New gaming build - need wireless

[Mojotiger]

Hi there.

I am looking to build Windows 8 machine for some .NET/SQL development and primarily gaming. No overclocking and gaming is limited to MMOs for the most part.

I am planning to follow the mid-range build from the sticky, but I do have one additional requirement. Due to logistics in the house, I would like to use wireless for my internet connection. Is there a recommended motherboard with onboard wifi that I can substitute in the mid-range build or is there a pci card that I should use?

Below is the latest mid-range build from the sticky:

i5 3570K + ASRock Z77 Pro3 combo $297 AP
Geil DDR3 1333 8GB $33
GTX 670 $380 AR
Plextor M5S 128GB $100
Hitachi 7K1000.D $80
Lite-ON DVD Burner $18
XFX Core 550W $56 AP
Antec Series One $40

Thanks for your help.

 

[Termie]

I've used both PCI wireless cards and USB adapters, and frankly, I've found that the USB adapters are more convenient, and as of this point have never failed, while one of my PCI cards did.

I wouldn't bother with built-in wireless. You'll pay a lot more for the motherboard and it could be an older spec.

I just moved up to a dual-band router and dual-band adapter, and I'm amazed at the increase in throughput at 5GHz. If you live in an area with a lot of wireless signals (like an apartment building), I'd put the money towards that instead of built-in wireless.

Another option is powerline networking, and I tried it but actually had one of my powerline adapters fail within two weeks.

If you want to know more about the wireless equipment I chose, just ask, but if you're set on built-in, well, I can't help much!

And welcome to the forums!

I'd actually recommend to the Moderators that this be moved to the Networking sub-forum.

 

[Mojotiger]

Thank you for the response. In your experience, have the USB adapters provided acceptable performance, particularly with online gaming? If so, is there one you could recommend?

Thanks again.

 

[Termie]

Thank you for the response. In your experience, have the USB adapters provided acceptable performance, particularly with online gaming? If so, is there one you could recommend?

Thanks again.

I've had good luck with the Rosewill adapters sold by Newegg (but not their routers). Honestly a lot of this will come down to your particular router and the wireless environment you're in, so I'd start with something inexpensive and keep it as a spare if it doesn't work for your gaming.

Here are the options:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...rnal%20Antenna

I have a 150n, a 300n, and the dual-band ($30) adapter - I'm currently using the dual band adapter at 5GHz and it's great, but I don't use it for gaming. If you don't have or don't want to buy a dual band router, just get the $20 adapter listed in the link.

For more help, post a question in the networking forum. Intense multiplayer gaming may require a more sophisticated wireless solution.

 

[JackMDS]

Use a Dual radio Wireless Router with this Wireless USB card.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16833166046

 

[Termie]

Use a Dual radio Wireless Router with this Wireless USB card.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16833166046

Yup, that's the one I have that I mentioned above.

 

[mfenn]

You can get USB or PCIe, it doesn't matter in terms of latency. PCIe adapters are more likely to have a high-gain antenna on them, so you might want to consider one of those if your computer is in an area where reception is marginal.

As for performance, Wi-Fi adds a horrendous amount of latency and jitter to your connection, so any small penalty that USB adds is going to be insignificant.

Below I'm pinging my router, io is on gigabit Ethernet; mfenn-mbp is on Wi-Fi and was literally sitting right next to the router. You're talking 8 times the latency at the minimum, maybe as much as 80 times. Not good for gaming.

[mfenn@mfenn-mbp ~]$ ssh root@io
root@io's password: 
[root@io ~]# ping 192.168.1.1
PING 192.168.1.1 (192.168.1.1) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=0.515 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=2 ttl=64 time=0.496 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=3 ttl=64 time=0.546 ms
^C
--- 192.168.1.1 ping statistics ---
3 packets transmitted, 3 received, 0% packet loss, time 2633ms
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 0.496/0.519/0.546/0.020 ms
[root@io ~]# exit
logout
Connection to io closed.
[mfenn@mfenn-mbp ~]$ ping 192.168.1.1
PING 192.168.1.1 (192.168.1.1): 56 data bytes
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=0 ttl=64 time=14.954 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=8.709 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=2 ttl=64 time=4.845 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=3 ttl=64 time=5.920 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_seq=4 ttl=64 time=40.272 ms
^C
--- 192.168.1.1 ping statistics ---
5 packets transmitted, 5 packets received, 0.0% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max/stddev = 4.845/14.940/40.272/13.144 ms