Question Motherboard frying Wi-Fi Adapters and causing Packet Loss ?

[Charlie081]

Hey yall, hope everyone is having a great day!

I've been experiencing packet loss on my gaming PC for several months now and am trying to narrow down the cause. It usually starts with a few losses here and there, then gradually gets up to around 50% or more. Disconnecting the wi-fi connection and reconnecting it gets it going again but it will gradually start losing packets over time until it needs to be disconnected and reconnected again.

My Wi-Fi adapter gets unnaturally hot to the touch when packet loss is at its highest. I tested 3 different adapters and one stopped working completely, a new one I bought has been damaged to the point that it's practically unusable now, and my original adapter is still limping along with the packet loss as described above.

To narrow down the problem I did a factory reset on my hard drive to rule out malware and viruses. I also tested the adapters on other computers before they failed and they worked just fine then. Something about my gaming PC has to be the issue, right?

Could my motherboard be doing this? It's a Gigabyte Technology Co. Ltd. Z87X-HD3 and I got it back in 2012 so it's pretty old. I can't think of anything else that could be the problem, maybe the power supply? I don't know, you tell me. Thanks in advance!

 

[Lutfij]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

My Wi-Fi adapter gets unnaturally hot to the touch when packet loss is at its highest. I tested 3 different adapters and one stopped working completely, a new one I bought has been damaged to the point that it's practically unusable now, and my original adapter is still limping along with the packet loss as described above.
Can you please state the makes and model of all adapter's used?

You forgot to mention what OS you're on.

On second thoughts, please pass on the specs to you build like:
CPU:
CPU cooler:
Motherboard:
Ram:
SSD/HDD:
GPU:
PSU:
Chassis:
OS:
Monitor:
include the age of the PSU apart from it's make and model. BIOS version for your motherboard at this moment of time.

 

[Charlie081]

Thanks friend, I will provide as much info as I can.

CPU: Intel Core i7 4770 @ 3.40GHz
CPU cooler: Intel fan that came with it that sits on top of it
Motherboard: Gigabyte Technology Co. Ltd. Z87X-HD3

Motherboard BIOS:
Brand American Megatrends Inc.
Version F2
Date 1/24/2014

Ram: 16.0GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 798MHz
SSD/HDD: 223GB KINGSTON SH103S3240G (SATA-3 (SSD))
GPU: 2047MB NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 (EVGA)
PSU: Xtreme Gear 600w Model XG-H600
PSU AGE - At least 12 years cuz I got it in 2012
Chassis: CyberpowerPC Thermaltake
OS: Windows 10
Monitor: Asus Generic PnP Monitor (literally what it says in the device manager)

Adapter 1: Maxesla (it's dead and has no label so I can't check what it is exactly)
Adapter 2: TP-Link Nano AC600 USB Wifi Adapter(Archer T2U Nano)- 2.4G/5G Dual Band (damaged)
Adapter 3: Netgear 802.11ac Wireless LAN Card Model A6210 (the one I'm using right now)

Hope this helps!

 

[bill001g]

When I saw this post I figure it was some issue with the wifi slot or maybe too close to something else that was hot.

With your update it is clear you are using external USB devices. These it really should not matter the details of the machine you plug it into. I guess you could have bad USB connectors but I can't see how it would damage the external device.

Those tiny USB devices like the nano are garbage on a desktop machine because you case blocks all kinds of signal. Your netgear though has a long cable and is bigger in size. These are the type of wifi usb adapter I recommend people look for. So the new adapter eliminated most the common issues people see using USB wifi adapters on a desktop.

It is fairly common for wifi radios to feel warm, just like your cell phone get warm when you use it for a while, it is purely a byproduct of it sending out radio signals.

I really doubt a USB port damaged these devices. You could try a external powered USB hub so it gets all the power from the hub rather than the computer.

Have you tested your latest wifi card on another pc in a different location to see if the card is really defective. With wifi it is extremely common for the performance to change over time. All your neighbors are also using wifi and someone may now be using more wifi on the same channels as you.

 

[COLGeek]

If using with front panel USB ports, stop and change to rear panel ports (the ones connected directly to the motherboard.

Better yet, stop using USB adapters and install something like this in any of your available PCIe slots:

https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Bluetooth-Ultra-Low-Archer-TX3000E/dp/B07ZV2CJL2/

 

[Charlie081]

Thanks yall, I appreciate the help!