Wireless networking hardware . PCI card or USB adapter? [wireless networking hardware] [wireless router]
Q: . Or does it matter at all?
Also, I have a Microsoft-G Wireless Router . Is the other adapter to use MS as well?
Best Answer: Sounds like a hardware failure in the card. Could have been caused by that same shorting of the computer.
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Re:Originally posted by: guy
Go for a wired card…Wired?
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Re:Go for a wired card…i can get about 200k max download on my PCI card..and i could never get the wireless USB to work at all
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Re:Originally posted by: guy
This might not be what you are looking for, but If you do not need encryption on your wireless network, get the Linksys Xbox/PS2 game adapter.Encryption is a must.
I'm planning on running my Xbox off the router, and my PC off the PCI card. I play games on my Xbox about 20:1 over my PC, so I'd like that to have the hardwired connection. 
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Re:I have read that USB is less stable and do not have as good of signal strength as PCI cards.
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Re:Many PCI cards have better antennas and transmit power then the USB versions. I just did some cursory research for the uncle looking at the major brands and didn't find a single USB one that had better specs then the worst PCI one.
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Re:This might not be what you are looking for, but If you do not need encryption on your wireless network, get the Linksys Xbox/PS2 game adapter.
All you have to do is plug it in to your ethernet port and an outlet and it connects to the best signal it recieves with zero config, always. Never need any drivers etc since the adapter shows itself to the PC as a regular ethernet connection.
I have used one on multiple PCs with no prob at all, very good solution if you don't need security IMO.
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Re:From my own experience, I've had 3 USB adapters, and two PCI, as well as two wireless routers. I'd say the PCI adapters by far have better signal reception, are more stable, and less likely to lose a connection or become unresponsive.
Also having the MN-730, I unfortunetly was unable to get my USB 802.11b adapters (Belkin) to properly work with the router. They could see the network, but somehow could never connect to it. Oddly though, a PCMCIA notebook adapter connected just fine. Go figure. YMMV.
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Re:Originally posted by: guy
USB is of course more flexible, but I hereby predict that you will wish you had chosen PCI even if all you do is surfing. Especially the first time you try to download a 10MB Windows Update… Just my $.02You think the adapter would be the bottleneck over my DSL connection? At ~100KB/sec, I don't see that as an issue.
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Re:USB is of course more flexible, but I hereby predict that you will wish you had chosen PCI even if all you do is surfing. Especially the first time you try to download a 10MB Windows Update… Just my $.02
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Re:Originally posted by: guy
From my experience, do not get USB. I tried seveal adapters, they just dont compare with PCI solutions. I got two D-Link PCI wireless cards and they fixed all my poor signal headaches…cheap too…there are cheaper pci cards out there, but they didnt do nearly as well…What brand USB adapters did you try?
Re:From my experience, do not get USB. I tried seveal adapters, they just dont compare with PCI solutions. I got two D-Link PCI wireless cards and they fixed all my poor signal headaches…cheap too…there are cheaper pci cards out there, but they didnt do nearly as well…
Re:How about response time?
Does USB Wifi have a slower ping time?
Re:Speed isn't much of a concern because there won't be any file sharing going on… Just internet usage.
That being said, it sounds like USB is my most flexible solution… No?
Re:If you are going to keep this adapter with this PC, then I would definitely recommend the PCI version. Imo, whatever potential benefit there is to better antennae placement with a USB model is obliterated by the low bandwidth. If, however, you wanted an adapter that you could easily move between machines, then USB is the best way to go.
Also, although all WiFi stuff adheres to the same spec, you will most likely have problems getting different brands of equipment to work together. I would highly recommend that you try to stick with the same brand if possible. I bet it will save you a lot of headaches.
Re:depends on what you want to do.
usb has the advantage of allowing you to position the "antenna" anywhere you choose because of the usb cable. but you would be best set to put this into a usb controller with multiple controllers on one chip since you dont want to saturate usb 1.1 with wifi, unless you dont use usb.
as for pci, some have removable antennae that allow you to either replace it, or use an extension to place the antenna anywhere.
summary:
pci – the good: pci bandwith > usb, the bad: antenna placement is typically BEHIND your pc
usb – the good: place device anywhere for reception, the bad: usb bandwidth sucks
Re:Just came across this from Asus, they have a WiFi slot that accepts their own adapter (b and g) that runs off an external cable/antenna. This looks like it acts as the router so it may not fit your application but shows the antenna setup.
http://www.asus.com/products/mb/event/wifiHome/installation.html
Re:Some Pci adapters like the Buffalo that Compusa distributes has a clever external antenna on a cable so that the antenna can be positioned to get the best signal. I have not tried it but it looks like it should be a great solution.
I like the usb adapter route for the same reason, pci antennas tend to get buried under a desk behind the system.
Re:Other adapter shouldn't need to be MS also, all 802.11b/g stuff should be compatible.
USB adapters have the advantage that they can be placed somewhere that has a good line to the router/AP, without being stuck behind the huge hunk of metal that is your case, like a PCI one would be Of course, unless you have USB2, and get a USB2 802.11g adapter, you will be limited by the USB1.1 spec anyway, which will be 11mbps(ish) 
guy
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Tags: wireless networking hardware, wireless router