What network adapter should I get, if I should get one?

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EWalkerToFlames

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Oct 23, 2013
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Hi guys, a little question here... a pondery mayhaps.

So I've recently discovered Dell screwed me over a little with my "N" network adapter card in that the GHz it could pick up wasn't specified and I'm learning that it's only the 2.4 Ghz channel it picks up and not the 5 Ghz so I'm looking to upgrade. I've been running into some wireless problems (intermittent lag and such - I'm in an apartment complex and the connection's shared + there are other routers in close proximity so I'm assuming the 2.4 Ghz's getting hit with some form of interference during these 'peak' hours), wish I could go LAN but I can't.

I've done a bit of research into the subject but I'm not sure what I should pick up so I was hoping for some knowledgeable help with this subject if someone has the time :D I'm looking for a half-mini wireless card (my PC, it's NOT a laptop, has a doc and wires built in - it's the a Dell xps 8300) and have landed on this intel card this intel chip. I'm looking for optimum capabilities and picking up multiple frequencies.
Is this the right choice or should i look else where?
(my bad about the Ghz misunderstanding)
I forgot to mention the router is a Linksys E3000 which is a dual band (2.4/5 Ghz) and running Windows 7.
 
Solution
B
The card should fit and work. Be sure you can get win8.1 drivers for it since it appears you machine comes with win8.1

How much it will help depends on your router. If you do not have a dual band router then it will work the same as your current card. If you only have 802.11n on the 5g band on your router it will not use the 802.11ac features it will only run as a 802.11n card.

Something to try before you buy things try to set your router to 20mhz channels. You can then try channels 1,6,11 and see if you get better results...ie you avoid your neighbors better.

When you get the new card you want to do similar on the 5g also. 20mhz channels give you a much better chance of getting one with less interference. 802.11ac...
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bill001g

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Aug 9, 2012
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The card should fit and work. Be sure you can get win8.1 drivers for it since it appears you machine comes with win8.1

How much it will help depends on your router. If you do not have a dual band router then it will work the same as your current card. If you only have 802.11n on the 5g band on your router it will not use the 802.11ac features it will only run as a 802.11n card.

Something to try before you buy things try to set your router to 20mhz channels. You can then try channels 1,6,11 and see if you get better results...ie you avoid your neighbors better.

When you get the new card you want to do similar on the 5g also. 20mhz channels give you a much better chance of getting one with less interference. 802.11ac uses 80mhz...ie 4 channels so you must get 4 consecutive ones with no interference. There are only 2 blocks of 4 channels total on the 5g range so your odds of getting either of these blocks in a area with lots of neighbors is getting less and less.
 
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