PCI-E 1x Wireless N 5Ghz cards... Do they exist?

[frankgg]

I'm trying to find a PCI-E 1x (the short little PCI-E slot) wireless N card that can operate in the 5Ghz range (to work with a dual band router) for both my desktop and HTPC.

Only problem is, I seriously can't find one to buy!

The only Wireless N cards I can find that can operate in the 5Ghz range are normal PCI cards, which I'm trying to avoid because they would seriously inhibit the airflow from my video cards...

The nice little PCI-E 1x slots sit empty, between my video card and the CPU, and would be perfect for a wireless card if I could just find one that worked at 5Ghz.

Anyone find one of these mystical creatures?

Edit: Would a USB wireless adapter work decently, or will they bottleneck the speeds I'm trying to get going wireless N over 5Ghz?

 

[thefreeaccount]

I see this:
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/...8&cs=19&c=us&l=en&dgc=SS&cid=27530&lid=627063

Is there a reason you can't use either a mini-pci to pci adapter or a bridged WAP?

 

[Ehren8879]

Or go with a USB adapter if you're close enough to your router. The USB won't slow down N too badly.

 

[frankgg]

I see this:
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/...8&cs=19&c=us&l=en&dgc=SS&cid=27530&lid=627063

Is there a reason you can't use either a mini-pci to pci adapter or a bridged WAP?

Thanks for the quick response!

I guess I could use something like that, but for $80 I could probably just buy your second suggestion, a bridged WAP.

I guess I foolishly thought I could pop over to Newegg and just grab a 5Ghz Wireless N PCI-E card for ~$30 and be done with it, but alas it seems like you can't find anything with 5Ghz support for under $60 (well, not counting the USB adapters, Newegg has one for ~$35)

Since my desktop and HTPC are on different stories of my apartment, whatever I use I'm going to have to buy 2x of, so I was hoping to not have to spend $80+ for each computer.

Any cheaper solutions out there, or is it go USB or go $$$?

 

[frankgg]

Or go with a USB adapter if you're close enough to your router. The USB won't slow down N too badly.

The cable wiring in my apartment sucks badly, so to get a reliable cable modem connection, I had them just run a new 5ft section thru the wall in the basement and hooked up my cable modem and wireless router down there.

My HTPC sits on the first floor about 15 ft horizontally from the router, and my desktop computer sits on the second floor in about the same location horizontally... would USB be a decent solution or is that too far?

 

[Ehren8879]

Unless the house construction is old and the walls are plaster, wire mesh you should be ok. USB Wireless N adapters are cheap. Buy one and see if it works out in your furthest PC.

Here's a cheap option.
http://www.amazon.com/AirLink101-AW...2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1299884657&sr=1-2

Airlink makes other inexpensive models as well. Do some looking around

A more flexible option might be this deal, possibly better range (link to deal thread here)
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1592120&highlight=dlink+wireless