PCIe WiFi Card Reccomendations

[64dtz]

Hi all,

 

Struggling with inconsistent WiFi speeds in my room at the moment, my phone is getting between 60-80Mbps down, whereas my PC is only seeing about 18Mbps, is my current wifi card likely to be the weakest link here?

 

My current card is an off-brand item from Amazon, using Intel's 7265 chipset - I'm not too familiar with networking as a whole so whether or not this is likely to be the cause of the slow speeds & any reccomendations for a new card are greatly appreciated!

[Eigenvektor]

The 7265 chipset should support Wi-Fi 5, which is theoretically good for up to 867 Mbps. It depends on where the card, or rather its antenna, is located. How many obstacles there are between it and the router. What Wi-Fi standard does the router support. Are there other networks in the vicinity that might interfere and so on.

 

Your phone is probably in a better (more elevated) position when testing, compared to the PCIe card's antenna, which might even be partially blocked by the PC's metal case

[YoungBlade]

Here are some general tips:

• Position the PC so that the antennas are on the same side as the router - your PC case itself is designed to limit RF interference to and from the components, meaning that it's decent at blocking WiFi. This is why the antennas go outside of the PC - they'd be way less effective inside.
• Make sure you don't have any air vents in the direct path to the router. An air vent basically behaves like a Faraday Cage - it's a metal mesh, after all - and is great at stopping WiFi.
• If you can, move the router and PC closer together. Proximity greatly helps - your phone probably gets an even better connection speed when in the same room as the router.
• If you can, limit the number of walls between the PC and the router. Walls don't completely stop WiFi, but they definitely hinder it.

Also, what router do you have? Some routers have options you can use, like beam-forming, that help the WiFi to reach farther.