Desktop WiFi Adapter

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Looking for what is the best desktop WiFi adapter, moving into a new townhouse and the extra bedrooms (where my office will be) does not have and network/cable outlets, so everything is going WiFi. My router is a ASUS RT-AC87U running Merlin FW, would rather internal (PCIe) but external is fine if the performance is there, would like to keep it under $200.

Most uses are gaming (so response time and stability is a big thing) and streaming from my home server.
 
Looked at that adapter, have you ever used it? Hard to find real reviews, I don't trust NE or Amazon reviews. Powerline is something I looked at but it seems like quality and stability is all over the place, and could not find anything about latency in reviews of the devices.
 
Power line is hit and miss, really depends on your house wiring. I have both, and my pcie 1750 AC WiFi card has slightly less latency them my power line adapters, and a is lot faster (all tp-link wifi setup). USB wifi adapters usually add latency depending on motherboard though, not great for gaming ping.

Just my experience, I'm sure other people's experiences will vary.
 
I would recommend a cheap router, TP Link or something. Put DD-WRT on it and have it connect to your other router.

In my experience this is way less problematic than an internal adapter, and usually cheaper than the higher end MIMO models, too.

Plus, depending on the router you get, you can change out antennas, and if you need it somewhere else you just put a longer piece of CAT5 between it and the machine.
 
Power line is hit and miss, really depends on your house wiring. I have both, and my pcie 1750 AC WiFi card has slightly less latency them my power line adapters, and a is lot faster (all tp-link wifi setup). USB wifi adapters usually add latency depending on motherboard though, not great for gaming ping.

Just my experience, I'm sure other people's experiences will vary.

More or less what I have seen as well.

I would recommend a cheap router, TP Link or something. Put DD-WRT on it and have it connect to your other router.

In my experience this is way less problematic than an internal adapter, and usually cheaper than the higher end MIMO models, too.

Plus, depending on the router you get, you can change out antennas, and if you need it somewhere else you just put a longer piece of CAT5 between it and the machine.

Didn't really think about this, while throughput might be a bit lower than some of the higherend adapters, I do have a RT-N66U laying around already that I could use. Might give this a try at least "for now" in case it doesn't work out.
 
Sadly the ASUS, being Broadcom based, won't run DD-WRT I don't think. Never checked - does Merlin have a client mode?
 
Sadly the ASUS, being Broadcom based, won't run DD-WRT I don't think. Never checked - does Merlin have a client mode?

Not sure if Merlin does, however the N66U is supported by DDWRT, as well as Tomato.
 
Reusing the RT-N66U also gives you the advantage of supplying Ethernet to any other wired devices from that.

Power line is hit and miss

This is very true, but depends on the tech. Powerline has come a long way in the past 5 years, heck even the last 2. Just to cover the bases - wireless is hit and miss too.

I really wouldn't dismiss powerline, a pair of modern AV2 or G.hn devices could very well meet your needs. Maybe buy a set from somewhere with a liberal return policy and give them a try. I had a pair of AV1 adapters that on average introduced between 1ms and 0.5ms of latency.
 
Give powerline a shot. In my place depending on placement I could get anywhere from 8-10MB/s. Granted with my new AC Wireless I can see anywhere from 20-45MB/S
 
Give powerline a shot. In my place depending on placement I could get anywhere from 8-10MB/s. Granted with my new AC Wireless I can see anywhere from 20-45MB/S

8-10MB/s would be completely unacceptable.
 
Give powerline a shot. In my place depending on placement I could get anywhere from 8-10MB/s. Granted with my new AC Wireless I can see anywhere from 20-45MB/S

Running reasonably high end routers on both ends (OP already has one, would just need the client/DD-WRT side) he could see 100+Mbps through multiple walls for about the same cost as powerline. So... yeah, no.
 
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Running reasonably high end routers on both ends (OP already has one, would just need the client/DD-WRT side) he could see 100+Mbps through multiple walls for about the same cost as powerline. So... yeah, no.

Right, I already have the RT-N66U and RT-AC87U, so no need to buy anything and be WELL past 8-10MB/s.

I have one of these and it works well. I just use for we browsing/gaming and have had no issues; I used to swear by my Cat-5 cable but wireless appears to be more legit now.

Amazon.com: TP-LINK N900 Wireless Dual Band PCI Express Adapter 2.4GHz or 5GHz up to 450Mbps for Windows 8.1/8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP (TL-WDN4800): Computers & Accessories

TP-LINK N900 Wireless Dual Band PCI Express Adapter

WiFi has always been legit, just most adapters were USB, and/or had bad chipsets that added horrible latency to the connection. Some are still better than others, but most Intel chipsets have no more/less than wired connections, the main problem is connection through the walls I have and stability or connection with possible interference and drivers.
 
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TP-Link TL-WA850RE / TL-WA855RE works good if you're fine with 2.4Ghz.
I haven't tried the 5Ghz stuff but RE450 (QCA) and/or possible RE355 (unkown hardware) should be good too, the 750Mbit ones are based on old Mediatek hardware so I'd avoid those.
 
I have the pce-ac68 card. I've had transfers up to 110MB/s depending on file type & environmental conditions. Works great.

Asus just announced a new AC card that I'm curious about. PCE-AC88
 
Will probably still look at some options, just so I have something, but while I was using the router option I was crawling in the attic with the Comcast guy and found they have 6 lines in there, just not dropped and no outlets installed. I had him hook everything up and I will be dropping them to the room I need and adding a outlet to the room.
 
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