Which network card?

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peteblazey

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Oct 18, 2018
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Hi everybody.

I need a network card for my pc build. I live in Australia so my download speed is 1.4mb/s at peak which means I don't really need a fast download speed, but my ping to most game servers is extremely low. I have a 5ghz connection inside my house. I am using an ASUS Z370P motherboard if that helps.

Thanks
 
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peteblazey

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Oct 18, 2018
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I am not sure of the exact model of my router, but it was purchased new in 2017 and the other one is supplied by iinet, my provider, around the same year. I could not find either of them online because they are no longer sold
 
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Darkbreeze

Darkbreeze

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Jun 24, 2014
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The router model number SHOULD be located somewhere on the router itself. Whichever one is being used by your for your wireless connection is the one we want the model number for. Try to find that if you can, it might be important. There is no sense in purchasing a wireless adapter with features you cannot use if they are not supported by the router, unless you have plans to also upgrade the wireless router as well.

Generally, most any Wireless AC with MU-MIMO (Multiple user in, multiple user out) and Beamforming, that is a known reliable brand, will be ok. But if your router is a wireless N unit or does not support those features, then practically any high speed wireless N or AC unit should be fine.
 
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peteblazey

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Oct 18, 2018
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Ok, I tracked down both of the routers. The first one is here: https://www.linksys.com/au/p/P-EA9200/

It says beamforming but nothing about mumimo.

The second one is here: https://www.iinet.net.au/hardware/tg789/

Doesn't say anything about either of them.

The first one is more important
 
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bill001g

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Aug 9, 2012
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I suspect it does not matter a lot which Wifi card you buy with a internet connection that slow.

The largest issue with wifi when you consider game performance is the interference. Buying fancy Mu-mimo and beamforming do little to solve the interference problem. They are mostly marketing hype to get people to upgrade their equipment when they really don't have to. These feature provide very little speed increase to most people. They are mostly effective when you have lots of people sharing a wifi connection......and in your case you are going to be lucky to get 1 machine to even barely function on that slow internet connection.

With desktop machines your largest issue is the metal case blocking the signals. The best card have antenna that can be extended away like the ones linked in the first response. This increases the cost unfortantly. You can do similar with USB devices and usb extenstion cables but many USB devices are designed for the portable market so they have small antenna and low power output. It takes a lot of research to find good USB.

Since your primary concern is gaming I would look at powerline units instead of WiFi. This solves most the problems with interferece.

Your best option is always gong to be ethernet if there is any possibility to run a cable.

Note nothing will improve the latency/ping time to the servers due to the far distance away from you. Your goal is to not make it worse.
 
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Darkbreeze

Darkbreeze

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That's true. I didn't pay attention to that at first but you must be on a lower tiered DSL connection to have only 1.5Mbps. That's extremely slow and probably ANY wireless N adapter is going to far exceed the capabilities of that connection. At that kind of speed it's almost irrelevant what you use unless you upgrade to a higher tiered speed package.

Gaming on this connection will be next to impossible if that's what you are trying to do.
 
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bill001g

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Aug 9, 2012
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That is a little better but from a wifi standpoint it likely makes no difference. Even old 802.11g cards could do 12mbits on a good day.

Since there is little price difference I would look at 802.11ac with so called speeds at 1200. It is more than you need but because it is the most popular it tends to be the best value just because lots of chips for them are manufactured.

Still the problem is not the speed it is the signal levels and the interference. The interference you can little about but if you go back to the recommended unit in the very first response you got that unit uses antenna on extension cables. This is the best option when you are talking a desktop machine.

Since a desktop is seldom moved some non wifi solution like powerline will be better.
 
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Darkbreeze

Darkbreeze

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Jun 24, 2014
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Ethernet wired would be better still if you can logistically figure out a way to run from the router to your desktop with minimal problem. Technically, and there might be by now IDK for certain, but I think wired connections traditionally have always offered better throughput and connection speeds than any wireless connection, even the best out there. I think this still holds true, even if it has become a pretty close call in some cases.
 
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peteblazey

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Oct 18, 2018
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The asus one? It's a bit too expensive for my budget
 
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teknophile

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Jul 31, 2016
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Honestly the best solution for low-latency on your home LAN is Ethernet, but even with an old 11g wifi router and adaptor the latency wouldn't be that much higher.

Unfortunately the real bottleneck from Australia to a game server is connecting to a different country and there isn't much you can do about that. The closer you live to the server the better.
Your download speed is really pushing the limit also. I would recommend that you don't do anything else on the internet at all while you're gaming.
 
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