I'm hoping some people on here can recommend a good wifi adapter/card for Win7 64bit. I have a linksys USB currently (WUSB300n) and its hit and miss with reliability. Also are pci/pcix cards better than usb adapters for performance & reliability? EDIT: I just realized that I didn't include my specs, in case this helps: D-Link DIR-655 Router (hardware ver A4, firmware 1.21) Linksys WUSB300N adapter (driver 1.0.7.2) Asus P5q (v2102 bios) Q6600 (no oc) 4gb DDR2 PC2-6400 GeForce 8800 GT WD Black Caviar 1tb Win Xp 32bit/Win 7 64bit (dual boot) The adapter is a bit more reliable under xp, but way worse with Win7.
100% go for a pci card. i personally would get a atheros or ralink chipset based card. i stay away from broadcomm if possible. but it will depend on the router you have. if the router is broadcomm and you use a atheros based pci card it will work but not be ideal. ideally they should match. i run a wndr3700 netgear and use all atheros cards in my desktops and notebooks and get AWESOME speeds and everything is rock solid. my broadcomm netgear pci card sucked with the atheros based router
Totally agree with armada for desktops pci card 100%. Most laptops have built in wifi but if for some reason or another you need a usb wireless dongle, there are usb models that use atheros chipsets. The linksys WUSB300n had driver issues in the past, I had that same problem but got it to work fine after using a driver made for another brand. I think I used a dlink driver instead. It was some time ago and I no longer have the linksys but as I recall, a change of driver fixed it.
Ok it seems the pci vs usb is clear now, I'll definitely be going that route. My router is DIR-655, I added my other specs to my post.
And at 12 bucks, and the fact that they seem to outlast the more expensive ones it is hard to go wrong.
Now that you mention it, my USB stick does get pretty hot. It stands vertical on a usb stand, with a lot air clearance around it but still seems to get pretty hot. So the $12 one on ebay, do you know people who use them and find them to be stable?
TP-LINK TL-WN951N atheros based and works awesome. just DONT USE the oem driver that come with it. download the atheros 5008 drivers and use the have disc method for installing them works flawless, those are what i use in all out home pc's
BTW, you should upgrade the firmware on that DLINK 655 to the latest level.. It is stable and works great.. It also lets you use a new version of shareport to share your USB port
A PCI-Card with Atheros-Chipset is the best Solution in my eyes. Personally i had some good experience with WLAN-Cards from Gigabyte (the guys who build mainboards ). The TP-Link Cards are Cheaper but for some Reason they are incompatible with older Mainboards (it's about the PCI-Version 2.2 or 2.3 i can't remember).
All I can say is WOW. My $11 usb card came in the mail yesterday and I can't believe how stable this thing is. Oh and for once in my life I can come back from sleep mode and not have to reboot to get wifi to work again! I can't believe this $11 usb card is blowing away my $80 Linksys!!! Can't say thanks enough for the help!
I got one from that ebay link you posted. I know you weren't endorsing any seller etc. but I just wanted to buy it quick and check it out