Does PCI wireless card has better signal than embedded wireless module inside PC

[Happy Hopping]

ASUS PCE-N13 Wireless Adapter IEEE 802.11b/g/n PCI Express 150/300Mbps Transfer/Receive Rate 64-bit/128-bit WEP, TKIP, and AES WI-Fi alliance WPA, WPA2 - Newegg.com

I randomly pick the above. It has 2 antenna. Is this card gives a better signal than a motherboard that has an embedded Wifi module?

because the situation I was at today is, these folks has a toshiba all in 1, which comes with an embedded wifi module in that All in 1. The wireless router/Cable modem is at the basement, and some times they lost signal.

So I'm thinking of something like Linksys WRT1900AC that has 4 antenna, and perhaps source out a signal booster. But if that does not work, it would be time to get a real PC that c/w PCI wireless card.

Do you guys think there is a sizeable gain on signal strength on these PCI wireless card vs. embedded Wifi module on motherboard?

 

[Vengance_01]

I would try power over Ethernet. But if you must use wifi the all in one probably has its antenna around the screen. I would look at range entenders. They are getting cheap where they just act as an access point and will allow you to extend their coverage

 

[Happy Hopping]

I saw LInksys has a model call RE6400, and they said they work w/ any brand router. Using WPS button. But I don't know if that's secure wifi or not

 

[pendragon1]

getting a new card like that with an external antenna will improve you signal. look for high gain antennas, something like this even: Rosewill RNX-N180UBE Wireless Adapter 5 dBi External Antenna - Newegg.com

 

[Happy Hopping]

interesting toy, I didn't know they have this on USB

 

[diizzy]

Just get a wireless bridge and/or use WDS.

 

[pendragon1]

KISS!
upgrade the antenna strength instead of adding more electronics to complicate things. if the modem/router has antennas you can upgrade those too.

 

[BigBadAl]

Powerline network adapters?

 

[Happy Hopping]

dizzy, is WDS secure? in other words, isn't booster w/o WDS more secure?

 

[diizzy]

Yes and no, "basic" WDS uses a static key which isn't that great however if you're using lets say OpenWRT you can use WPA2-PSK in conjunction with WDS. That said, since many vendors these days base their SDK on OpenWRT you're probably going to end up with WPA2 anyways.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_distribution_system