Sign in with
Sign up | Sign in
Your question
Solved

Wireless Network Adapter - Maximizing the 5GHZ Channel

Tags:
  • network
  • Wireless Network
  • 2.4ghz
  • TP-Link
  • PCI Express
  • wireless network adapter
  • 5ghz
Last response: in Wireless Networking
Share
September 29, 2014 11:53:13 AM

Thankfully, working in the IT field as an analyst has allowed me to get most of my answers from my colleagues... however, I have an question regarding the 5ghz band not being recognized by my PC.

Below are my PC Specs:
POWER SUPPLY Ultra LSP750 750-Watt Power Supply - ATX, SATA-Ready, SLI-Ready,
HDD Seagate Barracuda 1.5TB Hard Drive ST31500341AS - 7200RPM, 32MB Cache, SATA-3G
SSD Samsung 830 128GB
CPU Core i5 3570K 3.4GHz LGA 1155 Processor
MOTHERBOARD ASRock Z77 Extreme4
RAM Corsair CMX8GX3M2A1333C9 XMS 8GB DDR3 RAM - PC10666, 1333MHz, 2x 4GB
GPU Sapphire DIRT 3 EDITION Radeon HD 6950 2 GB DDR5 DL-DVI-I/SL-DVI-D/HDMI/DP PCI-Express Graphics Card 100312-3SR
Wireless? - Zonet ZEW1642 PCI Wireless Network Adapter - 300Mbps, 802.11n (Z165-1288)

Related Wireless Info:
Time Warner Cable
Nighthawk 1900
Linksys WUMC710
Firmware is up to date
Router is ~20 feet away from my PC

Doing research, I believe the fault lies with my Zonet Wireless Network Adapter as it has a range in the specs of 2.4GHz - 2.4835GHz. Although I feel I have answered my initial question, the follow-up question would be which is my best alternative for the Wireless Network Adapter?

Below are options I viewed as it appears as though PCI Express isn't the standard as much anymore. I would give anything to allow my Desktop PC (Gaming, Video Editing, Streaming) to be wired in, but unfortunately the wife won't allow the cord. Being as I have a partnership with YouTube, the ability to have a strong consistent connection is important.

ASUS Wi-Fi-Express Adapter PCE
TP-LINK Archer T4U AC1200

Please let me know if any further information is required or if my infinite quest of gathering information was misled in any way. I have never setup a wireless network and any information is useful. Thanks!

More about : wireless network adapter maximizing 5ghz channel

Best solution

September 29, 2014 12:31:36 PM

At 20ft you likely will get about the same performance from either device. Walls with metal foil wallpaper though tend to block just about any device. Generally it is a trade off the pci cards have bigger and better antenna but they are located very close to the case. The USB cards tend to have smaller antenna but can easily be place in better signal levels with a cheap USB cable.

Both USB3 and the internal bus connected cards are many times faster than any wireless signal you can get. None even come close to the rated speeds so the wireless signal will always bottleneck you well before how you connect it to the computer.
Share
September 29, 2014 12:40:28 PM

Is there a difference between the 2.4ghz and 5ghz throughput?

Currently, I placed our mobile devices... (2 iphones, ipad, laptop) on the 5ghz channel, while keeping the 2.4ghz channel dedicated to my PC.

Is this sufficient? Or would it be necessary to get a USB3 or Internal Bus?
m
0
l
September 29, 2014 1:35:56 PM

If you use your pc only on 2.4g you might as well not spend the extra money on 802.11ac. 802.11ac only runs on 5g.

2.4g and 5g when everything is perfect run the exact speed using 802.11n. How much speed you really get is impossible to predict since it depends on the construction of your house and how many neighbors using wireless you have.

First you are likely constrained by your internet connection well before you hit wireless speed maximums or bus speeds. Then even if you where to have a 1g internet the wireless tops out under 100m on 2.4g and maybe 300m on the best 802.11ac router and card on the market. They have tested 802.11ac devices on USB2 bus which is limited to 450m and the wireless hits its limit well before the USB. I still would run it on usb3 if you have 802.11ac.
m
0
l
!