Re: Help in Purchasing a Wireless PCI Card/USB Adapter for Personal Use

On Wed, 27 Feb 2008 08:35:51 -0800 (PST), "nikki.farrah@xxxxxxxxx"
<nikki.farrah@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

I tried to do the research on my own so as not to bug people, but I
could not come to any concrete solutions.

Most wireless solutions do not involve concrete. Well, if you're
installing a tower, pole, or pedestal box, perhaps there's some
concrete involved.

I will need to connect to
the internet via a wireless device on my desktop in a week. I game on
my computer and stream a lot of video, but that's about it.

Gaming requires fast response times and generally fast downloads.
Screaming video requires fast UDP downloading. What you'll find is
that the wireless does not impact the performance as much as your
broadband provider. For example, with a 54Mbit/sec wireless
connection, you could stream video up to about 25Mbits/sec download.
However, that kind of speed does nothing for you if your ISP sells DSL
at 1.5Mbits/sec. The ISP speed will be your #1 limitation on
performance.

1. How big of a difference is the performance between a PCI card and
a USB adapter?

None. Each has its own collection of horrors. PCI cards, with the
stock antenna, are in the worst possible antenna location. It's
usually buried behind the steel computer case, up against a wall,
under a desk, and in the middle of a tangle of wires. Your signal
strength will suffer severely and your ability to maneuver the antenna
to a more desireable location will be limited. If you're going to go
with PCI, get an external antenna with a cable extension.

USB has the advantage of being much easier to optimize the antenna (or
device) location. The problem is that most USB devices use PCB (PIFA)
antennas, which have much lower gain than the stock rubber ducky
antenna usually supplied with a PCI card. What you gain in location
with USB, you lose in antenna gain.

Very roughly, it's about even.

2. What are the advantages/disadvantages to both, i.e. which would
better suit my lifestyle?

If you're into gaming and video, you have no life and little style. As
long as you don't wear the USB or PCI device around your neck as some
kind of status symbol, I suspect you'll be ok, as neither device is
addictive and detrimental to most lifestyles.

3. I own an HP Slimline desktop...

Duz it have a model number? Extra credit for the exact model number
and a URL on the HP web pile.

it appears that the PCI slot is
smaller than normal? Will I have to find a special PCI card to fit in
this?

That's called a "short" PCI card. There are several PCI devices that
come with two mounting brackets, for each type of card height. See
the photo of the Linksys WMP54G at:
<http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satellite?c=L_Product_C2&childpagename=US%2FLayout&cid=1150490054358&pagename=Linksys%2FCommon%2FVisitorWrapper&lid=5435839789B10>
The card will obviously fit, but I'm not 100.0% sure that they supply
the short mounting bracket. Looking at the docs, they don't show a
short bracket. I just did a very quick (and sloppy) scan of the
equivalent DLink and Netgear cards, and found more "short" PCI cards,
but no mention of corresponding brackets. I guess you'll have to look
inside the box or call the vendor.

Also, be sure that you're NOT talking about a PCIe (PCI Express) card
slot, which is quite different from a short PCI card. That's one
reason you should supply the exact model number of your computer.

I appreciate the help since I am in the process of a move, so the less
things to worry and research about, the better.

I can't guarantee that anything I suggested will work. That's because
I have no idea how many walls you're shooting through, and how far
you're planning to go. If the ultimate in performance is what you
want, I suggest you run the CAT5 cable and NOT use wireless. All it
takes is the neighbors microwave oven or cordless phone to come alive
at an inopertune moment, and your game or video feed will drop out.

--
# Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D Santa Cruz CA 95060
# 831-336-2558 jeffl@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
# http://802.11junk.com jeffl@xxxxxxxxxx
# http://www.LearnByDestroying.com AE6KS
.

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