Best Network Adapter? USB or PCI?

Jakie123Jakie123

I have a Desktop and a Netbook upstairs. The speed from the wireless adapter in the netbook is always faster than the desktop. I have two wireless cards/adapters from the desktop - is this a problem?

These are the details from the device manager:

Desktop - Network Adapters:

Linksys Dual-Band Wireless A+G PCI Adapter
NVIDIA nForce Networking Controller (there is a red cross on this???)
Realtek RTL8187B Wireless 802.11g 54Mbps USB 2.0 Network Adapter

Netbook - Network Adapters:

Atheros AR5007EG Wireless Network Adapter
Bluetooth LAN Access Server Driver
Generic Marvell Yukon 88E8040 PCI-E Fast Ethernet Controller

Can anyone advise of a good network adapter and whether it is better to have a USB or a PCI one?

MaxG

I have an Artheos in My Acer Aspire 5310, and it works a treat.

A USB Dongle can be moved around, but if this is for a desktop, I'd probably go with a fitted one served by the PCI Bus.

thescouselander

If you have a choice I would say go with the PCI adapter.

isofa

Think about location too, no point having a fast PCI adapter, if it's low at the bottom of the case and then the antenna ends up up close to a thick brick wall!

Jakie123Jakie123

The desktop computer is in the middle of my bedroom so is not right next to a brick wall.

Is there any particular model/make of Atheros that you would advise getting?

LeeSouthEast

PCI cards will offload the processing cost to the card itself. Most USB network adaptors rely to some degree on the CPU for packet processing, so there will be a performance hit. If you just send emails and browse the web, you honestly won't notice the difference though. Go with the cheapest product with the best reviews and largest signal strength.

Strider590

PCI all the way, USB is more of a temporary "plug and play" solution.

macman

PCI every time. Much neater (no adapter sticking out) and you don't sacrifice a USB port.
The only advantage I have found with USB adapters is that if the signal is poor because they're low down behind a metal box, you can just buy a USB extender cable and blu-tak them up to a bookshelf or similar.

timbim_2

macman wrote: »

The only advantage I have found with USB adapters is that if the signal is poor because they're low down behind a metal box, you can just buy a USB extender cable and blu-tak them up to a bookshelf or similar.

Some PCI cards come with detachable aerials, so you can get an extension for that and improve the signal that way, without the fiddle of a USB adapter.

MaxG

Jakie123Jakie123 wrote: »

The desktop computer is in the middle of my bedroom so is not right next to a brick wall.

Is there any particular model/make of Atheros that you would advise getting?

There are loads of makes and models out there, it doesn't matter what company make it (or import from China and put their name on it).

It is important to consider the numerical statistics like how fast it connects etc.

But avoid Belkin, I have heard they're not great.

Have a look on a computer website.