Wireless PCIe adapter needed

[Exteez]

I need to buy a wireless adapter for another pc. The asus adapters I found to be pretty good. The question here is; would the number of antennas affect the connection stability, speed and if so by how much. I'm not familiar with how antennas work and I don't want to blindly purchase the most expensive, most antennas one. So will they actually help, for something like gaming? The PC would be upstairs, and router downstairs under the room.

These are the ones I've looked at, not sure if spending the extra money will grant much benefit:

2 antennas: https://www.amazon.co.uk/ASUS-PCE-AC56-Carte-double-AC1300/dp/B00JNA337K

3 antennas: https://www.amazon.co.uk/ASUS-Generation-Dual-Band-Wireless-AC1900-High-Power/dp/B00EC9S3LI

4 antennas: https://www.scan.co.uk/products/asu...xoX_yw-PV2qdJ3CcQt8AgJYWJaZJSFcBoC1jwQAvD_BwE

Which one would you recommend for online gaming?

Edit:

I've also found this:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/TL-PA4020P...44&sr=8-1&keywords=internet+powerline+adapter

This is apparently said to have a more stable connection. I'm not sure though because the router is downstairs and maybe it won't work in the house, also the power line in that particular house could actually be worse than a pcie adapter. It also means an extra wire running across the floor because there's only 1 socket in the room - where the pc is across the room to.

 

[Mandrake4565]

May not be relevant, but I purchased a Usb wifi adapter for my son. A D link like this one. He plays Fortnite, Cod and a few others without a problem with it. Note that, the room he plays in is approximately 30 feet and on the same floor as the wireless router.

 

[Exteez]

May not be relevant, but I purchased a Usb wifi adapter for my son. A D link like this one. He plays Fortnite, Cod and a few others without a problem with it. Note that, the room he plays in is approximately 30 feet and on the same floor as the wireless router.

Surely the PCIe wireless adapter must perform better than a USB one, right?

 

[Mandrake4565]

Surely the PCIe wireless adapter must perform better than a USB one, right?

I haven't had a reason to look into getting a wireless adapter in a while, so I am not sure. I know is the Usb adapter works for my son. He has never complained about any lagging or issues related to the internet. He is also pretty competitive, if the connection were an issue, he'd be barking at me to get his Pc a better connection.

 

[trents]

Surely the PCIe wireless adapter must perform better than a USB one, right?

Not really. The bandwidth of the PCI-e bus far exceeds what your Internet service/router can supply. It can throttle if you put it in a USB 2 port and if your Internet bandwidth exceeds that of what USB 2 can choke down. Depends on the speed of the Internet service you have and also not all USB Wife adapters are created equal. If the machine it would be used on is at the far end of the house then get an adapter with an external adapter. Also, if your router is putting out both 2.4 and 5 ghz signals, get a USB adapter that has dual band capability.

https://www.amazon.com/EDUP-ac600Mb...d=1540844033&sr=1-4&keywords=USB+Wifi+adapter

 

[Exteez]

Not really. The bandwidth of the PCI-e bus far exceeds what your Internet service/router can supply. It can throttle if you put it in a USB 2 port and if your Internet bandwidth exceeds that of what USB 2 can choke down. Depends on the speed of the Internet service you have and also not all USB Wife adapters are created equal. If the machine it would be used on is at the far end of the house then get an adapter with an external adapter. Also, if your router is putting out both 2.4 and 5 ghz signals, get a USB adapter that has dual band capability.

https://www.amazon.com/EDUP-ac600Mb...d=1540844033&sr=1-4&keywords=USB+Wifi+adapter

Adapter with an external adapter? I'm not sure what you mean. I am unable to check what the router outputs really, as it is in a different house, but the PCIe asus adapter should support everything?
Additionally, the pcie adapter has antennas that can be put on the desk, surely that catcher the signal better, otherwise what would be the point?

 

[don256us]

The extra antenna(s) are not necessarily beneficial. If the card supports MIMO then the wireless router has to have MIMO too. If the antenna are used to beam form with 802.11ac, then your router has to have 802.11ac. I see that the 3 and 4 antenna models have the antenna as a dongle (for lack of a better term). I have found this to be a gimic that did not work for me a few years ago. That doesn't mean that it is a bad idea or that it doesn't work well on these cards but I didn't have luck with them on 802.11n when it came out.

A benefit of external antenna on *all* of the models you list is that you can change their orientation from up and down to side to side depending on the direction of the radio wave in your home.

 

[Exteez]

The extra antenna(s) are not necessarily beneficial. If the card supports MIMO then the wireless router has to have MIMO too. If the antenna are used to beam form with 802.11ac, then your router has to have 802.11ac. I see that the 3 and 4 antenna models have the antenna as a dongle (for lack of a better term). I have found this to be a gimic that did not work for me a few years ago. That doesn't mean that it is a bad idea or that it doesn't work well on these cards but I didn't have luck with them on 802.11n when it came out.

A benefit of external antenna on *all* of the models you list is that you can change their orientation from up and down to side to side depending on the direction of the radio wave in your home.

But the PCIe adapter will in no way be worse than the USB dongle, right?

 

[don256us]

For sure not worse.

 

[trents]

Adapter with an external adapter? I'm not sure what you mean. I am unable to check what the router outputs really, as it is in a different house, but the PCIe asus adapter should support everything?
Additionally, the pcie adapter has antennas that can be put on the desk, surely that catcher the signal better, otherwise what would be the point?

I meant to say, "external antenna" not "external adapter".

 

[Exteez]

I meant to say, "external antenna" not "external adapter".

I understood what you mean, no worries!

I've decided to get the 2 antenna asus PCIe, it has good reviews and is not that much more expensive than a USB one. Cheers for help!

 

[Mandrake4565]

Well let us know how it works, pls.

 

[Exteez]

Well let us know how it works, pls.

Will do mate

 

[habbajabba]

I've got a usb3 asus ac56 with a single antenna and it works great. What you need is a great router, not necessarily a great wifi card. Problem with the internal is you can't really move the antenna without moving the entire pc. But that is probably a moot point in your case.

 

[Exteez]

I was waiting for my girlfriend to actually play a game on this adapter but I guess it will take a while before she does, lol. The adapter does work fine in terms of speeds and ping when testing, and you can't tell the difference when web browsing. So that's that!