Making PC wireless

[UKSBD]

Setting up PC in new room with no Ethernet

What is best way of making it wireless.

Looking online is a minefield with everything from £4 USB dongles to £70 PCIe WiFi 7 adapters being recommended.

What do I really need?
Just want reliable, no dropping, fast.

Is USB dongle not good enough, is £70 card overkill, what would people here suggest

 

[martin_shl]

I've used USB dongles with no problems (mainly for Raspberry Pi). Many will use the same chipset, but it is worth looking for a reputable band which will have the capabilities it advertises rather than some devices that will claim one thing but not deliver. Normally you can tell by the fact that many brands will sell something that looks identical.

TP Link is a reputable brand in the networking space and has several available.

What specification you go for depends on your wireless router or access point. There is no point going for a top end Wifi7 one if your router or access point delivers Wifi 4, 5 or 6, unless you are planning to upgrade those in the near future.

 

[UKSBD]

Thanks, I have a BT Smart HUb 2 which is apparently WiFi 5, does that effectively govern what card/dongle I go for?

 

[martin_shl]

Newer dongles are nearly always backwards compatible so you can go for one that supports a newer specification as it will still support that. But there is little point in paying a premium to get newer if you can't benefit from it.

 

[fisicx]

We got a WiFi card off eBay for about a tenner. Plugged it in and it just worked.

But a dongle is just as good.

 

[DontAsk]

You can also network over the mains

 

[ThatDevAaron]

just buy an external wifi adapter which cost a few quid (at most £10 brand new) for a steady 50-100mbps connection.

Trust me, this isn't as big of a problem as you think, you'll find a solution for extremely cheap, don't you dare pay over £10 (excluding shipping)

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

You can also network over the mains

I have this at my office and get good speeds, also, generally, uninterrupted connection.

 

[UKSBD]

just buy an external wifi adapter which cost a few quid (at most £10 brand new) for a steady 50-100mbps connection.

Trust me, this isn't as big of a problem as you think, you'll find a solution for extremely cheap, don't you dare pay over £10 (excluding shipping

Went for this one for £17

Amazon.co.uk

Don't know what jargon means but it's a trusted name, no1 Amazon best seller, on offer and delivered next day.

 

[ThatDevAaron]

Went for this one for £17

Amazon.co.uk

Don't know what jargon means but it's a trusted name, no1 Amazon best seller, on offer and delivered next day.

I have used TP Link for my raspberry pi's, very good devices.

I'm proud of your choice