Looking for a good Wifi adapter

[gmclark071]

I recently built a gaming desktop that is now residing in the top floor of the house, in my bedroom. The problem is network connectivity. Since my house is fairly old, there is no built-in ethernet line.

So I opted for a wifi network adapter. The router and access point are in the basement, two floors below, and displaced about 30 feet. And actually, if someone could explain the configuration of modems, access points, and routers to me in short, that would be great, I don't have much experience with wireless.

But, back to the problem.

I bought the Asus USB-N53 as a solution. I believe it worked alright, I didn't really know what to expect from an adapter. I was getting around 1-5 mbps. Now, however, the adapter has stopped working. The computer recognizes it, but does not show any available networks (windows 8). I have tried moving the router slightly and messed around with device manager, even did a system restore (a very bad idea). I want your opinion on a good network adapter, or internal card, that will give me reliable connectivity, and very good range through a couple floors. Any ideas?

Thank you in advance.

 

[BSOD BSTD]

get a PCI or PCI-e adapter, they ALWAYS work better than USB adapters in home environments from my experience. I just got this one:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/300Mbps-2x-Antennas-Wireless-WiFi-PCI-E-Desktop-Network-Card-LAN-Dongle-Adapter-/271408727050?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item3f3138840a

works great, as theres 2 antennas to transfer the data. If you still have problems then buy 2 extension cables for the antenna and move the antenna outside the room the PC is in (more doors and walls in the way = less signal)

 

[gmclark071]

get a PCI or PCI-e adapter, they ALWAYS work better than USB adapters in home environments from my experience. I just got this one:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/300Mbps-2x-Antennas-Wireless-WiFi-PCI-E-Desktop-Network-Card-LAN-Dongle-Adapter-/271408727050?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item3f3138840a

works great, as theres 2 antennas to transfer the data. If you still have problems then buy 2 extension cables for the antenna and move the antenna outside the room the PC is in (more doors and walls in the way = less signal)

Sounds great! Will do.

Thanks.

 

[bill001g]

floors/ceilings are pretty dense material so wireless does not pass though them real well so you may want to consider powerline networks if you can not get acceptable results.

I like people who say ALWAYS they aren't around these forums much I suppose. PCI cards advantage is it is much easier to have 3 or even 4 antenna to be able to take advantage of the mimo. They also tend to always transmit near the maximum radio power where USB devices are designed to run on battery powered devices so some transmit lower to use less power.

The USB main advantage is it is very cheap (USB cord) to move it away from the computer. The antenna on PCI adapters are located very close to a big metal case that does a great job of blocking the signals. Many people put their computer under a desk against a wall almost completely blocking the antennas from all directions.

You could also try directional bridge which is a external box that converts ethernet to wireless. This would let you concentrate the signal toward the router....no way to predict how much better it can penetrate the floor since it depends what the floor is made of.

 

[gmclark071]

floors/ceilings are pretty dense material so wireless does not pass though them real well so you may want to consider powerline networks if you can not get acceptable results.

I like people who say ALWAYS they aren't around these forums much I suppose. PCI cards advantage is it is much easier to have 3 or even 4 antenna to be able to take advantage of the mimo. They also tend to always transmit near the maximum radio power where USB devices are designed to run on battery powered devices so some transmit lower to use less power.

The USB main advantage is it is very cheap (USB cord) to move it away from the computer. The antenna on PCI adapters are located very close to a big metal case that does a great job of blocking the signals. Many people put their computer under a desk against a wall almost completely blocking the antennas from all directions.

You could also try directional bridge which is a external box that converts ethernet to wireless. This would let you concentrate the signal toward the router....no way to predict how much better it can penetrate the floor since it depends what the floor is made of.

Thanks so much for your detailed answer, you've taught me a lot. The directional bridge sounds like the way to go, for me at least. The computer is located on top of the desk (no room under it) and the floors are just two layers of pine wood. Do directional bridges have long cords, for instance, could I have it placed in a more convenient location where a better signal could be achieved? I would prefer not to have to drill any holes. Would under my bed work? My room is pretty small, around 80 square feet. Where would you suggest?
Also, if you have a specific directional bridge product that is reliable and powerful that you could refer, that would be fantastic. Otherwise, I can find one pretty easily I'm sure.

Thank you so much, you've been a real help.

 

[bill001g]

A directional bridge can go 100meters because it is basically a ethernet-wifi adapter.

There are indoor directional bridge equipment but most my experience is with outdoor stuff. You can of course use outdoor stuff indoors. Engenius and ubiquiti sell lots of models many starting in the $50 range. A example is enh202 but you need to look at the different ones.

 

[gmclark071]

A directional bridge can go 100meters because it is basically a ethernet-wifi adapter.

There are indoor directional bridge equipment but most my experience is with outdoor stuff. You can of course use outdoor stuff indoors. Engenius and ubiquiti sell lots of models many starting in the $50 range. A example is enh202 but you need to look at the different ones.

Do you know if there is any major difference between outdoor and indoor directional bridges? Except for weather protection of course.

 

[bill001g]

The main difference is they are weatherproof and they have the option to be powered over the ethernet cable so it solves the outdoor electrical issues. You would think they would be a lot more expensive than indoor units but that does not appear to be true.

There are likely indoor units but they are buried in the mass of devices generically called "range extenders". The actual technical function you want is called client-bridge. There are so many manufactures trying to sell magically boxes to fix wireless issues it is hard to find ones that have good technical specs not buried in misleading marketing.

I would suspect both engenious and ubiquiti have indoor versions. I just never used them, indoors I have always used cabled connections no matter how painful they are to get installed.

 

[gmclark071]

The main difference is they are weatherproof and they have the option to be powered over the ethernet cable so it solves the outdoor electrical issues. You would think they would be a lot more expensive than indoor units but that does not appear to be true.

There are likely indoor units but they are buried in the mass of devices generically called "range extenders". The actual technical function you want is called client-bridge. There are so many manufactures trying to sell magically boxes to fix wireless issues it is hard to find ones that have good technical specs not buried in misleading marketing.

I would suspect both engenious and ubiquiti have indoor versions. I just never used them, indoors I have always used cabled connections no matter how painful they are to get installed.

I will look around for one that suits me, or I might just do ir right and install ethernet. Thanks so much for you assistance.