Should I buy onboard wifi motherboard or wifi card?

[Bhavesh0723]

i m looking for a pc system with wifi and buetooth connectivity
there are motherboards which have wifi and bluetooth connectivity
which is better wifi card or wifi mobo?
i will put my wifi router in one corner of the room
and my pc in another corner of the same room
which will be best option?

 

[Roti-Kebab]

i m looking for a pc system with wifi and buetooth connectivity
there are motherboards which have wifi and bluetooth connectivity
which is better wifi card or wifi mobo?
i will put my wifi router in one corner of the room
and my pc in another corner of the same room
which will be best option?

I always go with wifi cards, on board generally are much more limited to bandwidths and range. You won't face the same problem with PCIE wifi. It's a good investment.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

I no longer see any value in a wifi card if the MoBo im using alreday has it, there's no advantage to be gained.

However, using wifi in the same room with the router ? ... run a cable dude ! Doing WiFi when yoiu have the opportunuty is akin to using on board GFX when you have a discreet card sitting there .

 

[boosted1g]

Motherboard cards may or may not be upgradable, and may also have proprietary connection in them that make it difficult (or impossible) to upgrade.

Between the two I would go for the PCI-E card.
Frankly though for the cost of a good PCI-E card that extends the antennas up above the computer (where the signal wont be as blocked), a cheaper and better option is just using a powerline Ethernet adapter.

Here is a break down of best to worst:
1) Ethernet
2) Powerline Ethernet adapter
3) PCI-E wifi card with external antennas
4) Built in wifi
5) usb wifi dongle

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Motherboard networking, being soldered into the motherboard would not be upgradeable in a sense, but they are in fact as upgradable as any PCI based card. You upgrade a MoBo network connection that same way you upgrade a PCI based one, you buy a new PCI networking card and either move or disable the old hardware.

Wondering what proprietary connection would their be for WiFi ? it's wireless ... with perhaps a standard antenna screw on connection

2. Powerline networking oft has interference issues and offers hazards related to power surges.

3. Built in WiFi also comes with external antennae.

4. I don't see PCI versus built in as having any inherent performance advantages... those being more related to the quality of the individual components. Is this $6 solution better than that found on a $400 MoBo ?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA67038W2545

In any case, since router and PC are in the same room, ethernet cable is the obvious choice.