Mobo Antenna Change

[DukiNuki]

Hey Guys

If my motherboards wifi antenna is damaged can i replace it with another one that looks the same and get the same performance ? or the ones that company provides are exclusive and perform lot better than the ones you can get from amazon ?

i like the ones that have no cord and are like old phone antennas , like a finger long thing sticking out of your case compared to ones that have long cord so you get better connectivity by placing it higher than your case .

 

[DukiNuki]

im talking about this something like this

http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Zentri/ACA-4HSRPP-2458/?qs=BoMHE3Ae0lIjMqRpCHMglQ%3D%3D&gclid=CPrj7Na79swCFVUkgQoddXAFDQ

 

[DukiNuki]

one more question . check this motherboard GA-Z170N-WIFI

can i install the antenna without the cord , i mean just the antenna ? i think it mentions something about it in its site

http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5518#ov

 

[CountMike]

Antenna goes by frequency so it should be matched to WiFi frequency, 2,4 or 5 GHz, that's where it's most efficient, I don't trust those dual bend ones. If they are not specified otherwise they should have standard SMA-RP Antenna Plug which fits all devices with that plug.
GA-Z170N-WIFI has two GA-Z170N-WIFI plugs and is dual frequency so for best performance you'd need two antennae, one for each frequency. Now, which frequency you would use depends on your router.

 

[DukiNuki]

Assuming i'm only using 5Ghz because who uses 2Ghz these days ? 2 Antennas for each frequency ? i thought if i install two antennas that will boost my performance and range with 5Ghz or what ever i'm using

for example Using 5 Ghz + 1 Antenna vs Using 5 Ghz + 2 Antennas


and where can i get cheap wifi antennas ( 2/5 Ghz ) ? i'm not looking for the ones that are at the end of the cord , i'm looking for ones that stick out of the case . what are they called ? how do i shop for that specific type of antenna ?

 

[CountMike]

2.4 GHz has it's advantages, it goes thru walls better then 5Ghz. It's good til 300Mb/s with 802.11n protocol. Unless your internet is faster than that or have faster network, it's just fine. One of the type you posted link to has standard connector that would screw into MB connector without any cable. It's length is proportional to it's gain in dB and for every 3 dB it's reception and sensitivity doubles. It's gain should be chosen by how far and if signal has to go thru walls. If your router is in the same room, any antenna would do. In that case buy cheapest one you can find.
As long as it has SMA-RP Antenna connector it would fit to computer or WiFi cards.

 

[DukiNuki]

oh didn't know that about 2.4Ghz .

The Boards that support wifi have atleast 2 SMA antenna connectors so guess i should just grab an antenna

are sure i can use this motherboard's Antenna without the cord ? i mean just screwing the antenna into the motherboard

http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5529#sp

and one more question , it has just one wifi antenna , does it work worse than a motherboard that has 2 antennas like this one ?

https://us.msi.com/Motherboard/Z170I-GAMING-PRO-AC.html

 

[CountMike]

Well, you see, that's how it goes with radio/electromagnetic waves, higher the frequency, more things get in it's way. On one side of spectrum is light and that obviously will not go thru the wall and on other side is very low frequency (Long Wave) that could even be used to communicate with submarines deep in the sea.
On that Gigabyte MB you can see two gold connectors right above DVI, those are for antennae. Right now I'm not sure if both are for WiFi, one for 2.4GHz and one is for 5GHz or one of them is BlueTooth which also works at 2.4GHz. Would have to read manual for it to find out. In case of BT, both antennae would be same.
MSI one has two antennae connectors above that push button on the back.
In any case, should look at them because it's good chance antennae come with MB in the box and you may not have to buy them separately.

 

[DukiNuki]

Yeah they both come with antennas in the box but the msi one has this pair of nice and compact looking antennas with no cords , the ones that stick out of the case and you can bend them . but Giga's antenna has this long ugly cord which is good for connectivity but i hate it . i'm gonna go with the msi so i don't have to pay for antennas separately . thanks alot for the info 😉

 

[CountMike]

I have been an radio amateur since mid '50s and grade school and antennae are some of first things learned because they are very important. but please, do not base MB choice on antenna only, if that Gigabyte is better for you than that MSI, it would be worth 0.01% of it's price of MB to invest for a good antenna.

 

[DukiNuki]

Oh Sure ill consider that , i'm not go for a board just for a wifi antenna but its kinda of a plus in case i cant decide between two great boards .

 

[CountMike]

Decisions, decisions !!! I'm kinda partial to Gigabyte because of past experiences with MSI.

 

[DukiNuki]

really ? msi ? i thought msi boards are quality boards

 

[CountMike]

YMMW but last year I collected and sent to recycling about hundred MBs i changed for people in past few years and 90% were MSI although somewhat older, from last 10 years anyway. Can't say much about MBs from last couple of years because they are still under warranty so I don't get them for repairs/changes.