Which network card and what direction to face antennas?

Splashy · Jun 6, 2013

Hey guys,

I have a Netgear DGN2200: http://www.netgear.com.au/home/products/wirelessrouters/work-and-play/DGN2200.aspx
What network card should I get? This is the store I will go to make the purchase and the bottom of page 2 has all the networking items: http://www.msy.com.au/Parts/PARTS.pdf

As for the setup, my router is only 5 metres from the front of the computer (that is from the router to the front panel). There is only a think layer of material separating the router/computer.

Maxx_Power · Jun 6, 2013

Any of the cards would work. Since your router has N300 (dual stream), you should ideally get a card with N300 (dual stream, identified by 2 antennas or more).

Orient your antennas in the same way (to achieve the same EM polarization), so if your router's antennas are both vertical and parallel to each other, orient your PC's antennas in the same vertical position with both parallel to each other. But usually for dual antenna systems, the best general position is to position the antennas at 120 degrees spread, like this \_/ .

Splashy · Jun 6, 2013

Maxx_Power :

Thanks for that. Could you tell me which category you were looking under? The gigabit, 150M wireless-n, or the wireless-n heading?

Are you sure there's no difference? Even across the TP-Link range, the price variation is pretty significant.

Maxx_Power · Jun 6, 2013

Splashy :

Your PDF won't load now. As for the differences, there are these types:

1) Non-N cards. They are obsolete, you shouldn't consider anything in this category.

2) 1 stream N cards (the 150M cards). They only use 1 stream, and therefore, 1 antenna. They are the lowest grade N capable cards, and won't have features like beam-forming which requires a few antennas.

3) 2 stream N cards (the 300M cards). They use a full 2 streams for up and down, and therefore, requires 2 antennas (sometimes they come with 3, with an extra reception antenna). This is the broadest compatibility category. You may be able to get a card that works in both 2.4 Ghz and 5 Ghz spectrums, but since you only have 2.4 Ghz on your router, the 5 Ghz is not immediately useful, although in the future, it could be.

4) 3 and more stream N cards (450M, 900M, etc). These use more than 2 streams, and requires no less than 3 antennas. If your router only has 2 streams (2 antennas), then these are a bit of a waste.

Other than those, your other criterion include internal/external. The external ones are easily moved to reposition for reception, but usually don't come with more than 1 stream and external antennas. The peak speed is also limited to about 40MB/s of USB 2.0, although in practice, this isn't an issue unless you have something that is 450M and up. The internal ones comes with external antennas so you can orient them as you wish.

As for brands, I unfortunately can't see your PDF... Anything ASUS ?

Splashy · Jun 6, 2013

Maxx_Power :

Splashy :

Your PDF won't load now. As for the differences, there are these types:

1) Non-N cards. They are obsolete, you shouldn't consider anything in this category.

2) 1 stream N cards (the 150M cards). They only use 1 stream, and therefore, 1 antenna. They are the lowest grade N capable cards, and won't have features like beam-forming which requires a few antennas.

3) 2 stream N cards (the 300M cards). They use a full 2 streams for up and down, and therefore, requires 2 antennas (sometimes they come with 3, with an extra reception antenna). This is the broadest compatibility category. You may be able to get a card that works in both 2.4 Ghz and 5 Ghz spectrums, but since you only have 2.4 Ghz on your router, the 5 Ghz is not immediately useful, although in the future, it could be.

4) 3 and more stream N cards (450M, 900M, etc). These use more than 2 streams, and requires no less than 3 antennas. If your router only has 2 streams (2 antennas), then these are a bit of a waste.

Other than those, your other criterion include internal/external. The external ones are easily moved to reposition for reception, but usually don't come with more than 1 stream and external antennas. The peak speed is also limited to about 40MB/s of USB 2.0, although in practice, this isn't an issue unless you have something that is 450M and up. The internal ones comes with external antennas so you can orient them as you wish.

As for brands, I unfortunately can't see your PDF... Anything ASUS ?

Hey, this is a screenshot of the section I think you're referring to: http://oi42.tinypic.com/2vuj7sp.jpg
My router has 2 antennas and I'd rather an interal PCIe card. From this list, what do you think looks best?

Thanks for the help, I appreciate it.
Unfortunately it's 4.30am and I need to sleep so I'll check back with you in the morning

Maxx_Power · Jun 6, 2013

Splashy :

Maxx_Power :

Hey, this is a screenshot of the section I think you're referring to: http://oi42.tinypic.com/2vuj7sp.jpg
My router has 2 antennas and I'd rather an interal PCIe card. From this list, what do you think looks best?

Thanks for the help, I appreciate it.
Unfortunately it's 4.30am and I need to sleep so I'll check back with you in the morning

There isn't a whole lot of options there, but the ASUS PCE-N53 looks really good. It is dual band, and dual stream, detachable antennas (if you need upgrades later on).

It is on PCI-E, so make sure you have a clear slot. Usually the next most slot near the GPU is blocked by the GPU's cooler if you have a discrete video card.

Splashy · Jun 7, 2013

Thanks for the help

Maxx_Power · Jun 7, 2013

Splashy :

You are very welcome!!

Splashy · Jun 7, 2013

[strike]Hey Maxx_Power, one last thing I want to say,
I looked over the reviews for the ASUS PCE-N53 on newegg and it doesn't seem too enticing..

I've went through the network cards and I've boiled it down to these 3:
TP-LINK TL-WN881ND: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833704129
D-Link DWA-548: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833127460
ASUS PCE-N15: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833320074

All 3 are different brands yet I don't know how to differentiate between different network cards.
[/strike]
I've now decided to go between:
TP-Link WN881ND: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833704129
TP-Link WDN3800: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833704162

The difference between the 2 is that the 2nd card is dual band. My current router isn't dual band though. I may get one within a year or two though. Regardless, if I didn't have dual band, would the 2nd card still be better?

Maxx_Power · Jun 7, 2013

Splashy :

Both of those are pretty cheapish for network cards. I just don't trust TP-Link yet, but if you want to try it, the dual band is my recommendation, for future upgrades to your router.

Splashy · Jun 8, 2013

Maxx_Power :

Splashy :

Both of those are pretty cheapish for network cards. I just don't trust TP-Link yet, but if you want to try it, the dual band is my recommendation, for future upgrades to your router.

Ok, once again, thanks for the help

Maxx_Power · Jun 8, 2013

Splashy :

Maxx_Power :

Splashy :

Both of those are pretty cheapish for network cards. I just don't trust TP-Link yet, but if you want to try it, the dual band is my recommendation, for future upgrades to your router.

Ok, once again, thanks for the help

You are very welcome!

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