Wireless card time

[Toothless]

I hate myself the more threads I make since I'm stumped on how to continue the last one.

The router came home from the theif and works perfectly. It's 5ghz to desktop D-Link DWA 160 card and on the 2.4ghz band is a wifi extender that's wired to two desktops. We're looking at the desktop today with that DWA.

It hates me.

I reinstalled drivers, let Windows get drivers, I don't know what else to do but it'll work perfectly fine then the actual WiFi card locks up and drops. Its detected in devices but won't see any networks and sits there as useless as a 1mb flash drive with an LED.

I'm looking for a pretty good WiFi card and willing to go up to $75 for one. I'm okay with using PCI cards and it doesn't matter to me if it is PCI or USB. I was checking out a Rosewill PCI card since my last one WiFi card that ran off USB was amazing. (Until my friend broke it)

Oh and the DWA works in a different desktop but it's known (to me) that it's also really, really moody with certain configs.

 

[newtekie1]

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833166121

That is a pretty good card. Kind of overkill for your router, but if you ever upgrade to a Wireless AC router you'll be prepared.

 

[eidairaman1]

Tp-Link or Trendnet seem pretty good

 

[silentbogo]

+1 for Rosewill RNX-AC1900 or TP-Link Archer T9E.
Both are identical, except T9E will cost you $5 more for a non-ugly black heatsink

IMHO, D-Link has been very-very bad lately. I'm talking 10 years or so...
Also, your DWA-160 based on older Atheros chipset, so looking for a good driver from manufacturer is near impossible, thanks to Qualcomm.

 

[Toothless]

+1 for Rosewill RNX-AC1900 or TP-Link Archer T9E.
Both are identical, except T9E will cost you $5 more for a non-ugly black heatsink

IMHO, D-Link has been very-very bad lately. I'm talking 10 years or so...
Also, your DWA-160 based on older Atheros chipset, so looking for a good driver from manufacturer is near impossible, thanks to Qualcomm.

Yeah I had exact drivers for it at one point but lost them which sucks because they worked perfectly. I'm going for that Rosewill since it'll match the black/red in my case.

 

[TheLostSwede]

Oh, D-Link is still doing that shit? Had the same problem with one of their 54g sticks many years ago. No driver in the world wanted to work with it...

As to your card question, I'd go a slightly different route by getting something that's upgradeable and something you know you can get drivers for without having to try to guess which Wi-Fi chip you have.

The basic affordable option would be this - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HF8K0O6/?tag=tec06d-20
It's an Intel 8260 card on a PCIe adapter for $40. The good thing is that you can swap out the mini PCIe card for something newer in the future. However, mini PCIe cards are being replaced by M.2 now, so it's not super future proof. That said, the Item description says version 4.2 which should use an M.2 card rather than a mini PCIe card. (Spec here - https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/GC-WB867D-I-rev-42#ov)

Gigabyte also has an cheaper M.2 version at $37, but it's 1x1 only - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0742RG2MX/?tag=tec06d-20

Asus also has an option for $35 - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0713RRZMB/?tag=tec06d-20 which is also using an Intel module. It seems to be the best value option.

Another option is, get an Intel M.2 Wi-Fi module (make sure it's not OEM, as it might not work), such as this - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0197W86IE/?tag=tec06d-20 and an adapter, something along the lines of this - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073GP6NML/?tag=tec06d-20 although that one is a tad expensive and comes with huge antennas. There's a bundle deal with the adapter an an Intel 8265 card for $45.

Yes, none of these options are 3x3, but then again, you don't have that fast of an internet connection judging by your router question thread, so this should be more than plenty and you'll know that you can download Intel drivers and not have any problems finding drivers.

Asus' first 3x3 AC1750 and I think even their first AC1900 cards were terrible with regards to driver support and Asus even stopped supporting them quite quickly due to this, so a lot of people spent $100+ on what ended up being useless hardware, as there were no driver updates and the cards had a lot of issues.

 

[silentbogo]

Asus' first 3x3 AC1750 and I think even their first AC1900 cards were terrible with regards to driver support and Asus even stopped supporting them quite quickly due to this, so a lot of people spent $100+ on what ended up being useless hardware, as there were no driver updates and the cards had a lot of issues.

That goes to all ASUS cards pretty much. They are so lazy, they don't even update their drivers when chipset manufacturers did the job for them.
I used to have an older PCE-N53 card and even though it was Ralink chipset, Mediatek still managed to make a decent and intuitive download section for legacy products and make a good working Windows 10 driver (with both bands working at full speed).
ASUS, on the other hand, still has a Win10 driver which basically is a Windows 8 driver with slightly adjusted headers (no 5GHz and 1x1 speeds at 2.4GHz at half power, e.g. no more than 72Mbit/s two steps from my router). I sold it more than a year ago and situation hasn't changed. Win10 can automatically pull up the working driver from internet, but unfortunately it's the ASUS version...

 

[steen]

Yeah I had exact drivers for it at one point but lost them which sucks because they worked perfectly.

That DWA-160 is Atheros or Ralink depending on revision. If Atheros/Qualcomm try the latest set from here:

http://www.station-drivers.com/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=353&func=select&id=255&lang=en

 

[Toothless]

That DWA-160 is Atheros or Ralink depending on revision. If Atheros/Qualcomm try the latest set from here:

http://www.station-drivers.com/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=353&func=select&id=255&lang=en

Version A2 if that helps.

 

[flmatter]

https://www.asus.com/us/Networking/USB-AC68/ I use this on occassion. And it is black and red.

 

[jboydgolfer]

ive had issues with wifi adapters in the past. Who is the maker of the Wireless chip on that Adapter?? and have you gotten the driver from their site directly?

 

[Toothless]

ive had issues with wifi adapters in the past. Who is the maker of the Wireless chip on that Adapter?? and have you gotten the driver from their site directly?

Their site is something horrid and while I did get the driver from them, it didn't work too well.

Also to help anyone still looking.

https://www.asus.com/us/Networking/USB-AC68/ I use this on occassion. And it is black and red.

A tad out of budget for me but I do know you're the master of networking.

 

[flmatter]

you're the master of networking

would not go quite that far but I do score awesome deals on networking stuffs what's your budget? like the router it is in a closet sitting atm

 

[Toothless]

would not go quite that far but I do score awesome deals on networking stuffs what's your budget? like the router it is in a closet sitting atm

Up to $75 currently. Gotta wait til next paycheck to do anything and push back my need for a weaker-grade server machine for other needs. Too many projects and not enough money.

 

[jboydgolfer]

Their site is something horrid and while I did get the driver from them, it didn't work too well.

oddly (or not) while looking around on Amazon, i found a review mentioning to make sure if you buy one of these adapters, to be CERTAIN You get the B-2 model. apparently Any of the adapters that have the identifier "A-2" in its model name are shitty. i noticed yours is also a A2 ...

i found this driver for it. cant speak for the origin of it though.

i found this one from Atheros too
Its right above the facebook icon towards the bottom of page. But the drivers are old and seem to not include win10

 

[flmatter]

Too many projects and not enough money.

I know that feeling. Currently trying to build a AR15 and repair my wife's van.... If I have the money I don't have the time and opposite when I do have the time

 

[silentbogo]

oddly (or not) while looking around on Amazon, i found a review mentioning to make sure if you buy one of these adapters, to be CERTAIN You get the B-2 model. apparently Any of the adapters that have the identifier "A-2" in its model name are shitty. i noticed yours is also a A2 ...

Revision A is Atheros. Revision B and C is Ralink.
Atheros - no support
Ralink - no driver for Win10 on Mediatek website, but miraculously there are Linux and OSX drivers.

There is a driver on Wikidev, but it's for XP/Vista/7. Some compatible drivers for win8 can be pulled from similar adapters (Netgear something-something), but I'm really not sure if it's going to work.

 

[Toothless]

Revision A is Atheros. Revision B and C is Ralink.
Atheros - no support
Ralink - no driver for Win10 on Mediatek website, but miraculously there are Linux and OSX drivers.

There is a driver on Wikidev, but it's for XP/Vista/7. Some compatible drivers for win8 can be pulled from similar adapters (Netgear something-something), but I'm really not sure if it's going to work.

I used a win7 driver a good long time ago but not sure where I lost the file to. I'm trying another driver and it's still dropping after a wee bit of use which is the stupidest thing.

Thissss dumb thing.

 

[flmatter]

http://support.dlink.ca/ProductInfo.aspx?m=DWA-160
http://support.dlink.com.au/Download/download.aspx?product=DWA-160
maybe these will help....?

 

[Toothless]

http://support.dlink.ca/ProductInfo.aspx?m=DWA-160
http://support.dlink.com.au/Download/download.aspx?product=DWA-160
maybe these will help....?

Tried those too.

 

[Asuredawn]

Another option is, get an Intel M.2 Wi-Fi module (make sure it's not OEM, as it might not work), such as this - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0197W86IE/?tag=tec06d-20 and an adapter, something along the lines of this - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073GP6NML/?tag=tec06d-20 although that one is a tad expensive and comes with huge antennas. There's a bundle deal with the adapter an an Intel 8265 card for $45.

That's what I did, except I got the 7265 instead (a bit cheaper, and good enough for me). Just be sure you get the right one for your adapter (they make m.2 and mini pcie versions of both cards) and if you buy a longer antenna cable make sure it's the right type (the m.2 cards use a smaller connector on the card).

So far it's working pretty well for me. I have it set to 75% power and still get a good connection with a wall, dresser, closet, another wall, and about 25ft of air between my pc and the router.

Edit: I got the Asus/intel card for my brother's PC, and it seems to work pretty well too. Couldn't tell you how well the software works, didn't install it.

 

[Drone69]

Maybe this one.

http://drivers.softpedia.com/get/NE...er-Driver-35013-for-Windows-7-Windows-8.shtml

 

[biffzinker]

Skip on Wifi @Toothless you'd be better off with a Powerline to Ethernet adapter.

I'm using these myself in place of the prior Wifi.
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=2WG-002S-00006

 

[Toothless]

Maybe this one.

http://drivers.softpedia.com/get/NE...er-Driver-35013-for-Windows-7-Windows-8.shtml

Didn't work.

Skip on Wifi @Toothless you'd be better off with a Powerline to Ethernet adapter.

I'm using these myself in place of the prior Wifi.
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=2WG-002S-00006

Not enough "solid" outlets to do that. (The wall where the modem is has shorting issues, not sure I want a network in it)

 

[jboydgolfer]

My instinct is to tell you to just go buy a new one , for eight dollars you can get a brand new wireless adapter that works perfectly fine. Unless you have really high-end Internet even a Belkin N150 is sufficient ,and extremely cheap. I've had a couple over the years & they work flawlessly. Even if it has to be dual band you can get them for as low as 12 or $15