Best PCIe Wireless Card suitable for Long Range use for under $75?

Forums › LAN (ethernet/Wifi/routers/Bluetooth) › Best PCIe Wireless Card suitable for Long Range use for under $75?

haydenmarsh

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#133668 30-Oct-2013 10:27

I have been searching around and the TP Link TL-WDN4800 seems to be my best option? does anyone here know of a wireless card suitable for my needs?

Router: Telecom/Thompson TG 585v7
Range needed: 25-30m

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Biddle Corp

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#924034 30-Oct-2013 10:51

That sort of range isn't a "long" distance and the requirements really depend on the physical characteristics of the location you're in.

If you're in a building with lots of concrete and steel for example then there may not be a solution other than moving an AP closer to where you want to use wireless.

haydenmarsh

288 posts

Ultimate Geek

#924038 30-Oct-2013 10:57

The walls in my house are very thin and there is not much in between them (no concrete) and my laptop works perfectly fine from in my room, just not my desktop's current wireless card. hence the reason to upgrade it.

sbiddle

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#924074 30-Oct-2013 11:26

What type of antenna is on the current card? It might be cheaper and easier to simply replace this.

andrewNZ

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#924076 30-Oct-2013 11:27

The probable issue here is the computer being in the way of the WIFI antenna. I'll bet if you move the PC so it isn't between the router and the cards antenna, you'll get a connection.

What type of card do you currently have?

haydenmarsh

288 posts

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#924077 30-Oct-2013 11:27

Its got 1 6dbi antenna. and I know that my laptop has 2 antennas so..?

haydenmarsh

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#924087 30-Oct-2013 11:30

The current card is a TP-Link TL-WN751ND with an upgraded antenna.

andrewNZ

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#924099 30-Oct-2013 11:39

Is that antenna a freestanding one connected by a cable? or is it firmly mounted to the card?

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haydenmarsh

288 posts

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#924102 30-Oct-2013 11:41

It's firmly mounted, would I be better to attach it to a cable and mount it on my desk?

andrewNZ

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#924107 30-Oct-2013 11:46

The first thing I'd try, is putting the whole machine on the desk and turning it around so the antenna is closest to the router (ie. no computer in the way).

If that works then having a "remote" antenna may do the trick.

If it doesn't work, I'd be moving the machine a LOT closer to the router (beside it even) to make sure it can actually connect and isn't poked.

haydenmarsh

288 posts

Ultimate Geek

#924109 30-Oct-2013 11:49

I'll give this a go when I get home, my desk has another slot where my desktop could go, its slightly closer to the router. Thanks for the advice!

eXDee

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#924133 30-Oct-2013 12:31

The Thomson TG585v7 is an old Wireless G model and doesn't have the best range (or performance/reliability for that matter) You'll benefit significantly from an upgrade to a newer/higher end wireless N model.

haydenmarsh

288 posts

Ultimate Geek

#924136 30-Oct-2013 12:32

I'm currently not home, so from what I can remember it is a TG 585v7, but I have just googled it and its acutally a TG 585v8. :)

eXDee

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#924229 30-Oct-2013 14:54

The v8 is a slight improvement, but its 1T1R 20mhz wireless N and a similar antenna design, in english this means that it's only 65Mbps, which isn't a huge improvement over Wireless G's 54Mbps. Its very rare to get a wireless N router with such low speeds, most are N130/150 at least. This is what the speed of your wireless card can go up to.

Saying that, its still an improvement over the v7, and speed wise you won't notice a huge difference if in good signal. If in poor signal though, a higher end Wireless N modem will overall net you better speed and coverage. It's definitely worth doing what the people above mention first though.

wongtop

565 posts

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#924232 30-Oct-2013 15:08

If you are going to get a new card I would get one with an antenna that can be mounted away from the PC, something like this http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/components/componentview.asp?partid=20477

rphenix

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#924236 30-Oct-2013 15:22

What about ditching wireless 25-30 meters I presume this is in the same house? If so you can use something like this. That is for a kit of two, put one at the router, and one near your pc and it turns the electrical cables into a wired network fairly much plug and play no software or settings to configure. The tenda brand is cheap but they make some very small homeplug devices much smaller than TP-Link or other brands selling similar products - its smaller than it looks in the photo.

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