First time wifi...

[rans0m00]

So this is the first time I am looking to hook up one of my desktops to my wifi. Im using an Asus RT-n56u and looking for a wireless card that can keep up with voip, streaming, and gaming. The distance is not too far but its getting down to the lower end of reception. In a little bit I am going to go measure the signal strength in the corner where the computer will be placed. When I figure out the signal strength I will post but if someone can recommend a good card for gaming without going much over 100$ I would appreciate it.

After going to look with my only tool available (my laptop) I ended up with a -69 with a transmit rate of 65. For most of the house I am getting -30 to -40 which works good enough but my laptop is barely strong enough to play movies... I wont have the chance to take it down to the corner and test it on voip and games for lag.

 

[stevech]

After going to look with my only tool available (my laptop) I ended up with a -69 with a transmit rate of 65. For most of the house I am getting -30 to -40 which works good enough but my laptop is barely strong enough to play movies... I wont have the chance to take it down to the corner and test it on voip and games for lag.

Signal strength in some consumer gear is in percentages - this is useless.
When shown as a negative number, the units are dBm (power, not percent).
A WiFi signal more positive than about -70dBm is a good number. A number like -40 to -30 means you are within a few feet of the access point.
Remember too that this number is the signal strength as received by the client device (from the WiFi access point/router). Conversely, the signal strength of the client device's signal at the AP/router isn't usually displayed. And that from-client signal is often weaker, especially for handheld devices.

For a desktop, I suggest either
a) A decent WiFi USB dongle + a 6 ft. WiFi extension cable. Position the dongle as high and clear of furniture as possible. This is much better than an PCI card with antennas down in the back of the PC.
b) Better: buy a WiFi bridge (a.k.a., game adapter). Connects to PC's ethernet port. Usually has superior transmitter and can be positioned better.

 

[rans0m00]

I will check into the bridge since I like the idea of just using my regular ethernet port and it being away from the back of my cable disaster. I was thinking about extra parts I had laying around and was wondering if anyone knows right off if a dir-655 can be used as a bridge? Some light googling didnt bring up anything but thought I would ask.

 

[RogerSC]

I had a DIR-655, and it didn't have a bridge mode.

 

[stevech]

yes, I've seen no WiFi routers that have a bridge mode.
Lots of $15 bridges around eBay etc. if you need only 11g.

 

[overdrive31]

For a desktop, I suggest either
a) A decent WiFi USB dongle + a 6 ft. WiFi extension cable. Position the dongle as high and clear of furniture as possible. This is much better than an PCI card with antennas down in the back of the PC.

Any device requiring usb power like wireless need to be used with an extension cable that has an ferrite choke, many manufacturers include bunk usb extension cables/docks without a ferrite choke which stupidly suffer from extreme instability especially with wireless. Any cable much longer than 6' for usb powered devices should be an active usb cable as well.

 

[sfx2000]

Signal strength in some consumer gear is in percentages - this is useless.
When shown as a negative number, the units are dBm (power, not percent).
A WiFi signal more positive than about -70dBm is a good number. A number like -40 to -30 means you are within a few feet of the access point.
Remember too that this number is the signal strength as received by the client device (from the WiFi access point/router). Conversely, the signal strength of the client device's signal at the AP/router isn't usually displayed. And that from-client signal is often weaker, especially for handheld devices.

For a desktop, I suggest either
a) A decent WiFi USB dongle + a 6 ft. WiFi extension cable. Position the dongle as high and clear of furniture as possible. This is much better than an PCI card with antennas down in the back of the PC.
b) Better: buy a WiFi bridge (a.k.a., game adapter). Connects to PC's ethernet port. Usually has superior transmitter and can be positioned better.

Second - good advice!

sfx