[SOLVED] What's better USB or PCIe?

[Andyme177]

I use my computer for school work and a few older games that don't require a GPU or a lot of RAM they are multi player via wifi I need to buy a wifi adapter and don't want to waste my money so what works better USB 3.0 or PCIe?

 

[bill001g]

To many devices to make a general statement. They could be the same when they use the same wifi chipsets.

In general USB devices are designed for the portable market where size and power consumption is important. They have small antenna and transmit at lower power to conserve battery. There are USB devices that function at full legal power and have larger antenna. Most these also come with stands on long USB cords so you can place them away from the computer.

PCIE devices tend to always transmit at full power but they have the antenna located very close to to the back of the case which blocks the signal. The best PCIE cards have short antenna cable that let you extend that antenna so you can place them on top of the case. PCIE cards are also the only way you are going to get 3 or 4 antenna if you want to attempt to use 4x4 mimo.

The ones I would never buy are those very tiny USB devices that you can get for $5.

 

[k1114]

I've had signal issues with those cheaper tiny ones even when changing settings to high power. The larger usb one I had was about 4" long which was annoying to stick out so much. I also had a usb that had a cabled antenna. The pcie one I have came with both the antenna to put on the back or a cabled antenna which I use. I haven't had an issue with pcie or the larger usb. I'd go with pcie for a desktop. It's less obtrusive.

 

[Andyme177]

So when I'm looking at things I read Dual band is a thing is there something better to look for I know my router has both 2.4 ghz and 5G option

 

[sizzling]

As this is a desktop and assuming you can’t run a network cable have you looked at powerline adapters? In my experience they can be a good option over WiFi.

 

[bill001g]

So when I'm looking at things I read Dual band is a thing is there something better to look for I know my router has both 2.4 ghz and 5G option

Do they still sell devices that only run on 2.4g. I am pretty sure almost everything runs dual band.

 

[Andyme177]

As this is a desktop and assuming you can’t run a network cable have you looked at powerline adapters? In my experience they can be a good option over WiFi.

yeah unable to run the cable across the room at this time I would prefer a wired connection but moving the router etc would take installing new coaxial a/o there's no attic so it's not gonna happen.

 

[sizzling]

yeah unable to run the cable across the room at this time I would prefer a wired connection but moving the router etc would take installing new coaxial a/o there's no attic so it's not gonna happen.

Have you looked at powerline adapters, they use your house mains wiring.

 

[Andyme177]

Have you looked at powerline adapters, they use your house mains wiring.

don't know if it would but the house has solar panels that are monitored via internet with one of those devices which might not work together

 

[Andyme177]

what do you guys think of this adapter?

OIU WiFi 6 AX200 PCIE WiFi Card 2974Mbps with Bluetooth 5.0, 802.11AX Dual Band 5GHz/2.4GHz

 

[sizzling]

don't know if it would but the house has solar panels that are monitored via internet with one of those devices which might not work together

My parents house has solar panels and use powerline adapters with no issues. No idea if there can be issues but they haven't had any. Not something I have needed to look into.

 

[DeauteratedDog]

what do you guys think of this adapter?

OIU WiFi 6 AX200 PCIE WiFi Card 2974Mbps with Bluetooth 5.0, 802.11AX Dual Band 5GHz/2.4GHz

It's OK. Better if it had remote antennas (antennas on a cable) so you could locate the antennas in clear space. Also, I wouldn't pay extra for .11ax over .11ac at this point - it won't be long before we start seeing 'Wi-Fi 6E' (802.11ax on 6 GHz), and that will be a worthy upgrade (hopefully).

One thing about 11ax is that it sure let's the marketers tell bigger lies - they quote performance numbers for 1024QAM on 160 MHz channels, and that ain't happening unless you are right next to the router/AP.

 

[bill001g]

Yup kinda laughing at all those people that used "future" proof as a excuse to buy 802.11ax before it was even finalized and now it is going to be made obsolete. I heard rumors they were working on this and then just last week I see the fcc approved a huge block of radio bandwidth. Now it just depends on what the allowed transmit power is because that was most the complaints from companies like att were. Guess it is time to go find the FCC pdf and try to actually read them.

 

[Andyme177]

how do you feel about Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5 on the same card?

I found a WE3000

Cudy WE3000 AX 3000Mbps Wireless WiFi 6 PCIe Card for PC, Bluetooth 5.0, AX200 Module Inside, 2402Mbps+574Mbps WiFi 6 Speed, Bluetooth 5.0/4.2/4.0, 802.11ax/ac/a/b/g/n, Windows 10 64-bit Only

 

[DeauteratedDog]

Either of the cards you linked are fine. They may both actually use the same radio module.

If you do get one, get a pair of antenna extensions, and put the antennas somewhere in clear space, not stuffed behind your PC.

For example: https://www.newegg.com/p/2VT-0095-00071
Or, including gain antennas: https://www.newegg.com/p/2VT-0095-00003

Place the two antennas side by side, about a foot apart.