Looking for some input on a wi-fi adapter

[Oldskittles]

My crappy 6 year old linksys usb wi-fi adapter finally broke, so now I'm trying to decide on a replacement. I was considering a PCI adapter but I've never gone that route before. From what I've researched it doesn't actually matter all that much, but I just wanted to see if I could get a bit of input before I bought anything.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00416Q5KI/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=1ETKDBGOFH9FH&coliid=I3ANKV3WMB9SJ9

This is the usb adapter I was considering, seems pretty solid for the price.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0034CL2ZI/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=1ETKDBGOFH9FH&coliid=IQF4C9ANE421Z

This is the PCI card I was looking at. One thing I'm not to sure on is the different models. I was considering the 2T2R N300 PCI-Express version. Is there that much of a difference between 2 antennas or 3, and does it matter (performance wise) if it's PCI-E or PCI?

Thanks for the help, pretty clueless about wi-fi adapters since I've been using the same crappy usb one for so long. Never even thought to replace it.

 

[bill001g]

Number of antenna is related to mimo in most cases. The card you list only does 2x2 so I am not sure what the third antenna is for. You can tell by the speed they list 300 is 2x2 and 450 is 3x3.

Your router would need to have a similar feature to use them effectively.

If all you do is surf the internet all the devices will be much faster than your internet connection.

PCI or USB is mostly a personal choice. The USB port in the machine used to be slow compare to the network speed but that is no longer true. Even 802.11ac can run on a USB 3 connection. I tend to like USB because you don't have to be taking the machine apart.

 

[Oldskittles]

The third antenna is the different model, the 3T3R version. I'd like to be able to play games as well, so I'm just trying to figure out which of these would be a better option.

 

[bill001g]

you want to avoid any wireless for game. ethernet cable is best.

Games use very little bandwidth so speed does not make as much difference for them. Speed is mostly used for transfer of files INSIDE your house between your machines.

 

[Oldskittles]

I don't have the option of using a cable because of my router location, so that's why I'm looking at some good wi-fi options.