Hi there,
Just looking for a bit of advise for a decent Wi-Fi Dongle for my pc which doesn't have built in Wi-Fi. We've moved into a new place with practically no ethernet ports & so I need to use a dongle but my current one is around 7 years old and only runs at 2.4ghz at a very limited speed. Any advise on one that supports 5ghz but isn't too expensive?
Cheers :^)
A usb wifi dongle is what I'd suggest. Or if you really want you can install a wifi card inside the pc which generally have better reception but that's a bit of a mission. Easy enough just buy any wifi dongle that runs 5Ghz, (assuming your router has that capability also). Another thing to do is to buy a usb extension cable, (they're 2m max) and that can help you get better reception. The last usb wifi donge I bought cost about $20. I'd suggest a name brand like RealTek and grab one off Trademe they're very cheap. You shouldn't have to spend more than about $30 at the very most.
https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/marketplace/computers/networking…
ETA: 2.4Ghz will carry through walls etc better than 5Ghz but the 5Ghz will be faster in throughput.
If you can run an ethernet cable that would be far superior, or another, not particularly cheap option would be
https://www.pbtech.co.nz/category/networking/powerline-netwo…
Or:
https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/ADPORC1100/Orico-Nano-USB-B…
Anything Alfa Wireless - you will pay a little bit more but they don't suck.
Just noting that you could also buy a WiFi extender.
They receive a WiFi signal from your AP / Router, and connect via ethernet to your PC (or switch etc).
Advantage is that you can position is anywhere in the room to get a good WiFi signal, and then run the ethernet to your PC, plus it can be used to connect to a switch instead if you have more than one device that you want to network in the same location (for example, a printer) that also uses ethernet.
Something like this might work for you:
https://www.cheapies.nz/node/30861
Alan.
How far away is your pc from the modem & do you have a spare PCIe slot on your motherboard? If not, USB might be the way to go.