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Need help on choosing Wireless card for desktop

17 years ago

Yes, I am confused. My desktop has never had wireless capabilities...at least I don't think so. In Control Panel, I have a wireless setup wizard, but I assume that is if I had a wireless card installed. I would like to make my computer wireless ready and have no clue what to buy. I will be running off my son's router, who lives next door. He is connected by satellite. His router is of the N type. Do I need to match this type or will just a wired card of the 802.11? type be enough. My grandson can install it if that is what I need.

I don't really need to be confined to this router in case he moves or changes brands, etc; Oh, I know the signal is good enough here to run wireless because my laptop does great, with a "very good" signal.

Appreciate any help!! Ida

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Comments (5)

zep516
17 years ago
I can get you started and others can follow up, not a 100% with networking,

see the link stay tuned for additional replies,

Here is a link that might be useful: Desktop wireless
mikie_gw
17 years ago
Think I'd get a N card,,so it doenst slow down my sons network and n has better range supposedly,,, or better yet a usb n wifi dongle so you can put it on a cord and move it around a bit for best signal.
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ravencajun Zone 8b TX
17 years ago
If you don't have it in the pc then the usb dongle would be an easier way to go. Here is a link to a search on newegg for usb wireless N there you can see various options, of course there are some other things that turn up in the search but focus on the usb wireless dongles, you definitely want usb 2.0 and you want to make sure it does all types of security including WPA2 so you can set up your system securely.
As you will see some have antennas some just look like a usb thumb drive.

If you wish to find out exactly what is in your pc I would go get the free tool belarc and let it scan your pc it will tell you everything.
Belarc
excellent free tool I have it on all mine

Here is a link that might be useful: newegg
idaf
Original Author
17 years ago
Thanks for all the suggestions... I have been all over these websites and links that were mentioned, but I can't say I'm ready to buy yet. I read a lot of reviews and most seemed to be against the usb adapter. Many complained of dropped connections after 2 or 3 minutes. Right now, I'm leaning toward the Netgear N Card because it matches my son's router that I will be using. Do any of you have any experience with this card? I did find out that I have no card already installed. Thanks for the Belarc link. I have used it before on another computer, but had forgotten about it.
Thanks again! Ida
grandms
17 years ago
If his router is a Netgear, it might be advisable to buy the same brand card for your computer. I have read that this does sometimes make for better connections.

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