Wireless 802.11(whatever) adapters

[AZRedhawk44]

I have 2 PC's in my house, one in my office and the other in the living room.

The one in the office is hard-wired and talks over twisted pair to the router/switch.  The one in the living room uses an external USB wireless 802.11g adapter.

I've been through two of these adapters, though.  The first was a Belkin that died quite quickly.  Maybe heat?  I dunno.  The second is a Dynex that seems to slow down at times when streaming something big (avi's from my media library on my main PC, streaming HD video online, etc).  It can "almost" keep up, but not quite.

Router/wireless switch is a Linksys WRT110, 802.11b/g/n compatible.  Total tx/rx distance is about 15 feet, through 2 interior walls.

I don't want to run cable to where the TV is.  PITA.

I've never tried one of the PCI wireless adapters.  I do notice that they have nice big antennas on the back of them, and I imagine they cool more consistently since they are subject to the airflow of the PC case.

Anyone here have direct experience with USB adapters versus PCI adapters for wireless ethernet?

[Teknoid]

If you go with USB, something like this:http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2509225&CatId=2688

would be best.  You can move it around for best reception. I either use my built-in wifi on the laptop or a pci on a desktop myself. Linux compatibility for usb is problematic. Not so much for pci, and I run a dual boot Linux box for my desktop.

[BrokenPaw]

We use a NetGear USB Wireless Network doodad on BrokenKid The Elder's computer; it's 25 feet and (counting on fingers) 4 interior walls away from a LinkSys WAP54G router.  Signal strength isn't an issue, and the only issues we've had with it have been directly attributable to knuckleheadery on her part.

-BP

[zahc]

Linux compatibility for usb is problematic. Not so much for pci, and I run a dual boot Linux box for my desktop

It's possible, but my parents have several computers running Ubuntu and just went out to walmart and bought USB wifi dongles....one linksys, one Belkin. I crossed my fingers both times but they just plugged and autodetected.

[BMacklem]

At Milwaukee PC, we sell several versions of wireless pci adapters, and a few of the usb types as well.
We do carry some of the pci types that have a movable antenna, not the boom style, but attached by a wire that can place it above the case, within a couple of feet of it even.
something like this...might even be this exact model, I'm not sure at the moment as I'm not at work, but you can always order these over the net

http://www.edimax.com/en/produce_detail.php?pd_id=1&pl1_id=1&pl2_id=44

[jamz]

I have a belkin usb adapter on Mrs Jamz' computer, and a wireless bridge on my basement gaming machine.  They both work just fine.  WAP is upstairs in the bedroom closet, along with firewall, cable modem, and NAS.

[Teknoid]

It's possible, but my parents have several computers running Ubuntu and just went out to walmart and bought USB wifi dongles....one linksys, one Belkin. I crossed my fingers both times but they just plugged and autodetected.

It depends on the chip set, and whether the code is made available to developers. Linux has come a long way, but has a ways to go. Just a few years ago, it was hard to get a lot of newer things to work. Ubuntu is pretty good, and is
what I'm using now. Switched from SuSE last year, and I'm impressed. Madwifi drivers include more pci than usb, but it's getting there.

[AJ Dual]

I use the internal PCI wi-fi cards on old PC's we have the kids games on. They connect just fine.

It's also a little bit more efficient to use the PCI bus instead of the USB. With USB 3.0 that will no longer be the case, but the PCI wi-fi cards can be found for as little as $15 online. The nice thing about the PCI cards with the external antenna, you can unscrew it and put a corded antenna on it and position it for maximum signal. If you don't buy one that comes with it like BMacklem posted, they're available as an add-on...

http://www.amazon.com/Eforcity-Booster-Antenna-Linksys-2400-2483/dp/B000FEDRN8/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=wireless&qid=1232295680&sr=8-1

Stuck down under the wall-mounted countertop my kids use as a PC station, and with the bulk of the tower case also blocking signal, I only get about 50% signal from my base in the upstairs office, but for me it does not matter because the Wi-Fi is only for getting the kids onto PBS/Nickelodeon flash games, and occasionally keeping the PC's updated.

[zahc]

The nice thing about the PCI cards with the external antenna, you can unscrew it and put a corded antenna on it and position it for maximum signal.

The USB ones are even better. When I was in college a USB wifi dongle + 30 ft USB extension cable got me free internet for nearly two years.