Best wireless adaptor for desktop PC?

[diaggs]

I want to connect a PC desktop to the Wifi-n network provided by a Netgear WNDR3700 router (that I bought based on the excellent advice of smallnetbuilder.com).

The PC desktop is located in a room similar to location "E" in the open air method: 3 brick walls separate the PC from the router and the PC location gets an average throughput of around 10mb/s (so, quite low but usable since the connection is stable).

My options to connect the PC:
- A Wifi-n USB adapter: I am concerned that I may not get a good reception if the USB stick is plugged at the back of the PC unit that lies on the floor. A USB stick does not seem to give a lot of flexibility to position the device for best reception. Am I right in saying this?

- A wireless bridge: this options seems more flexible: although the position of the PC is fixed, I can optimise the position of the wireless bridge to get the best possible connection

- A PCI adapter: how do PCI adapters normally perform compared to USB sticks and wireless bridges?

Thanks in advance for the guidance.

Diaggs

 

[saturation]

A problem that's hard to fix is more the USB port speed, is it really maximally 2.0 capable? I often find USB ports slower than ideal, a PCI adapter client would go direct to the bus and thus, would not impede maximum possible throughput. Many have external replaceable antennas giving better options for reception, directionality and placement.

I opted for a USB client, but I first clocked USB throughput transferring data between external USB drives.

I have an SX2800 Gateway with a combination USB 2 and Fireware adapter, and it tops out at 80 MBps, that 640 Mbps, far above the typical USB 2 speed of 480 Mbps, with a low end throughput of 30 MBps, or 240 Mbps. After testing it, I decided to use a USB 11n adapter since the most 11n will deliver is 100 Mbps.

The question is does the USB 11n now transfer on the USB bus as fast as possible? So I tested that too.

For reception, I put the USB 11n adapter, an Engenius 9801, on a USB extension cable, so you have flexibility in placement. I then clip the dongle to the best position using a clothes pin style clip. Since USB cables are not certified, find one with thick insulation to avoid losses and reception interference. I experimented with 3 different cables I already had and was surprised that only 1 gave the best performance; all 3 had variable transfer rates! I am still looking for a 'better' cable; between the 9801 and the AP, I get throughput of 90 Mbps download, upload at 70 Mbps.

 

[Aluminum]

The best will not be found in retail

I never found any desktop PCI adapters worth using, and I looked long and hard late last year. They are mostly old inventory, very early draft N, G-only and terrible stock drivers. Trying to find out the chipset on most was a pain without buying and installing it. The few that had solid info were using mediocre stuff.

I did not find any newer products either, there are exactly 0 pci-express desktop adapters.

I am not a fan of using usb for any network for multiple reasons. I also wish all the wwan/3g/etc modems out there were available in another form.

The silver lining is that laptop and embedded parts are readily available. They have the highest possible performance with proper antennas.

Its what drove me to look for more unusual things, like a minicard to pci-e converter.

Mini-pci to pci converters are easier to find and a bit cheaper, but I wanted something future proof. I can also buy one part for a bunch of desktops and laptops.

 

[stevech]

My options to connect the PC:
- A Wifi-n USB adapter: I am concerned that I may not get a good reception if the USB stick is plugged at the back of the PC unit that lies on the floor. A USB stick does not seem to give a lot of flexibility to position the device for best reception. Am I right in saying this?

I think USB WiFi adapters are the best way to go, if you buy a USB extension cable, say, 8 ft. With that, you can elevate/clear RF path to w-router or AP. (Of course, the USB cable is not part of the RF system per se, so it's length is not so critical. It can even go to 30 ft or more with active extension cables).

Better yet is a common WiFi bridge- WiFi to ethernet, Same idea as above, but you have a 100m limit?

 

[saturation]

I think USB WiFi adapters are the best way to go, if you buy a USB extension cable, say, 8 ft. With that, you can elevate/clear RF path to w-router or AP. (Of course, the USB cable is not part of the RF system per se, so it's length is not so critical. It can even go to 30 ft or more with active extension cables).

Better yet is a common WiFi bridge- WiFi to ethernet, Same idea as above, but you have a 100m limit?

As a word of caution, USB extension cables seem to affect the overall throughput and it varies from cable makers. Since USB cables are not certified or tested for performance to full USB 2 specs, there is no way to find a high speed one.

I did throughput tests without the cable, but elevated the PC 3' of the ground with the dongle a direct plug in to the USB slot, and 3 other USB extension cables; I found only one cable gave performance as good as direct connect of the dongle to the USB slot. It had the thickest insulation.

I use lesser USB extension cable for easy access to other things were speed isn't so critical, like wireless keyboard dongles or memory sticks.

 

[QiBy]

This is not exhaustive.

USB/PROS: Cheap, plenty of options, some placement flexibility
USB/CONS: Many substandard models on the market (drivers, QC, etc), hard to be sure what you are getting (different revisions often use different radios, etc), body of the adapter is often the antenna/can be hard to fine-tune orientation for best reception, <2M real-world extension for reliable service IME, therefore limited to 2M radius from PC.

BRIDGE/PROS: Placement (should be) limited to 100M ethernet spec and is therefore offers more options to finetune, not platform dependent, often features a built-in switch to easily accommodate several devices out of the box, can be repurposed easily in the future, no driver issues, (usually) web-based management, etc.
BRIDGE/CONS: Most likely more expensive than a USB solution, can be slightly more involved to configure to your network.

Unless you don't have a wired NIC or it is non-functional, I cannot see the point in using a PCI adapter when bridges are available. While mini-pci adapters can be fun for enthusiasts, they aren't an out of box ready solution. Unless price is the primary deciding factor, I would use a bridge in your situation (and I have many times). Good options include the Buffalo WLI-TX4-G54HP if you can find one, or any router running DD-WRT if you feel up to it. Good luck.