[SOLVED] PCI WIFI Adapter Vs Motherboards with MU-MIMO support

[DrGreen]

I've been trying to convince myself to buy a new motherboard/CPU

I just bought this WIFI adapter and was wondering if the X570 (or any) motherboards with MU-MIMO support could have better results.

Thanks.

 

[bill001g]

I suspect not. In many cases the only difference is the chip is mounted to the motherboard and connected via a internal pcie connection. Many times the actual wifi chips are the same.

Most problems with wifi in desktops are that the antenna is located so close to the back of the case. They make short antenna cable to extend the antenna away to the top of the case.

Mu-mimo is hard to say how much benefit you really see. You can setup lab test results that show some small ability to keep different user traffic separate but in real world installs it is not so easy to see if you actually get any benefit. The largest issue with wifi is not the other machines on your network it is the machines in your neighbors house interfering with the signals. Nothing much can fix that.

For the next couple years I would say buying wifi included in the motherboard is a bad idea a pci card is a much better choice. There is a lot of change happening with wifi6 and soon wifi6e. Until this technology get very mature like the 802.11ac stuff you take the risk of having to replace a whole motherboard just to upgrade the wifi.