Wifi expansion cards - USB vs PCI vs PCI-e?

[DeeBye]

I'm going to put a computer with this motherboard in a room that is far enough away from my router that I can't run ethernet to it. I'll need to add a wifi card to it. After looking at various wifi cards, I realize that I have no idea what I am doing. I've never used a wifi card.

Are there advantages/drawbacks to the various kinds of wifi cards? I see that USB ones are easy to install, but I don't mind installing a PCI or PCI-e card if it works better. Are there brands that I should favour, or do most wifi cards all work the same?

[kandrathe]

I'm going to put a computer with this motherboard in a room that is far enough away from my router that I can't run ethernet to it. I'll need to add a wifi card to it. After looking at various wifi cards, I realize that I have no idea what I am doing. I've never used a wifi card.

Are there advantages/drawbacks to the various kinds of wifi cards? I see that USB ones are easy to install, but I don't mind installing a PCI or PCI-e card if it works better. Are there brands that I should favour, or do most wifi cards all work the same?

I've found that if it's too far to run Ethernet, it's probably too far for adequate wifi. I had reasonable wifi from the one side of my house to about the middle, but just out of range due to walls to get to the far side. I've found that "too far", in ethernet terms is a bit of a myth. CAT6 is rated for 90-100 meters, and if you are going more than 100 meters you could probably afford a $100 repeater.

I ended up running a 30 meter CAT6 cable from one end of my house to the bedroom areas on the opposite side, in order to put in a 300 Mbps WAP to support all the wireless needs for my teens and I. We have 4 ipads (2 are school supplied), 4 phones, and an apple TV over on the sleepy side.

I tried two different wall plug in extenders, but both very frequently had to be rebooted. So, I resorted to the solution I didn't want, to run a high quality CAT6 cable. It traverses where the cable comes into the house, into the basement, (and needed to go through multiple concrete walls), through the tuck under garage up into the master bedroom. Also, being that I live in a semi-rural area, I need to backfill and seal all the holes I drill to prevent any issues with pests.

To add to the mental anguish (in resorting to my last resort), the first wire I ran must have broken somewhere in the middle, because it didn't work. I had to pull that one out, and more carefully pull through a second 90 meter CAT6 cable. In man terms, it felt akin to being forced to pull over and ask for directions. But, I sucked it up, did the drudgery, and am happy with the end results now.

[DeeBye]

I've found that if it's too far to run Ethernet, it's probably too far for adequate wifi

It wasn't so much that I couldn't run ethernet - I just didn't want to. Running cables can be very destructive.

I ended up buying a cheap PCI-e wireless N adaptor. I have no complaints. It was easy to install, and Windows was smart enough to use it so I didn't have to install drivers.