Wifi???

[Cayden22]

I was gifted a MSI PRO B660M-A WIFI DDR4 motherboard and was wondering what the WIFI meant. I tried the web but I couldn't find a clear answer. How would you explain it?

[Hinjima]

2 minutes ago, Cayden22 said:

I was gifted a MSI PRO B660M-A WIFI DDR4 motherboard and was wondering what the WIFI meant. I tried the web but I couldn't find a clear answer. How would you explain it?

WIFI means Wireless internet.  You dont need a internet cable to get internet with that motherboard.
You need to use the antenna that came with the motherboard though.

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

4 minutes ago, Cayden22 said:

I was gifted a MSI PRO B660M-A WIFI DDR4 motherboard and was wondering what the WIFI meant. I tried the web but I couldn't find a clear answer. How would you explain it?

The board has WiFi (wireless ethernet) built-in. You don't need to buy a separate expansion card for it. 

[johnt]

WiFi stands for Wireless Fidelity. It's generally used as a slang term for marketing, believe it or not. They are protocols established by the Wireless Fidelity Alliance for devices to connect to each other using radio frequencies. It is most commonly used for connecting to wireless access points for internet, such as a router.

 

In the case of an advertisement on a motherboard, it means the motherboard has a compatible board or chip that has "wifi" capacity. So you will be able to use it to connect to your router wirelessly without a separate card.

[Cayden22]

2 hours ago, johnt said:

WiFi stands for Wireless Fidelity. It's generally used as a slang term for marketing, believe it or not. They are protocols established by the Wireless Fidelity Alliance for devices to connect to each other using radio frequencies. It is most commonly used for connecting to wireless access points for internet, such as a router.

 

In the case of an advertisement on a motherboard, it means the motherboard has a compatible board or chip that has "wifi" capacity. So you will be able to use it to connect to your router wirelessly without a separate card.

Gotcha. Would it be better to use an Ethernet cable than the antenna?

 

P.S. What is a card?

[johnt]

I should follow up and say the wifi card on your board still requires antennas. They are almost always included if you purchased the board new. I am not sure what a "gift" means in this case. But they are super cheap if you need to buy them. I use little stubby antennas at the back of my case. It's by no means fast, but it gets the job done when I have to move my computer around.

[Skiiwee29]

1 minute ago, Cayden22 said:

Gotcha. Would it be better to use an Ethernet cable than the antenna?

 

P.S. What is a card?

wired connections will always be the preferred method due to reliability. Wireless still isn't perfect, but its come a LONG way in the last 5 or so years. 

[johnt]

3 minutes ago, Cayden22 said:

P.S. What is a card?

You cannot beat a wire. But sometimes it's nice to have the wifi just in case.

 

This is a separate wifi card that would get installed into an expansion slot on your motherboard (see image). There is a little wifi chip that is installed on the carrier board, in this case. For you, that little chip is already built into your board.