Wireless USB adapter

[EJOE]

Hello i need some suggestions on a good wireless USB adapter for gaming.

[Philosobyte]

I have the Linksys Max-Stream AC600, and it works very well, without noticeable latency. I haven't tested its maximum speed, but it has no problem outputting 50 Mbps, the limit for my university's wifi.  I haven't had any stability issues for the two months I've had it. It was quite expensive, at $50, but it was the least expensive I found with near-flawless reviews which was also portable. If you don't need portability, you might want to look at something cheaper and larger.

[ColoradoJones12]

Why do you need it to be usb?

[d3sl91]

Depends on what you have for a wireless connection. What router/AP do you plan on connecting it to?

 

Also, obligatory "get a long ethernet cable, wireless sucks" statement. 

[EJOE]

10 minutes ago, d3sl91 said:

Depends on what you have for a wireless connection. What router/AP do you plan on connecting it to?

 

Also, obligatory "get a long ethernet cable, wireless sucks" statement. 

I could but then my family would get pissed because its there and people would trip over it.

 

Also, I plan on connecting it to an Xfinity router not sure which ones

[EJOE]

18 minutes ago, Philosobyte said:

I have the Linksys Max-Stream AC600, and it works very well, without noticeable latency. I haven't tested its maximum speed, but it has no problem outputting 50 Mbps, the limit for my university's wifi.  I haven't had any stability issues for the two months I've had it. It was quite expensive, at $50, but it was the least expensive I found with near-flawless reviews which was also portable. If you don't need portability, you might want to look at something cheaper and larger.

That would work because my last one was bigger so it doesn't really get detected an anymore by windows. Which is why I need a new one. But then again whats the difference between a big one and a small one? lol

[d3sl91]

Just now, EJOE said:

I could but then my family would get pissed because its there and people would trip over it.

 

Also, I plan on connecting it to an Xfinity router not sure which ones

TP-Link for a cheaper solution, ASUS for a more expensive solution. Then just choose one that supports the wireless protocol the router does. 

 

For example, 

TP-Link TL-WN722N for router that supports N150

TP-Link Archer T2UH for AC600 
TP-Link Archer T4UH for AC1200 (Comes with extension cable)
ASUS USB-AC56 that supports AC1300 (Comes with extension cable)

[Philosobyte]

43 minutes ago, EJOE said:

That would work because my last one was bigger so it doesn't really get detected an anymore by windows. Which is why I need a new one. But then again whats the difference between a big one and a small one? lol

 

 

 

Wifi adapters need to have antennae to capture the wireless signal. The longer the antennae are, the stronger the signal will be and the more range your wifi adapter will have. 

 

This means that larger wifi adapters will generally have better speed and range because they can pack longer antennae. However, good engineering means that the AC600 I'm using has excellent reception comparable to the reception of larger adapters. That kind of engineering is expensive, though - hence the AC600's substantial price tag.

 

That's why I suggested that if you don't need the portability, go with something larger. Larger adapters are generally cheaper for the same performance. 

 

For whatever you plan to get, make sure to look at relatively trustworthy reviews and look for stability/driver issues. Stability is the most common problem people have with USB wifi adapters, and it's why people tend to choose PCIe adapters if they can. 

[EJOE]

3 hours ago, d3sl91 said:

TP-Link for a cheaper solution, ASUS for a more expensive solution. Then just choose one that supports the wireless protocol the router does. 

 

For example, 

TP-Link TL-WN722N for router that supports N150

TP-Link Archer T2UH for AC600 
TP-Link Archer T4UH for AC1200 (Comes with extension cable)
ASUS USB-AC56 that supports AC1300 (Comes with extension cable)

How do I check the protocol?

[EJOE]

27 minutes ago, wrathoftheturkey said:

Trust me when I say they're all shit. Iffy at best, shit for the rest

Is there any way you can go PCIe?

How do I check and isn't that a wireless chip that goes into the mobo?

[Philosobyte]

53 minutes ago, wrathoftheturkey said:

Trust me when I say they're all shit. Iffy at best, shit for the rest

Is there any way you can go PCIe?

 

May I ask which USB adapters you've personally had experience with? I agree that most models suck because of poor drivers, but mine works perfectly. 

[EJOE]

23 minutes ago, wrathoftheturkey said:

If you built the PC then you can, I thought you had something against them so you specifically asked for USB. Basically, yeah, it's a card that fits into the PCI-express slot on your mobo

Ill have to check later but isn't that where the gpu cards go? and I only have one slot if so

[EJOE]

3 minutes ago, Philosobyte said:

May I ask which USB adapters you've personally had experience with? I agree that most models suck because of poor drivers, but mine works perfectly. 

Netgear WNDA3100 its an older version so idk if that's exactly it but It looks like it

 

bahahaha lol that wasn't towards me.

[Philosobyte]

11 minutes ago, wrathoftheturkey said:

everything from cheap amazon ones for the raspberry pi to halfway "decent" netgear? (I think) ones. They piss me off

1

That reminds me of my previous experiences with USB wifi adapters which I actually forgot until I saw your post because it's been such a long time haha. I had a $10 Edimax adapter (I believe some raspberry pi models come with it) which had horrible range, and I had a $30 Netgear model which would disconnect often. 

 

So yeah, don't buy Edimax or Netgear. Netgear makes crap drivers in general, not just for wifi adapters but for their security cameras, too. 

 

Driver performance also depends on the particular model, though, because the Linksys AC1200 has significantly worse reviews than the AC600 which I have.

[EJOE]

2 minutes ago, Philosobyte said:

That reminds me of my previous experiences with USB wifi adapters which I actually forgot until I saw your post because it's been such a long time haha. I had a $10 Edimax adapter (I believe some raspberry pi models come with it) which had horrible range, and I had a $30 Netgear model which would disconnect often. 

 

So yeah, don't buy Edimax or Netgear. Netgear makes crap drivers in general, not just for wifi adapters but for their security cameras, too. 

 

Driver performance also depends on the particular model, though, because the Linksys AC1200 has significantly worse reviews than the AC600. 

how do I know hich model I need (like AC600 etc) I'm pretty sure I need to go into my router settings?

[Philosobyte]

3 minutes ago, EJOE said:

how do I know hich model I need (like AC600 etc) I'm pretty sure I need to go into my router settings?

As far as I'm aware, almost all wifi adapters are backwards compatible with older protocols, so I don't think you need to worry about compatibility with your router. The AC600 especially covers both the 2.4Ghz and 5.0Ghz frequency bands (the only ones which widely exist) and it covers both the newish 802.11ac protocol and the very old 802.11n protocol.

 

If you want to be sure, though, you can look at your router and see if it has a label specifying its protocols. They'll often say 802.11ac or 802.11b/g/n or something similar. 

[EJOE]

4 minutes ago, Philosobyte said:

As far as I'm aware, almost all wifi adapters are backwards compatible with older protocols, so I don't think you need to worry about compatibility with your router. The AC600 especially covers both the 2.4Ghz and 5.0Ghz frequency bands (the only ones which widely exist) and it covers both the newish 802.11ac protocol and the very old 802.11n protocol.

 

If you want to be sure, though, you can look at your router and see if it has a label specifying its protocols. They'll often say 802.11ac or 802.11b/g/n or something similar. 

okay thanks