advice on "mini" wireless n usb adapters

[vafan13]

I'm looking to find an easy way to get some old work laptops with internal g wireless to be able to get the benefits of n (and not drag down the n computers I do have). I was hoping to find a very small usb adapters that isn't completely crap. I was looking at the Asus usb-n10 but a lot of people have complained of it overheating and crapping out. There seem to be a ton in this size, are any of these remotely worthwhile or do I need to get something larger? I was hoping one of these would work so they don't have to worry about taking it in and out or breaking it off while moving it around.


We also have a few people that are farther away and I was looking at either the Boffalo AirStation HighPower or the TP-LINK TL-WN722N. One better than the other?

 

[thiggins]

Small size does not leave room for decent antennas or heatsinking for cooling.

If you want good performance and reliability, get a larger device. These devices are more for novelty and convenience (leaving them plugged in without worrying about them breaking them off).

 

[vafan13]

That's what I figured, thanks.

 

[zer0nix]

any recommendations for a good dual band n adapter?

 

[TonyH]

Hi,
There are all kinds on eBay. You'd consider one with USB cord so you can position the unit on a good spot. As long as you get brand name one with latest driver, it'll do fine. Or you can replace the WiFi card in the laptop with newer one if the old card is easily accessible. I put in newer Intel dual band card into my wife's aging laptop which had single band Atheros card. She is happy now using 5MHz link.

 

[stevech]

IMO: best, for a laptop/desktop, is not USB, not PCI, but rather, an ethernet bridge - connects by cat5 to PC.

 

[DaveMcLain]

I have one of those Asus mini adapters like you're talking about in an old PC at our shop. The machine which is used for data acquisition on my flow bench and a spring tester and needs to be able to print via a networked printer. It's about 30ft away from the AP and it works ok with a reasonable amount of signal. It would not perform as well in a more demanding application but for the price it's fine.