Buy wifi usb adapter or wifi extender?

[Melodyazzz]

Hi guys, there is no wifi pci in my pc right now so im thinking of either buy one of those usb wifi adapters or wifi extender.

I cant connect with LAN cable because the main router is outside so im wondering if i buy the wifi extender and use ethernet cable from that extender to my pc will be a good solution?
Will the speed be the same like plug in from main router directly?

Just to give some image:
usb adapter: http://www.netgear.com/home/products/networking/wifi-adapters/a6210.aspx
wifi extender reference: http://www.tp-link.com/en/products/details/cat-10_TL-WA850RE.html

Thanks !

 

[Solandri]

I cant connect with LAN cable because the main router is outside so im wondering if i buy the wifi extender and use ethernet cable from that extender to my pc will be a good solution?

If this is the only device you need to connect via wifi, you don't really need a wifi extender. A wireless router with client/bridge mode would work as well - that basically turns it into a big wifi adapter. If you have an old router that's compatible with DD-WRT, you can update its flash to give it client mode. That said the TL-WA850RE you listed is awfully cheap, and it should work better than a USB wifi adapter since it probably has a bigger antenna inside.

Will the speed be the same like plug in from main router directly?

Modern wifi is still considerably slower than Gigabit ethernet. 802.11n tops out at about 20 MB/s real-world transfer speed, with 11 MB/s being more likely. 802.11ac on 5GHz tops out at about 40 MB/s real-world transfer speed, with 25 MB/s being more likely. Gigabit ethernet can deliver up to 125 MB/s. If your ethernet is not gigabit, it probably tops out at 12.5 MB/s.

The wireless extender/repeater function may drop your wifi speed in half depending on how it's implemented. So if you get the TL-WA850RE and plan to use the wifi signal only for this one computer (i.e. not with your phone or tablet), it may be worthwhile to see if there's a way to turn the repeater function off and just use it as a client/bridge.

However, unless you regularly transfer large files within your LAN, your bottleneck will probably be your Internet connection. Most people's Internet is slower than 100 Mbps, which is about 10-12 MB/s.

 

[bobsilver]

If all you need is to connect your pc and no other devices then a usb wifi adapter would be fine. The one you picked is an AC based unit that is only valuable if you have an AC router and a USB 3.0 port on your computer. Here is a link for an N based usb adapter that is less costly and will max out the N standard http://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-N900-Wi-Fi-Adapter-WNDA4100/dp/B006V72AE0/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1436203876&sr=8-9&keywords=netgear+usb+wifi+adapter&pebp=1436203973417&perid=1WB595EBT3JSTG5HQ5ZD

Alternatively if you want to repeat your wifi signal and connect your computer via ethernet then you would want to get a repeater that can act as a bridge too. An example of this would be http://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-N600-Wi-Fi-Range-Extender/dp/B006V72AHC/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1436204127&sr=8-11&keywords=netgear+repeater&pebp=1436204182037&perid=1NS4M3N4C7BT90QNGZDG This device can repeat your signal and connect multiple devices via ethernet.

Repeaters are generally slower then connecting directly to a router via wifi. This is because the signal has to be received and rebroadcast. Plus the signal has to be carried both ways to the router and your device. There is a technology Netgear has called Fastlane. This allows you to use 1 band (say 2.4ghz) to connect to the router and then the other (5ghz) to connect to your devices. Since you dont have wifi in your computer then it doesnt matter. So in that case using a repeater as a bridge or a usb adapter of comparable specs should be equal. Another point Ill make is that repeaters often have better antennas therefore often can have better range. You will need to try it and see what works best.

Bob Silver
Netgear Advisor

 

[Melodyazzz]

After some research i think i would buy wifi adapter cards such as this:
http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/wireless-products/dual-band-wireless-ac-7260-bluetooth-desktop.html

The added bluetooth i think would be nice sometimes.

Thanks for both of you