Desktop computers are generally used in a fixed location - size and weight, the need of external keyboard, mouse and monitor(s) all decide where you can have those machines in your office or home. But sometimes access to an ethernet port throws your best layout plans in disarray and you might end up having to accept it will live in a less than optimal location.
The problem is, most desktop machines have one or two ethernet adapters but you are going to have a hard time finding a model with a built-in wireless adapter.
I had this problem as I wanted to use my desktop in a lounge corner - opposite to where the ethernet point is located. The ethernet point was installed in a wall close to the big TV and streaming boxes because those perform better on wired connections.
The initial, cheaper solution to have my desktop connected to the network was to use a USB-based wireless adapter. And while this worked fine, it didn't give me the fastest speeds the network could provide (even though it was a USB 3 device plugged into a USB 3 port).
Just recently D-Link has released the D-Link AX3000 WiFi 6 PCIe Adapter and I thought this would be a great device to review.
First of all, this is an internal device - PCIe adapters are those slots inside your computer that allow you to install peripherals such as video cards (GPUs) and other adapters. This means you need to make sure you have at least one slot available for installation and you will have to open your desktop to install this card - but it is very simple to do (make sure you take some anti-static precautions).
Instructions say to install drivers before plugging the card, so I've done it - and found out those are Intel drivers, which I thought it was good. You see, the D-Link AX3000 Wi-Fi 6 PCIe Adapter is based on an Intel AX200 chipset so you should be ok using even the Intel released drivers - which I will come back a bit later.
The D-Link AX3000 Wi-Fi 6 PCIe Adapter will fit in any slot on your computer and you might want to leave some space between cards (if you have the space available) for better airflow. This is important because the card comes with its own heatsink which means you can expect some heat will be created and needs to go somewhere, preferably outside of your desktop. Depending on the depth of your desktop you can install the card with the default full-height bracket or replace it with a low-profile bracket that is provided in the box.
The two omni-directional high-performance antennas can be connected directly to the card on the back of your computer, or if you want these to be out in the open you can use the provided magnetised antenna base and cable. This was my option and I stuck the base on top of the desktop (which has a metal body), which means it remains in place and is not cluttering my work desk.
The D-Link AX3000 Wi-Fi 6 PCIe Adapter is also a Bluetooth adapter and for that to work you will need to connect a cable to an internal F-USB adapter on the motherboard - I have not tested it because I don't have one free to use (with the one available already in use for another USB port).
Once installed and the computer started I was presented with a new wireless network device and had no problems connecting to my existing network. Checking the driver for this device I've found it to be just a bit behind the Intel release so I decide to install the newer driver, which went without a hitch.
So far so good, so let's check specifications and how it performed. The specifications say WiFi speeds max at 574 Mpbs (2.4 GHz) and 2402 Mbps (5 GHz). In reality, with my non-WiFi 6 network, I managed to get up to 650 Mbps while connected to a 5 GHz AP, on a 1000 Gpbs / 900 Mbps up fibre service.
Anyway, I could not just test this with an old network, so I decided to replace this router with a WiFi 6-compatible router, the D-Link EXO AX AX1800 Mesh Wi-Fi 6 Router. As soon as Windows 10 connected to this router I got a system notification to let me know WiFi 6 brings some new features - including support for a more secure WPA3 security standard. And, as expected, I did find the speedtests show a little bit of improvement - in my case around 10%.
I understand the best of WiFi 6 would be achieved if more devices in the network use the new standard, so more of the traffic can be managed and distributed using new features - lucky all laptops we have here at home now (including Dell and Lenovo) are already built with WiFi 6 support - but I digress.
The D-Link AX3000 Wi-Fi 6 PCIe Adapter supports 1024-QAM (used by WiFi 6 to improve performance), MU-MIMO and OFDMA. Some of these features aren't available on non-WiFi 6 capable networks but the wireless LAN adapter is backward compatible so it's a good way to connect to existing networks, while getting ready for the next generation of WiFi, already available with newer routers.
