EA-N66 vs PCE-AC66

[CoderDude]

Wireless adapter for desktop PC

I'm looking for a new wireless adapter for my desktop PC. My goal is just to get something that will exceed my Comcast internet speed (50 Mbps) -- I don't need anything faster for internal transfers.

I'm currently using the RT-N66U router (may be upgrading to AC soon) and the Rosewill RNX-N300X PCI adapter. The Rosewill adapter is pretty slow. It only gets 23 Mbps, while a laptop in the same location gets 49 Mbps. So I know the Rosewill adapter is the bottleneck.

Several options for a new desktop adapter:

USB-AC53
Price: $53
Pros: Low price, supports AC
Cons: Requires special drivers

TEW-680MB
Price: $59
Pros: Low price, Versatile
Cons: Doesn't support AC

EA-N66
Price: $92
Pros: Versatile
Cons: Doesn't support AC

PCE-AC66
Price: $97
Pros: Supports AC
Cons: Useless outside a desktop PC

RT-AC66U in Bridge Mode
Price: $182
Pros: Versatile and supports AC
Cons: Price

Thoughts?

 

[RMerlin]

Hi,

Nothing really special about the USB-AC53 driver - any modern interface will require you to install a driver, as it won't come with Windows.

If you want to be able to move the interface to a different computer (a laptop) in the future, that's what I would chose. The only drawback is it's only dual-stream (while an internal card could be triple-stream).

 

[Pericynthion]

Having done something similar I would offer the following comments;

USB-AC53 - Probably the best option to validate the scenario and the one I would go with. Cheap price and as Rmerlin says, gives you portability to other devices. If its in the back of a desktop, you probably wont have to see it sticking out either.

TEW-680MB - great solution if you have multiple devices in the same place (I use this for bridging TV, blu-ray and PS3 back to my AC66U via an EA-N66). However, if you can get them for that price ($59) tell me where!

EA-N66 - I use this to extend the whole radio for multiple devices, but would be a good solution for a single device too. Pretty expensive solution though, but may be worth it if you are in a weak signal area due to the orthagonal antenna and if you check out the SNB reviews it gives excellent (but non AC) extension back to ASUS routers.

PCE-AC66 - As you say, useless outside a desktop PC but if you only have 1 desktop machine may be the cleanest solution - you're getting close to the $100 price point again though.

RT-AC66U in Bridge Mode - Obviously the best solution of all, especially if you can justify with multiple wired devices but very expensive for a single device. Does give you plenty of future flexibility.


Based on the price / flexibility I'd probably get 2 of the USB-AC53's for the price of one of the others. Or of course, buy one and spend the other $50 on something else

 

[CoderDude]

TEW-680MB is $59.99 on amazon.com. Between the USB-AC53 and the TEW-680MB, I guess the tradeoff is AC support vs. an external bridge with multiple ports. I'm leaning towards the TEW-680MB for the flexibility to use with any device with an ethernet port.

 

[Pericynthion]

Wow - thanks for the pointer. at $59.99 thats a steal - I might get another one 'just in case'