Wireless adapters aren’t just routers, shoved inside of desktop computers. They’re a means of extending your wireless network to a broader area, of affecting control over your network, and expanding network reception. With the right adapter, your options can remain wide open. Some wireless adapters ask you to choose between convenience and efficiency, but more often than not, you can have both.
Choosing the Right PCIe Wireless Adapter
Finding a great PCIe wireless adapters isn’t tricky. Knowing how to choose between several good adapters can be more challenging. It helps if you have a specific idea of what you’re looking to find.
Number of Antennas
What’s the point of having a bunch of antennas sitting in one place? Instead of thinking of antennas as something which pick-up or transmit Wi-Fi signals, think of them as tubes for carrying data. More antennas mean more tubes, though not necessarily larger tubes.
You almost can think of each antenna as being its own network. If you’re planning on having four devices on your network, each drawing large quantities of bandwidth, then you’re going to want one antenna for each device.
Antenna Qualities
You also want to pay attention to the quality of the antennas included with any given PCIe Wireless Adapter. In other words, how big are the tubes? Some antennas are made to broadcast lengthy distances, others aren’t. Some are made to handle large streams of data, other aren’t.
If a manufacturer doesn’t explicitly tell you anything about signal distance, you can safely assume it’s about 30-feet. Stock antennas are rarely impressive, but often possible to replace. In fact, another characteristic of the best PCIe wireless adapters is being able to remove and replace stock antennas.
Apart from replacement, it can be helpful to be able to rotate the antennas. It can provide a real boost to your signal, at least in certain circumstances. It’s the kind of thing that varies from room to room, so it can be tough to know if you’re going to be able to benefit from rotational antennas until you’ve got them in your hands. But adaptability rarely hurts.
Speed and Bandwidth
How quick do you need the adapter to be? Speed is actually a combination of several factors working together because speed is always relative to the demands of the network. A card that works wonderfully for your friend might be terribly slow for you.
For the most part, any decent PCIe wireless adapter will be able to accommodate at least one Gigabit of data throughput, which is capable of serving nearly every person and every home network. But if you’re among the minority of people who need a two or three gigabit throughput, there are always adapters capable of that kind of power.
Operating System Support
Does it work when you plug it in? There’s a difference between native support and being able to get something to work. Native support means you can basically plug in the card and installation is done. Often times, it’s possible to extend support beyond what’s listed by the manufacturer. But you generally only want to do this when you know what you’re doing.
Physical Size
Can you fit the PCIe wireless adapter inside of your case? For people with low-profile cases, or PC cases with a smaller form factor, size can be a critical determination. You’re mostly interested in the height of the card. To know the maximum height your adapter can be, you’ll have to measure your case.
For people with full sized towers, you really only need to worry about having an empty PCIe slot. Even the largest PCIe wireless adapters will fit into any full sized case without a second thought.
Card Cooling
There’s little difference between a PCIe wireless adapter and any other circuit-board in your computer. As they work harder, they get hotter. If you’re using a powerful PCIe wireless adapter, then you’re probably going to encounter more heat. And heat can get in the way of performance because your equipment will throttle as it begins to exceed normal temperatures.
Having an effective cooler can make a world of difference in network performance. Aluminum coolers are not only appropriate to the task of cooling a wireless adapter, they’re highly cost effective. But keep in mind, a large aluminum cooler means it’s suboptimal to place your wireless adapter directly beneath another component’s heat exhaust. You’ll need to think more about positioning to find the right spot.
ASUS 4×4 AC3100 PCIe Adapter (PCE-AC88)
The ASUS PCE-AC88 4×4 is an AC3100 PCIe Adapter, intended to be an all-in-one kit. It includes not only the wireless adapter card, but a fairly formidable set of external antennas. These dual-band antennas can transmit signals with processing speeds of 2100 Mbps on the 5GHz band, and an additional 1000 Mbps on the 2.4 GHz band. It would be safe to call this equipment future-proofed, especially relative to average American network speeds.
The use of R-SMA antenna connectors make it possible to connect this card with almost any aftermarket antenna. And MU-MIMO support means you can support four high bandwidth connections, and still end up with pretty smooth streaming.
Build & Design
The PCIe adapter itself looks like almost any other PCIe card, though it’s covered in heatsinks and painted bright red. Like any other adapter, the ASUS 4×4 will start to heat-up when placed under heavy computational load. Its customized heatsink is excellent at dissipating heat, provided that your case is reasonably cool to begin with. If your case runs warm, then the heatsink will do very little for you.
Cooling is essential for the longevity of the equipment, but it’s also essential for a stable performance, especially if your network adapter starts to become hammered with traffic. It’s often a good idea to position an adapter like this near a case fan.
The other thing to notice about this adapter is the included antenna. It’s actually a separate antenna stand, constructed around a magnetic base. The magnetic nature of the base allows each antenna to be flexibly adjusted in the interests of improving network coverage. Each antenna can be attached to individual PCIe slots, making for an incredibly powerful yet compact installation.
Other Considerations
The ASUS 4×4 PCIe Adapter supports Windows 10 and Windows 7. It does require at least a 64-bit operating system, so the 32-bit versions of Windows are out.
This equipment has a peak operating temperature of about 104°F. Something to keep in mind if you happen to use this adapter in a room that’s poorly cooled, or in a PC case that’s poorly ventilated.
The ASUS 4×4 AC3100 includes the PCE-AC88 adapter, a one-year warranty, and a low profile bracket. The bracket is useful for installing the 4×4 AC3100 in small form factor cases.
TP-Link Archer T9E AC1900
TP-Link is among the more respected names in networking equipment. And the TP-Link Archer T9E AC1900 is sure to be among the most straightforward network adapters on the market.
That’s not to say it doesn’t have power. It uses the same modern beamforming technologies as the ASUS adapter, and is capable of providing support for bandwidth in the neighborhood of 1900 Mbps.
Build & Design
The T9E measures 4.5 x 4.8 x 0.8-inches, making it about as small and compact as any PCIe card. At the end of the card, there are three adjustable antennas attached. Each can be adjusted in a range of about 90-degrees. But because these antennas are attached to the card, it can be tricky for them to work effectively unless the PC you’re using is in a good place to broadcast your network signal.
Like with the ASUS 4×4 AC3100, this networking card features an aluminum heat sink. It’s slightly harder to see because the dark coloring helps it blend in, but it’s just as effective at moving heat away from your components. It helps make this adapter ideal for 4K content, online gaming, UHD video streams, and so forth.
Other Considerations
The T9E supports Windows XP, 7, 8, and 8.1. It supports both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions for each of those operating systems. Though it’s not built specifically for Windows 10, you should have no problem getting it to work. You would only need to get the Windows 10 driver from their website, and jump through a few additional hoops after that. But it’s not difficult to get done.
The stock antennas have a dBi rating of 2, which is pretty weak. It indicates they’re useful for about 30-feet of transmission. But they can be removed and replaced if you end up needing more signal support than the stock antennas can provide.
The TP-Link Archer T9E AC1900 includes a two-year warranty, and is backed with 24/7 tech support. Like with the ASUS AC3100, this adapter includes its own small form factor mounting bracket. As long as the length of this adapter isn’t an issue for your case, you’ll have no issue fitting it in.
Rosewill AC1300 WiFi Adapter
Rosewill has few fans. It could be because their equipment never tries to be the very best. They don’t try to make the best keyboards or the best Wi-Fi adapters, only competent devices at reasonable prices. That’s essentially what you can expect from the Rosewill AC1300 WiFi Adapter.
Most people don’t need multi-gigabit adapters. The average internet user in the United States enjoys about 100 Mbps. That means for most people in most circumstances, there’s really nothing wrong with selecting an adapter that can provide anything over one gigabit of bandwidth.
The AC1300 is capable of drawing 867 Mbps from the 5 GHz band, and an additional 400 Mbps from the 2.4 Ghz band. Combine those figures together and round up. You end up with the AC1300.
Build & Design
This adapter measures 4.5 x 4.8 x 0.85-inches. It includes two antennas, which can be detached and replaced with aftermarket antennas. And like the other adapters on this list, the antennas can be fully rotated for multi-directional coverage. The included antennas have terribly average performance. They’re good for sending out a Wi-Fi signal about 30 feet.
The Rosewill AC1300 WiFi Adapter uses a bright red aluminum heat sink, similar to the ASUS AC3100. Rosewill’s looks more generic, but it does an equally effective job at dissipating heat. And that’s really the theme of this adapter.
Other Considerations
The Rosewill AC1300 supports Windows XP, 7, 8, 8.1, and 10. The AC1300 supports MIMO for reliable lag-free gaming and video streaming. And you can squeeze about 11 devices onto the network before things start to slow down.
Choosing Among the Best PCIe Wireless Adapters
The ASUS 4×4 AC3100 is the most powerful adapter on this list. It can handle about three gigabits of bandwidth, spread across four antennas, positioned anywhere you want. It’s a great choice for someone who expects several high bandwidth connections on their network, and someone who’s wants strong antennas packaged with their adapter.
The TP-Link Archer T9E AC1900 has three antenna ports instead of four. That number of antennas is proportional to its slightly lower bandwidth capabilities. For people who are looking for a card that can handle something in the neighborhood of two gigabits of bandwidth, the T9E AC1900 is ideal. It’s great if you want power similar to the ASUS AC3100, but you don’t want to bother with using a separate antenna station.
Finally, there’s the Rosewill AC1300 WiFi Adapter. Aiming for the middle isn’t right for everyone, it’s certainly not as exciting as getting a top-of-the-line adapter. But the simple truth is this. For most people in most circumstances, the Rosewill AC1300 will perform just as well as the far-more-expensive ASUS AC3100. Unless you have reason to believe 1300 Mbps isn’t going to cut it for your network, the AC1300 is worth picking up.
Sir,
My HP Laptop got problem to connect fiber net. it get connect cant brows and shows
DNS..error.
I check with repair shop he suggest to change the network adapter.
could pls adv me.
Thanks
A PCI wireless adapter won’t do you any good for a laptop. They’re made for desktop computers with an available PCI or PCIe slot on the motherboard. Sounds like you should contact HP directly.
desktop about 4 feet from router. cannot connect using on-board ethernet connection. which pci adapter card should i buy? ONLY USE COMPUTER FOR 78 year old mother AND INTERNET
Hello Vern! Sounds like you need something very basic. We’d recommend the Rosewill N300 WiFi Adapter as a cheap and decent option. If the computer is only used for basic web browsing, this should do just fine. Let us know if you have any other questions!
I have been using the TP-LINK Archer T9E for a few months now and haven’t had any issues with it. It was an easy upgrade and enables me to get a strong signal from upstairs in our 3,000 square foot home!
Yes, it’s quite nice. Thanks for letting us know!
Hi I’m planning to buy one of these need one under 100 dollars for online gaming and upstairs…do u recommend any good ones?
If you’re looking to keep the grand total under $100 go with the TP-LINK Archer T9E. Otherwise, priced a bit more, the ASUS AC1900 PCI-E Adapter is our favorite. Both are rated for the same bandwidth capabilities so either should work equally well for your specific situation.
Hi
thank you for your explanation .
I am planing to buy a wirless card for my pc , and I want one with huge range and powerfull connection but still not that expensive .
any suggestion ? please
I currently have a TP-LINK TL-WDN4800 PCI Wireless Adapter. And have had nothing but problems with it. For the longest time I had it and it would show three bars of my wifi, but say that it couldn’t connect to the Internet. While my laptop and iPad could do fine from the same area. Then a month ago the application in the cd it came with started to say that I didn’t have a wireless device, so I uninstalled it and tried to reinstall it, only for it to keep saying that it wasn’t finding the adapter. I don’t know if it’s just this model or what, but which adapter would serve me best for online gaming? Also I don’t know what model or make my modem is but could it also partial be a problem with that?
I should clarify that I could do things on the Internet from time to time with the wireless adapter, but it was so unreliable that gaming or watching video a majority of the time was impossible. Also I tried to use a wifi repeater to help get a better signal, but it doesn’t help.
Hello Church,
That’s really unfortunate that you’ve had problems with it. What Operating System are you using?
Could it be a faulty card? I would contact TP-Link and take advantage of their 2 year warranty and they should be able to replace it for you. Their phone number is +1 866 225 8139, or you can email them directly at support.usa@tp-link.com.
If you wanted to try another card that excels with gaming, I recommend the (PCE-AC68) from Asus. It’s the first option that we showcase in this post. It seems to be the best fit for most people, but it’s also a few extra dollars.
Also, I highly doubt that your modem has anything to do with it, but your router may be having compatibility issues with your wireless adapter. What’s the make/model of your router?
Hello. I’m buying a new computer and i’m going to build it myself, but i don’t have wired internet connection so i have to buy one of these cards, what card do you recommend? Also i’m going to play games with it (League of Legends, Counter Strike, H1Z1, etc.) so i need good ping.
Oh, and also I’m really on a budget so the cheapest possible would be nice
Hello Johny93, thanks for leaving a comment with your question! If budget isn’t an issue, we always reccomend the Asus PCE-AC68 (the first option above). However, if budget is a huge importance, go with the Archer T9E from TP-LINK (the second option above). They’re both capable of AC1900 speeds and should both suffice for the specific games you love to play. Please let us know if you have anymore questions.
Hey! I have the TP-LINK TL-WDN4800 PCI Wireless Adapter. When I first got the product, my internet was fast and fine, there was no problems, then just a few days ago, I started to get “lag spikes” while playing any games. Do you have any idea why this just popped out of no where, and what the problem could be?
Thanks!
That sounds a bit strange. How many devices and computers do you have on the network? How far are you away from your router? What kind (make/model) of router do you have? Honestly, it could be many different things – it might be hard to pinpoint exactly what’s causing it. Have you contacted TP-LINK? They offer good support for their products.
Thanks for your write-up. VERY helpful! Just picked up the new ASUS 4×4 AC3100 PCIe Adapter and I must say, it’s incredibly fast and there’s a HUGE improvement in my WiFi speeds. I’m using Windows 10 and it was a breeze to install. Just plugged it right in and I was good to go.
Awesome! Yeah the new Asus 4×4 AC3100 PCIe Adapter is downright phenomenal. A great buy and an easy upgrade for sure!
Purchased a TL-WN881ND 4 months ago and recently it started dropping internet connection despite the software saying that i have 60percent signal strength.. would like to know which fast, reliable card for under 50 bucks would you recommend.. must be reliable and be abkle to handle multiplayer gaming.. at the rate that this card is dropping internet connection it may stop working soon
Hey man!
I am stuck between the Asus AC-68 and the TP-Link Archer T9E. The T9E would fit perfectly for my build because its colour. The Asus would not fit very well, but I was just wondering. Is there a really big difference between them? I am planning to have my PC under the desk. My router is not far away just 8-9 meters I think and it does just face 1-2 walls.
Thanks! Awesome review!
Sounds like the T9E would do just fine for your scenario. Thanks for leaving a comment – no problem!
This is by far the best review I could find on PCIe wireless network cards–thank you!
My current setup is:
– Router: 802.11 a/b/g/n at a max speed of 300 Mbps
– Cable internet package only allows download speeds of “up to 30 Mbps” (I may someday upgrade to 150 Mbps)
– Current PCI network card (Belkin F5D7000) is slow at 54 Mbps
I mostly use my desktop PC for internet (including bitstreaming videos). The obvious bottleneck is my wireless network card and plan to upgrade (I have a free PCIe slot on my motherboard thankfully). I am strongly considering the Rosewill N600 because it’s cheap ($25 with shipping here in Canada) and (from what I can tell…would appreciate your confirmation) would remove the wireless network card as the bottleneck in my internet connection. But I am the type of person who likes to use my money towards something that will last so I’m considering the ASUS PCE-AC88 and PCE-AC68 too. My question is: In order to actually benefit from the ASUS PCE-AC88 or PCE-AC68 would I also have to buy a new router (will these even work with mine)? If so, which routers would you suggest (so I can see what the costs would be)? Or will my internet speed always be a bottleneck preventing me from benefiting with these more expensive network cards? Many thanks for your thoughts!
Which of the above work with Linux??
NOT the AC1900 (wasted money on that), and just about nothing from Rosewill. – sadly feels like 2001 again with lazy vendors cranking out incompatible junk in this space. Original author should have addressed this in article.
Thank you for sharing.
Very useful.
Faraz
I have been searching everywhere for a good card (at least 1300 mbps speed or more) that supports bluetooth. It seems, I can get a slower internt and bluetooth combo or just a fast wifi without bluetooth. Why is this? How can I get bluetooth on my new build without having to use a dongle? As a seperate option could I also just get a cheaper card but disable the wifi on it- then get a good TP-Link 1900 with it?
Exactly my dilemma right now. I was originally looking at the Gigabyte GC-WB867D-I since it just uses an internal USB header for the BT on the card and supports medium wifi speeds. But the reviews mentioned having a terrible time working the drivers for Win7, and that’s the platform I’m sticking with right now after ditching 10 when I had my laptop
What would you recommend for gaming online AND Livestreaming? My USB adapter at the moment isn’t cutting it. it used to be able to livestream to 1080p but then after a while, it keeps crashing. So, after reading a few reviews and such, I heard that the PCI adapters are better. So what would you recommend?
Gaming and live streaming are both high-demand activities. The more bandwidth, the better! Go with the Asus PCE-AC88.
Hi TechGuru, I’m not sure about all this wifi stuff myself. We have a Netgear wifi router that is hooked up to a Windows 10 laptop in the basement of our house. My desktop is a Dell Intel core 2 Duo Inspiron – 530 that came with windows Vista, but I had Windows 7 installed on it by a professional. All the programs I want to use for my art including my web pages is on my desktop that doesn’t have wifi. Also I can’t use my windows 10 laptop for my art because it won’t work with my digital Nikon transfer camera program. Windows 10 locks up all the time when I try to use it. I really want to be able to use my desktop since all my programs are already on it. Even though my desk top is in the room next to the router I have dead spots. I just bought a wifi adapter yesterday from Staples that plugs into the USB port on the front of my desk top. Needless to say it’s horrible. I installed my virus program yesterday which needed to update. I started the update at 3:00 pm and by 10:00 pm it was still updating. I ended up shutting of my desk top before it was completed. I’m positive it would still be updating now. Will the ASUS Dual-Band Wireless-AC1900 PCI-E Adapter (PCE-AC68) work with my desk top and how is it for handling heat? I know I’m going to need one that works well with dead spots because we have lots of them in our house. We ended up buying the Linskys Ac1750 Wifi range extender to use our laptops upstairs. We plugged the extender in the room that is right above the room where the router is because we couldn’t get it to work in other areas upstairs. We are now able to use our laptops upstairs most of the time. Any help would be very much appreciated!
The higher-end Asus units might be good, but the AC56 I’ve dealt with in the past is semi-garbage. No matter where you put the external antenna, a typical smartphone outperforms it. This is in a dorm room mostly, but performance was similarly inferior at home. I fought with it and managed to get maybe ~75% of the throughput of common Android and iOS devices in the same locations.
I always prefer Intel wifi adapters. Even on my AMD mITX boards, I’ve always gotten best results from using pretty much any Intel M.2 wifi/BT adapter, even with the same antennas! These days if a board comes with something cheaper, I’ll pop it out and slap in an Intel adapter. Speeds go up, and more importantly CONSISTENCY improved.
Also Intel’s drivers are better, at least for wireless. I had a friend with an entry level TP Link POS and the newest drivers are like two years old, and performance sucks regardless of whether you use their junk config software or let Windows manage it. Even an older cheap Intel M.2 wifi chip has fairly recent (and decent) drivers.
Would PCIE t9e would have difference over t6e besides its speed capacity?
I see that some of the cards you’ve listed are from 2015/16, such as the ASUS model. I know that Intel has released recently the AC 9260/9560, which claim to support 1.73Gbps. Supposedly, according to Intel’s website, https://ark.intel.com/products/99445/Intel-Wireless-AC-9260 the 9260 lists the System Interface Type as Wi-Fi(PCIe), BT(USB). This is going into a computer that doesn’t have the latest and greatest m.2 key E slot in it, so it has to be the PCIe for this system. As it was just released in Q4 2018, it appears to be the latest and greatest, but in all the pics I’ve seen, none of them show the adapter card, they all look like m.2 in the pics.
And of course, no one has any nearby, so I can verify it. The most amazing thing to me is that I found some available from resellers on Amazon (but none by Amazon themselves) priced around $25, but looking at that 3+ year old ASUS, (yes, it is 4×4, not 2×2 like the Intel, but the speeds are exceptional) priced at over $110, I’d have to say that is a hard sell for me. Can you get a hold of one of these new Intel pieces and add it to your review? Thanks!
Hi,
please suggest. I have my laptop on the first floor. Internet router is downstairs. its concrete floor. Right now i am getting anything between 2-9 MBPS using Virgin media 362MBPS broadband.
whats the best solution for me. i am ready to switch to Desktop. thanks
Question: Do these cards mentioned in your article also receive signals? The wi-fi receiver in my desktop is erratic. I have a router which services the whole house including streaming on our tv, just the desktop has dropping signal issues.