits the wall.

So what im saying is, that it depends on your setup and needs.
 
Joined
Nov 12, 2006
Messages
2,996 (0.47/day)
System Name COLOSSUS-MK4
Processor E8400 @4.4 GHz - FSB @550 MHZ
Motherboard Asus P5K Premium (Black Pearl)
Cooling Xigmatek HDT-S1283
Memory 2x1GB Geil BlckDrgn 800 @1158 5-5-5-18
Video Card(s) 8800GT 512MB @740/1782/2080
Storage Hitachi T7K250 250GB & 7200.10 Seagate 250GB
Display(s) Gateway FPD1975W 19" Widescreen
Case Antec 1200
Audio Device(s) Xi-FI Xtreme Audio
Power Supply CoolerMaster IGreen 500W
Software XP Home SP3
Benchmark Scores SuperPi: 10.563 Sciencemark: 2563.14
PCI, then get a good 9db aerial with an extendable cable. Thats what I did, and its fine. Whenver mates ask me to fix their wireless signal woes they have usb adaptors.
 

ex_reven

New Member
Joined
Sep 4, 2006
Messages
5,217 (0.81/day)
Can you get USB dongles with the extendable cable?
or is is only the coaxial PCI slot that lets you use the external antenna?
 

p-jack

New Member
Joined
Jul 13, 2006
Messages
333 (0.05/day)
Location
Arheilgen
System Name Ironjack
Processor AMD Opteron 165 @ 2,4GHz, stock voltage
Motherboard Asus A8N-E (nForce4 Ultra)
Cooling Scythe Infinity, Thermalright HR-05SLI, AC AcceleroX1Rev.2
Memory 2x1024MB Patriot PC3200 @ 2,5-4-4-8
Video Card(s) Powercolor X1900XT 512MB @ stock clocks
Storage 320GB Seagate ST3320620AS, 160GB Samsung HD160JJ
Display(s) BenQ FP91GX 19" TFT
Case Coolermaster Centurion 534
Audio Device(s) Realtek ALC850 (onboard)
Power Supply Coolermaster iGreen 430W
Software Ubuntu 6.10 + Windoofs XP
PCI, then get a good 9db aerial with an extendable cable. Thats what I did, and its fine. Whenver mates ask me to fix their wireless signal woes they have usb adaptors.

agreed, best possible way.


Can you get USB dongles with the extendable cable?

my gf is using such a setup right now, works fine.
 
Joined
May 14, 2006
Messages
996 (0.15/day)
Location
Kentucky
System Name Sony Vaio - VGNFW390-CTO
Processor Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T9550 (2.66GHz)
Cooling Stock
Memory 4GB DDR2-SDRAM (DDR2-800, 2GBx2)
Video Card(s) ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 3650 with 512MB vRAM (pitiful card)
Storage 320GB SATA Hard Disk Drive [7200 rpm]
Display(s) LCD 16.4" (XBRITE-FullHD™)
Audio Device(s) SupremeFX
Software Windows 7
Is that actually what you would call it: "9db aerial" because I looked it up on ebay and couldn't find it.
 

inachu

New Member
Joined
Apr 16, 2007
Messages
89 (0.01/day)
Just wondering what I should do about a wireless adapter for my pc. Should I go with a PCI adapter card or a USB adapter?


If you want to use it on many computers then get USB.

Or do what I did.

I bought the Linksys USB SCANNER/WIFI keychain adapter.
 
Joined
Nov 12, 2006
Messages
2,996 (0.47/day)
System Name COLOSSUS-MK4
Processor E8400 @4.4 GHz - FSB @550 MHZ
Motherboard Asus P5K Premium (Black Pearl)
Cooling Xigmatek HDT-S1283
Memory 2x1GB Geil BlckDrgn 800 @1158 5-5-5-18
Video Card(s) 8800GT 512MB @740/1782/2080
Storage Hitachi T7K250 250GB & 7200.10 Seagate 250GB
Display(s) Gateway FPD1975W 19" Widescreen
Case Antec 1200
Audio Device(s) Xi-FI Xtreme Audio
Power Supply CoolerMaster IGreen 500W
Software XP Home SP3
Benchmark Scores SuperPi: 10.563 Sciencemark: 2563.14

WarEagleAU

Bird of Prey
Joined
Jul 9, 2006
Messages
10,812 (1.67/day)
Location
Gurley, AL
System Name Pandemic 2020
Processor AMD Ryzen 5 "Gen 2" 2600X
Motherboard AsRock X470 Killer Promontory
Cooling CoolerMaster 240 RGB Master Cooler (Newegg Eggxpert)
Memory 32 GB Geil EVO Portenza DDR4 3200 MHz
Video Card(s) ASUS Radeon RX 580 DirectX 12 DUAL-RX580-O8G 8GB 256-Bit GDDR5 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video C
Storage WD 250 M.2, Corsair P500 M.2, OCZ Trion 500, WD Black 1TB, Assorted others.
Display(s) ASUS MG24UQ Gaming Monitor - 23.6" 4K UHD (3840x2160) , IPS, Adaptive Sync, DisplayWidget
Case Fractal Define R6 C
Audio Device(s) Realtek 5.1 Onboard
Power Supply Corsair RMX 850 Platinum PSU (Newegg Eggxpert)
Mouse Razer Death Adder
Keyboard Corsair K95 Mechanical & Corsair K65 Wired, Wireless, Bluetooth)
Software Windows 10 Pro x64
USB are a good alternative and work out very well. Depends on how you want to handle it.
 
Joined
Feb 19, 2006
Messages
6,270 (0.95/day)
Location
New York
Processor INTEL CORE I9-9900K @ 5Ghz all core 4.7Ghz Cache @1.305 volts
Motherboard ASUS PRIME Z390-P ATX
Cooling CORSAIR HYDRO H150I PRO RGB 360MM 6x120mm fans push pull
Memory CRUCIAL BALLISTIX 3000Mhz 4x8 32gb @ 4000Mhz
Video Card(s) EVGA GEFORECE RTX 2080 SUPER XC HYBRID GAMING
Storage ADATA XPG SX8200 Pro 1TB 3D NAND NVMe,Intel 660p 1TB m.2 ,1TB WD Blue 3D NAND,500GB WD Blue 3D NAND,
Display(s) 50" Sharp Roku TV 8ms responce time and Philips 75Hz 328E9QJAB 32" curved
Case BLACK LIAN LI O11 DYNAMIC XL FULL-TOWER GAMING CASE,
Power Supply 1600 Watt
Software Windows 10
PCI wireless uses less CPU ......Usb wireless uses more CPU than PCI:toast:
 
Joined
May 31, 2007
Messages
1,051 (0.17/day)
Location
Port Fairy, Victoria, Australia
System Name Rampage 3.0
Processor i7 3770K 4.2Ghz
Motherboard ASRock Z77 Extreme 4
Cooling Corsair 110 (280mm rad)
Memory 16GB G.Skill Sniper F3-1866 10-11-10 CR1
Video Card(s) 2 X gigabyte 7970 ghz edition @1100mhz / 6000mhz
Storage samsung 500 GB + 128GM crucial M4 ssd
Display(s) LG IPS235P 23in IPS 1080p
Case corsair vengance c70 - white
Audio Device(s) On Board
Power Supply Corsair HX-750w
Software Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit
range and signal strength are something else to think about
 

MunkeyQ

New Member
Joined
Dec 1, 2006
Messages
24 (0.00/day)
System Name Dell Latitude D630
Processor T7250 2.0ghz Core 2 Duo
Motherboard Dell
Cooling Standard Dell fan
Memory 3gb Hynix
Video Card(s) Some onboard thing
Storage 80gb Seagate and external 640gb Seagate
Case ...it's a laptop
Audio Device(s) PCMCIA Audigy
Software Lots.
PCI won't hog your USB bandwidth. It looks neater too - I'd get one of those and a better antenna if you're far away from the access point.
 
Joined
May 7, 2007
Messages
457 (0.07/day)
Location
Irvine, CA
System Name My3yrOldBaby
Processor Intel C2Q Q6600 G0 2.4GHz (3.6 Ghz @ 1.400V)
Motherboard eVGA 790 FTW (Analogue) 132-YW-E179-A1
Cooling Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme (Push+Pull: Silverstone 120mm)
Memory 8GB G.Skill DDR3 2x4GB 1866 (running 1600) + 2GB Crucial Ballistix DDR3 1x2GB 1333 (running 1600)
Video Card(s) eVGA 8800GTX 768MB
Storage (2) WD Raptor 150GB SATA [RAID 0], (4) Seagate Barracuda 320GB SATA [RAID 0+1]
Display(s) Acer 20" - AL2017, Acer 22"W - AL2216WBD
Case Thermaltake Armor w/ 25cm Fan & Extra Front iCage
Audio Device(s) OnBoard
Power Supply Silverstone 1000W - ST1000
Software Windows XP Pro x64
What about transfer speeds for internet. If you have a real fast internet connection, will the USB adapter bottleneck your speed, or is is internet even fast enough to max out USB transfer speeds?
Which is faster, basically, USB wireless or PCI wireless? Is internet
 

MunkeyQ

New Member
Joined
Dec 1, 2006
Messages
24 (0.00/day)
System Name Dell Latitude D630
Processor T7250 2.0ghz Core 2 Duo
Motherboard Dell
Cooling Standard Dell fan
Memory 3gb Hynix
Video Card(s) Some onboard thing
Storage 80gb Seagate and external 640gb Seagate
Case ...it's a laptop
Audio Device(s) PCMCIA Audigy
Software Lots.
USB's maximum theoretical bandwidth is 480mbps which not even the fastest internet connection can even come close to maxing out. A PCI adapter will be as fast as a USB one.
 
Joined
May 7, 2007
Messages
457 (0.07/day)
Location
Irvine, CA
System Name My3yrOldBaby
Processor Intel C2Q Q6600 G0 2.4GHz (3.6 Ghz @ 1.400V)
Motherboard eVGA 790 FTW (Analogue) 132-YW-E179-A1
Cooling Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme (Push+Pull: Silverstone 120mm)
Memory 8GB G.Skill DDR3 2x4GB 1866 (running 1600) + 2GB Crucial Ballistix DDR3 1x2GB 1333 (running 1600)
Video Card(s) eVGA 8800GTX 768MB
Storage (2) WD Raptor 150GB SATA [RAID 0], (4) Seagate Barracuda 320GB SATA [RAID 0+1]
Display(s) Acer 20" - AL2017, Acer 22"W - AL2216WBD
Case Thermaltake Armor w/ 25cm Fan & Extra Front iCage
Audio Device(s) OnBoard
Power Supply Silverstone 1000W - ST1000
Software Windows XP Pro x64
what about when you have other devices running USB at the same time? I won't have a HDD or anything like that, but like Laser Mouse, Keyboard, flash-drive occasionally, etc.
I'm trying to maybe save room in my case, gonna have 8800gtx w/ extra PCI exhaust fan, and sound card. Wireless PCI adapter would take my only other slot at the bottom.
BUT, I DON'T wanna be laggin in game cuz I have a dumb USB adapter. So you're saying a USB adapter won't lag tho?
 
Top