[SOLVED] PCI-e Wifi Card compatibility

[Reddington01]

I have just finished building a micro-ATX (formerly itx with onboard wifi) build with a ASUS z97 Maximus Gene VII, I am looking to buy a compatible wifi card. I could use some advice on which one to go for, don't need anything special at all, but a good balance (if necessary) between price and functionality would be great.

I have 1 mpci-e at the "top" of the motherboard just above the back panel and a pci-e 2.0 X4 at the bottom of the motherboard underneath the 2nd graphics card slot.

The cut-out for the mpci-e in the backplate has a space for 2 antennas so I'm assuming I'll be going with that slot.

 

[InvalidError]

The simplest way to add WiFi AC/AX (5/6) to a system without having to worry about anything (other than OS compatibility if using non-Windows OS) would be to get a USB3 adapter.

 

[lvt]

Get an USB Wi-Fi adapter instead.

 

[GoofyOne]

Well you probably have 3 options there, you can use the mini-PCIe slot, a PCIe expansion slot, or go for a wifi adapter that plugs in via USB.

Most WiFi adapters a reasonably priced these days, the latest WiFi standard is WiFi 6 / 802.11ax. I think you may as well go for the latest ones since they aren't all that expensive. Also with a brand name one, you can be pretty sure you will be able to get drivers for it.

The following links are just examples, not saying you should actually buy them:

Mini-PCIe: Intel WiFi 6E AX210 Mini PCI-E wifi card 3000M802.11AX (actually that looks like a M.2 Key E adapter my bad!)
WiFi 6E Card Intel AX210 AX210NGW M.2 Bluetooth 5.2 Card with Mini PCIe Adapter
PCIe expansion slot: Gigabyte 2x2 802.11ax Dual Band WIFI 6 + BLUETOOTH 5 card
USB adapter: Simplecom 2 in 1 Bluetooth 5.0 and AC1200 Wifi Adapter (this one is only 802.11ac, couldn't find any ax ones with a quick search)

My choice would be to use the mPCIe slot on the motherboard, that's what it is for. Up to you which way you go, either one of these types of adapter should work fine.


{GoofyOne's 2c worth}

 

[InvalidError]

My choice would be to use the mPCIe slot on the motherboard, that's what it is for. Up to you which way you go, either one of these types of adapter should work fine.

The problem with mPCIe is that antennas are usually not included, which can be somewhat of a problem when you don't have them or the appropriate cables to go from mPCIe to IO bracket already.