what PCI wireless adapter has best sensitivity?

[ThePiston]

I need a wireless PCI card adapter that can pick up really faint signals. How do you know which one to buy... is there a favorite out there?

 

[JackMDS]

There is No real difference between the PCI adaptors per-se.

The difference can be created by using, and placing correctly, a High gain Directional Antenna.

As an Example.

This, http://www.buffalotech.com/products/product-detail.php?productid=48&categoryid=7

Plus this, http://www.buffalotech.com/products/product-detail.php?productid=39&categoryid=8

:sun:

 

[Foxox]

While on this topic, are there any PCI-E 1x or 4x network cards and do they work any better?

 

[JackMDS]

Originally posted by: Foxox
While on this topic, are there any PCI-E 1x or 4x network cards and do they work any better?

Why should faster PCI bus helps Wireless Sensetivity?

:sun:

 

[ThePiston]

Originally posted by: JackMDS
There is No real difference between the PCI adaptors per-se.

The difference can be created by using, and placing correctly, a High gain Directional Antenna.

As an Example.

This, http://www.buffalotech.com/products/product-detail.php?productid=48&categoryid=7

Plus this, http://www.buffalotech.com/products/product-detail.php?productid=39&categoryid=8

:sun:

whoa, $220 for a 5 mile outdoor adapter? crazy

 

[JackMDS]

I guess you do not understand what the phrase: "As an Example" means.:shocked:

The Antenna is the expensive part you can look for similar Antenna that might cost less.

However for 5 miles that would not be the real expense.

It would be, the close to $1000 needed to build a tower for the Antenna, and secure it from the Weather.

:sun:

 

[ThePiston]

i was actually considering buying it...how cool would it be to choose from 50 different signals?

 

[Tostada]

Originally posted by: ThePiston
i was actually considering buying it...how cool would it be to choose from 50 different signals?

You probably wouldn't be able to choose from 50 different signals with a 14dB Yagi antenna. The have to know where the signal is and point the antenna right at it.

Also, that's amazing if they can actually get away with selling a metal tube for $200. It's pretty easy to find well made ones for under $100, like:

http://sharperconcepts.zoovy.com/product/YSC-HG2415Y

 

[Tostada]

Originally posted by: JackMDS
There is No real difference between the PCI adaptors per-se.

The difference can be created by using, and placing correctly, a High gain Directional Antenna.

That's an absurd statement. Obviously the antenna is very important, but come on.


A card like the D-Link high-power G adapter is certainly going to have more power and more sensitivity than the average adapter.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16833127167

Are higher powered adapters a total scam? Even if they are, that Buffalo adapter you linked to has some pretty mediocre reviews.

And a card like the WMP54GX is certainly going to improve performance by being able to to use three different antennas.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16833124178


Anyway, to answer the OP, if you have a specific AP you're trying to connect to, I would get the high-powered D-Link and a directional antenna for it. If you're just looking to play around (which I'll pretend is purely hypothetical since it's illegal), I'd say get a 3-antenna MIMO like the WMP54GX and consider putting better omnidirectional antennas on it if that's not enough.

There's also the chance that I have no idea what I'm talking about. I'd be interested in hearing if anybody has better ideas.

 

[JackMDS]

Increasing Power at the receiving end usually does no too much, and in this case does not justify the price of the D-Linkis Gizmo.

:sun:

 

[ScottMac]

I think you'll find some differences in the chipset used to construct the adapter.

The Atheros chipset, used by Cisco (as an example) for their cards tend to have excellent sensitivity .... but sensitivity does you no good, unless it's also very selective (able to discriminate one signal from other, possibly even stronger, adjacent signals).

I've used the 3COM (175) and Cisco a/b/g adapters (both Atheros chipsets), as well as the dlink, linksys, and some others.....they both, IMO, get better reception and seem to reject interfering signals better than some of the less-expensive NICs.

(And Jack is also right that antennas can make all the idfference in the world ... antenna design, engineering, construction (especially the matching network) are what makes a great antenna instead of a good, decent, or crap antenna).

FWIW

Scott

 

[Tostada]

Originally posted by: JackMDS
Increasing Power at the receiving end usually does no too much, and in this case does not justify the price of the D-Linkis Gizmo.

:sun:

Well, if all you can do is change your hardware and not the hardware on the other end, then sometimes that's the best you can do. It certainly sounds like sensitivity's the important part, but at the same time, you need a strong enough signal to get back to the AP you're connecting to, right?

 

[Tostada]

Originally posted by: ScottMac
I think you'll find some differences in the chipset used to construct the adapter.

The Atheros chipset, used by Cisco (as an example) for their cards tend to have excellent sensitivity .... but sensitivity does you no good, unless it's also very selective (able to discriminate one signal from other, possibly even stronger, adjacent signals).

I've used the 3COM (175) and Cisco a/b/g adapters (both Atheros chipsets), as well as the dlink, linksys, and some others.....they both, IMO, get better reception and seem to reject interfering signals better than some of the less-expensive NICs.

People have always said the Atheros chipset was the best. Isn't that also what's in the Orinoco cards?

Does anybody have a list of what chipset is in which cards? 3COM and Cisco don't seem to be making much Wi-Fi stuff. Hasn't Cisco pretty much stopped making consumer stuff since they bought LinkSys? No LinkSys cards have the Atheros chipset?

Originally posted by: ScottMac
(And Jack is also right that antennas can make all the idfference in the world ... antenna design, engineering, construction (especially the matching network) are what makes a great antenna instead of a good, decent, or crap antenna).

We can all agree that the antenna should be the first priority, but that's not what Jack said. He specifically said there is no real difference between PCI adapters, so he's basically recommending the cheapest thing you can get (well, the cheapest decent thing you can get).

 

[Tostada]

Anyway ... a big question I'm having lately (and maybe I should make a new thread for it) is:

The WMP54GX card takes three antennas and has great reviews. Everybody says it has incredible range, even with just the included 2 dB antennas. Other Draft-N cards can also connect three antennas. So, if you wanted a high range omnidirectional adapter, wouldn't it be best to get one of these cards and just upgrade the antennas if you need to?

I can't find any info about people doing that. My concern is that somehow the adapter may be tuned for the antennas to be a specific distance apart, so if I hooked up larger antennas that were farther apart it may hurt performance.

 

[Tostada]

Odd that this topic has been on the front page so long and nobody has much of anything to contribute about differences in PCI adapters.

I noticed that a bunch of D-Link cards and NetGear cards have the Atheros chipset, like:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16833122134
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16833127167

The only complaints that these cards have are about how bad the drivers are. They both seem to be totally flaky, screw up fast user switching, and cause random blue screens for some people.

Linksys cards use the Broadcom chipset. I don't see much of any good things or bad things being said about that.

 

[JackMDS]

Originally posted by: Tostada
Odd that this topic has been on the front page so long and nobody has much of anything to contribute about differences in PCI adapters.

I guess the differences are that many started their hobbyist computer?s carrier in Over Clocking, Video Frame Pushing and the current ?Silly? fetish of fancy Power Supplies. This knowledge is trying to be extending into issues to Networking and Wireless.

Well "Surprise" Wireless (and networking) does not work this way!

If you sum you own arguments you would reach to the obvious conclusion that it does not matter since all have some Pluses and a Minuses.

When we are talking about Extending Wireless Distance, what ever differences are, they are negligible as compared to the differences that a Good designed Antenna can do as oppose to the 2dbi "Sticks".

Cisco probably could choose another chipset and make it Good because their investment in design and testing is what make difference rather than the choice of "silicone and plastic".

:sun:

P.S. I was in the Wireless engineering field long time before PCs were even a dream.

 

[Tostada]

There are just too many problems with your argument that all wireless cards work about the same.

1) The cards are often based on totally different chipsets.

2) The cards have different drivers which will have their own issues.

3) Even if you believe that the antenna is the only thing that matters, you must realize that most adapters have just one antenna, while others can have two or three different antennas. Obviously if the antenna is so important, then the number of antennas has potential to make a big difference, too.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: Tostada
There are just too many problems with your argument that all wireless cards work about the same.

1) The cards are often based on totally different chipsets.

2) The cards have different drivers which will have their own issues.

3) Even if you believe that the antenna is the only thing that matters, you must realize that most adapters have just one antenna, while others can have two or three different antennas. Obviously if the antenna is so important, then the number of antennas has potential to make a big difference, too.

sigh.

not, they @re pretty much the s@me. It is @ll driver/softw@re.

 

[JackMDS]

Originally posted by: TostadaEven if you believe that the antenna is the only thing that matters, you must realize that most adapters have just one antenna, while others can have two or three different antennas. Obviously if the antenna is so important, then the number of antennas has potential to make a big difference, too.

The topic at hand is Wireless PCI adapters.

May be you should read a little about what the two Antennae on some Routers, and the three Antenna on the MIMO means, and how it works before you get busy counting Antennae.

:sun:

 

[Tostada]

Originally posted by: JackMDS
May be you should read a little about what the two Antennae on some Routers, and the three Antenna on the MIMO means, and how it works before you get busy counting Antennae.

All the adapters I see with 2 or 3 antennae (not antennas? I thought antennae was just for insects...) claim that this enhances range, even when not functioning in a MIMO capacity with other adapters of the same model. Is this just hype?

I'd really like to read about this if you have some good sources. Most of what I can find is just general stuff at places like Tom's (Tom's Networking, Tom's Hardware, whatever), or the finer points of different kinds of antennas (and building your own) on wardriving sites.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: Tostada

Originally posted by: JackMDS
May be you should read a little about what the two Antennae on some Routers, and the three Antenna on the MIMO means, and how it works before you get busy counting Antennae.

All the adapters I see with 2 or 3 antennae (not antennas? I thought antennae was just for insects...) claim that this enhances range, even when not functioning in a MIMO capacity with other adapters of the same model. Is this just hype?

I'd really like to read about this if you have some good sources. Most of what I can find is just general stuff at places like Tom's (Tom's Networking, Tom's Hardware, whatever), or the finer points of different kinds of antennas (and building your own) on wardriving sites.

Th@t's where it would be best to stop finding info on networking from those dubious sites. It's deep @nd isn't going to be cont@ined in @n @rticle on @ h@rdw@re review site.

If you w@nt good sources then look up the IEEE specs @nd RF engineering. It will help lots.

 

[Tostada]

Originally posted by: spidey07
sigh.

not, they @re pretty much the s@me. It is @ll driver/softw@re.

That's probably true. I mean, that's basically what I said. Still, there doesn't seem to be much of anything out there comparing modern cards as far as the differences that they definitely do have, like drivers.

Originally posted by: spidey07
Th@t's where it would be best to stop finding info on networking from those dubious sites. It's deep @nd isn't going to be cont@ined in @n @rticle on @ h@rdw@re review site.

If you w@nt good sources then look up the IEEE specs @nd RF engineering. It will help lots.

How is looking at IEEE specs going to help anybody looking for the best PCI wireless adapter? This just seems like saying "RTFM, noob," or , "I don't know the answer to your question, but I'd still like to be condescending."

Especially with regard to 2 and 3-antenna cards, there isn't even going to be any IEEE specs for what they're doing.

Online reviews of hardware may be dubious, but even if the information isn't the best, it's a whole lot more useful to see someone talk about specifics relating to actual cards instead of the finer points of the 802.11g specification. Even if one does understand everything about the 802.11g specification, that says nothing about how well various cards implement it.

I just think it's odd that there are so many punks out there talking about wardriving, but still nobody doing much of a comparison between modern cards. Just a bunch of people with a quasi-religious affinity towards Orinoco Gold cards (I have an Orinoco card, and it gets pretty flaky with certain APs).

Anyway, as I've already said, I'd be willing to accept that the difference in cards is 99% about the antenna, but I'm really curious about all the positive comments on that $99 LinkSys card with 3 antennas. Even with 2 dB omnidirectional antennas, people say it has inredible range.

 

[spidey07]

If you'd re@d @ little you'd underst@nd the multiple @ntenn@.

There is no "best" c@rd or "best" @P. Just like there is no "best" router or switch.

You c@nnot t@ke PC @ppro@ches to networking. especi@lly wireless.

 

[Tostada]

Originally posted by: spidey07
If you'd re@d @ little you'd underst@nd the multiple @ntenn@.

There is no "best" c@rd or "best" @P. Just like there is no "best" router or switch.

You c@nnot t@ke PC @ppro@ches to networking. especi@lly wireless.

If I'd read a little? Read what? If you actually have some information I'd love to hear it.

You're not saying anything. You're just being condescending, and judging by this infantile problem you have with not being able to type the letter "A" properly, I'm just going to assume you're trying to be an ass.

 

[spidey07]

Tost@d@,

I'm trying to help you le@rn. I've given you the correct @venues @nd where to look. But I'm not gonn@ spoon feed inform@tion.