Wireless Networking Hardware Advice

Highrise

Highrise

Active Member
Hello, Team9000. I will soon be moving my computer away from a wired internet connection, but I am unsure of what type of hardware and from which manufacturer(s) to buy. I do not plan to have anything requiring network access near my computer, but I have heard that some wireless LAN cards use the CPU for processing, which supposedly decreases performance considerably. For now, I am connected, along with several other computers and a printer, to a wireless bridge, which seems to be working fine. I notice no difference from my approximately 11 - 12 Mbps download speed and 1.5 Mbps upload speed.

Anyways, I'm sure some of you have experience with this, so thanks in advance.
 
crafteroftemines said:
you lucky SOAB
Click to expand...
*cough*36down5up*cough*

Highrise said:
Hello, Team9000. I will soon be moving my computer away from a wired internet connection, but I am unsure of what type of hardware and from which manufacturer(s) to buy. I do not plan to have anything requiring network access near my computer, but I have heard that some wireless LAN cards use the CPU for processing, which supposedly decreases performance considerably. For now, I am connected, along with several other computers and a printer, to a wireless bridge, which seems to be working fine. I notice no difference from my approximately 11 - 12 Mbps download speed and 1.5 Mbps upload speed.

Anyways, I'm sure some of you have experience with this, so thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't move to wireless unless it's absolutely necessary. Unless you get like a $100 router, I've always had issues with my devices on wireless. But I suppose installing a wi-fi card would be your best bet.
 
At this point, if you make sure everything's wireless N, you're fine. It's stable, and even a cheap N router is reliable in the short term. If you're looking for something great in the long term, stick to Dlink, I've always had good luck with their products.

Someone might try to sell you wireless AC... don't do it.
 
moondoggy23 said:
What's wrong with wireless AC?
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It's entirely too expensive for too little of a benefit at this point. Unless you're going to regularly move gigantic files from one computer to another, it's entirely unnecessary. If you had google fiber I guess it would make sense, but he would honestly be fine with G without hitting a bottleneck on his connection.
 
I would recommend you run a Cat 6 cable from your router, through your air vents, to your rig. This makes it so you don't have to use wireless and therefor don't have to worry about your neighbors improperly set up WIFI from interfering with your rigs internet connection.
 
Thanks for the advice, guys.

ChrisWsrn said:
I would recommend you run a Cat 6 cable from your router, through your air vents, to your rig. This makes it so you don't have to use wireless and therefor don't have to worry about your neighbors improperly set up WIFI from interfering with your rigs internet connection.
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Unfortunately, that's not really an option. My air vents come through the ceiling besides the fact that I have no idea how to snake the thing through there. However, feel free to prove me wrong, as it's probably best to stay on a wired connection if at all possible.

Anyways, if I do go wireless, should I use a card or an external USB adapter?
 
Kris19642 said:
*cough*36down5up*cough*


I wouldn't move to wireless unless it's absolutely necessary. Unless you get like a $100 router, I've always had issues with my devices on wireless. But I suppose installing a wi-fi card would be your best bet.
Click to expand...
*cough*250down6up*cough*


Card. Always card. ALWAYS card.


Though USB 3.0 looks promising.
 
Thanks. Are there any other manufacturers to consider? All I've found so far are these. I think only one of them supports wireless N, and a user reported not being able to download at speeds greater than 1 Mbps when using N mode.
 
TheGurw said:
Though USB 3.0 looks promising.
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USBs usually use the main CPU for their processing power so it will slow your system down. Most high end cards have dedicated networking ASICs so they don't slow down the main CPU.

Highrise said:
I think only one of them supports wireless N, and a user reported not being able to download at speeds greater than 1 Mbps when using N mode.
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You only get maximum speed when connecting to other devices on your LAN. Also with wireless you need to make sure that you are not sharing or on a adjacent channel that you or your neighbor is using. His speed problem is probably is ISP because he is most likely downloading from the internet.

Most people don't realize that even though you have 1GBs to your system that does not mean that you have a 1GBs internet connection.

Highrise said:
Are there any other manufacturers to consider?
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D-Link - Makes good access points
Asus - Not sure if they still make wireless cards but I had a good experience with one of these back in the days of 802.11g
Intel - Makes the cards built into most Laptops
 
ChrisWsrn said:
USBs usually use the main CPU for their processing power so it will slow your system down. Most high end cards have dedicated networking ASICs so they don't slow down the main CPU.
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I don't usually have an issue with CPU usage. So I wouldn't know offhand.
 
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