PCI vs USB for wifi in a desktop PC?

Question

Hi,

I will be building a PC, and I will have to be using Wifi. I will be using the PC for gaming. I have a 2-story house and the router will be on the second floor, however it won't be far away, as my room is right next to the stairs at the bottom and the router is near the end of the stairs up the top. Will one perform better than the other, will there be a large performance difference? Was wondering because I don't want to use a PCI slot for a wireless card, because the Bitfenix Prodigy case I really want won't allow it. 

P.S can you guys recommend and give links to some good PCI wifi cards and good USB wifi receivers? Thanks!

Shawn H · Accepted Answer

@Fred, that's not true about your thoughts on signal loss and reflection, and depends on a great many other factors other than being behind a PC case.

PCI has a larger data bus than USB. You have 32 bits in parallel versus a serial bus. While the wireless signal is multiplexed onto a carrier signal, the data processing between the wireless interface (PCI) is much more faster and powerful than a USB interface.

This is why your computer's OS hard drive is internal and not connected via USB. Even though the current framework for internal hard drives is Serial ATA, that interface is built to work with large amounts of data. 
USB is not. USB 3.0 is still new, but I'd settle for a 32 bit PCI slot over USB any day.

? · Answer

Pci Vs Usb Wireless Adapter

? · Answer

Wifi Usb For Desktop

tumbleweed_biff · Answer

My perspective is the opposite of the previous one: I prefer not to use USB adapters as they tend to get banged or bumped, breaking the device and/or breaking the USB slot. On top of that PCI adapters usually have antennas which can be a big help.

Anonymous · Answer

Always use a USB wireless card and attach it with a US extension cable. some of them come with one. That way you can place it above the desk as high as possible and clear of all obstructions. PCI cards with the antenna on the back are always either shielded by the metal case of the machine or from the opposite direction suffer reflected signal cancellation which reduces power.

picohat · Answer

I prefer USB wireless adapter since it's portable, easy to move from one PC to others. Feel free to have a look on those wireless adapter shown in this page: http://www.home-network-help.com/wireless-n-produc...

Hope this helps.

David · Answer

HI,

Dlink USB dongle is better then intel or realtek PCI cards. hope this answers your question.

Good Luck.

PCI vs USB for wifi in a desktop PC?

7 Answers