Wi-fi on a desktop PC? (how well does it work?)

[XB-70 Valkyrie]

We have a weird setup at our new place, and for now, we will have to situate a cable modem  a few rooms away from our home office with our desktop PC. I plan to buy a wireless router to have wi-fi throughout the house.

We have a Windows 8 Laptop, which I am sure will work fine, but we are still using a 2008-vintage PC with Vista home premium. For now, I am not going to buy a new PC because I do not want to go through the hassle of reinstalling all my software and hunting down various drivers for scanners, printers, etc. (some of which will surely not be available for Windows 8!)

I have been told that wi-fi will likely not work too well on this desktop, but would surely work better on a newer machine. Can anyone recommend a wireless router, and some type of adaptor (USB preferably) that will enable wi-fi on the desktop? OR, am I just better off biting the bullet and buying a new PC (printer, scanner, software, a month of pulling my hair out of my head)?

Thanks

Kevin

[Sef]

Years ago I used a netgear router and USB wireless adapter for 2 or 3 XP desktops situated throughout the house with no issues at all. May I suggest an alternative though that might work even better? When I installed my home theatre receiver and internet enabled blu-ray player I bought some Home Plugs which essentially turns your home wiring into ethernet. There are plenty on the market - I actually bought one that had a four port router on the end in order to plug all my equipment into it. I've been very pleased with it and was planning on buying another for my internet TV. Recently Comcast "upgraded" my modem with a new modem/wireless router all-in-one, and it is just shite. I really need to call them about it - a common problem I've heard. But the Home Plug bypasses all that in any case

[Rinaldo]

I have been told that wi-fi will likely not work too well on this desktop, but would surely work better on a newer machine.

Nonsense. USB wifi adapters can be had for peanuts, just make sure it supports / has drivers for Vista (but 99 % will do) and with a solid wifi router, you're all set.

[mahler10th]

Nonsense. USB wifi adapters can be had for peanuts, just make sure it supports / has drivers for Vista (but 99 % will do) and with a solid wifi router, you're all set.

100% Correct.  Wifi on a desktop should never be a problem.

[SonicMan46]

I have been told that wi-fi will likely not work too well on this desktop, but would surely work better on a newer machine. Can anyone recommend a wireless router, and some type of adaptor (USB preferably) that will enable wi-fi on the desktop? OR, am I just better off biting the bullet and buying a new PC (printer, scanner, software, a month of pulling my hair out of my head)?

Hi Kevin - in the spring I transitioned from PCs to Apple (new MBPro & iMac) - had an old Dell DT running XP & my Dell laptop on Vista - I used the Vista computer in my den w/ a Wi-Fi router w/o a problem.  I put the old Dell DT in a back bedroom (in case) but needed like you to get a Wi-Fi adapter since it only had cabled ethernet.  After searching for USB Wi-Fi adapters, I bought the one below which had multiple drivers including the Windows one listed in the quote below - the computer is 2 rooms from my Wi-Fi router and picks up a STRONG signal - now, there are plenty of options and many less expensive (and ones that don't look like a hockey puck), but this one does work for my setup.  Good luck in your choice - Dave

Driver for: UAWIFI UA3 Adapter
Operating systems: Windows 98/2000/XP/Vista/Win7/Win8
File size: 28.4mb/33.6mb

[DavidW]

Can anyone recommend a wireless router, and some type of adaptor (USB preferably) that will enable wi-fi on the desktop?

From someone wanting to sell you a computer I'm guessing.  A usb wifi adapter costs $10-$20 on amazon, I bought one a few months ago.  It works fine.

[drogulus]

Recently Comcast "upgraded" my modem with a new modem/wireless router all-in-one, and it is just shite. I really need to call them about it - a common problem I've heard.

Motorola Surfboard? Comcast uses them.

Read this from Amazon:

"I purchased my own wireless router for home use and to my surprise, the cable company provided a Motorola SURFboard Gateway SBG6580. The cable guy pulled the typical "hey you dont need a router, this has it" and I just smiled and let him leave. I decided to do some objective wireless speed tests between the two routers before I put the SBG6580 in bridge mode and used the EA3500 for my wireless.

So I ran several speed tests as far away from my router as I could get in my house from my phone and HP Touchpad running AOKP Android ICS with the SBG6580.

Results (SBG6580):

The average result was 4.3 Mbps download and 2.11 Mbps upload

Fair enough...so I put it in bridge mode and attached the EA3500.

Results (EA3500):

11.05 Mbps download and 3.92 Mbps upload.

These were taken minutes apart from the same location in the house with the same devices. The only change was the wireless router.

Clearly the EA3500 is the winner. It was easy to set up, it is much faster than the other router option that I had, and there has been no loss of connectivity or random drops.

Instructions for putting the SBG6580 in bridge mode:

1. Unplug coax cable from Motorola

2. Hold down the white reset button on the back panel with a pen for 30s. This resets all settings to factory defaults, including the setting that doesn't let you reconfigure the modem . The modem will be auto-reconfigured once you plug in the coax cable, so don't worry.

3. When modem is back on plug in a computer with an Ethernet cable into the modem (say, Port #1).

4. You should be able to connect to 192.168.0.1 and login with "admin" / "motorola"

5. Now you will make some changes:
* Wireless -> Primary Network -> Disable (this will disable the wireless features of the modem)
* Advanced -> NAPT Mode -> Disable (this is one of the settings that makes the router into a simple bridge). The router will restart itself now, continue when it's back on.

* Basic -> DHCP -> Disable

6. Connect port 1 on the Motorola modem to the WAN port of your Linksys. Plug the coaxial cable back into the modem and power cycle it.

7. Once the blue Network light comes on the modem, your Linksys should have requested and received a public IP address. If this is not the case, click to "Renew Lease" in the Linksys interface.

8. Success!"

A modem/router can be good like my Netgear DSL model, or it can have compromised performance like this guy found. All he did was use his own trusty router with the cable modem and hugely improved performance.

[lisa needs braces]

Of course, the Ethernet connection is ideal, but over the few years I was using wireless on my desktop I went with a PCI adapter and had no problems. Your motherboard likely has an unused PCI slot, so you also have that option. 

[Sef]

Motorola Surfboard? Comcast uses them.

No, this one is an Arris piece of junk. A quick look around though and it seems that the all-in-one modem/routers just don't have the same range. I went down to my local Tiger store this morning and purchased a Motorola SURFboard - not the all-in-one I hasten to add. The assistant there was very helpful - it's about the only store I know that I've always got good and knowledgeable service from. He confirmed my suspicions about those Modem/routers and recommended a couple of alternatives. In the end the Motorola at $80 will pay for itself in less than a year, so it's a no brainer really. Let's see how easy it is to install! Tonight's job.

[Szykneij]

I'm writing this post on a Gateway computer (with a usb wireless adapter) we bought when my son was in kindergarten. He turned 20 last week. Works fine.

[SonicMan46]

I'm writing this post on a Gateway computer (with a usb wireless adapter) we bought when my son was in kindergarten. He turned 20 last week. Works fine.

Hi Tony - LOL!    I had a Gateway @ home (many years ago) - are you running Windows 95 or 2000?  Just curious - I really enjoyed those two Windows OS; but you may be on XP - this wireless technology was pretty much becoming perfected by those times - like I said my old XP PC works fine w/ the adapter I showed - can get one cheaper but maybe not as robust?  Dave

[Szykneij]

Hi Tony - LOL!    I had a Gateway @ home (many years ago) - are you running Windows 95 or 2000?  Just curious - I really enjoyed those two Windows OS; but you may be on XP - this wireless technology was pretty much becoming perfected by those times - like I said my old XP PC works fine w/ the adapter I showed - can get one cheaper but maybe not as robust?  Dave

Windows XP - 2002 version. I think it was upgraded from the original at one point.

This is our family room computer which does the job. Itunes is on this one, so I use it a lot. It's pretty amazing how little service it's required over the years. We bought it back when Gateway had brick and mortar outlets. I definitely got my money's worth.



(Although Murphy's Law says the hard drive will now distintegrate by morning          )

[Holden]

Just one important point - make sure your wireless adapter is at least as fast as your cable download speed. No point in having 100mbps coming in from cable if your adapter is only operating at 30mbps.

[SonicMan46]

Windows XP - 2002 version. I think it was upgraded from the original at one point.

This is our family room computer which does the job. Itunes is on this one, so I use it a lot. It's pretty amazing how little service it's required over the years. We bought it back when Gateway had brick and mortar outlets. I definitely got my money's worth.

Same here relative to Gateway - can still pictured the store in a nearby strip mall (was near a little Italian bistro that we frequent).  We must have been running Windows 2000 on that machine.  Dave

[SonicMan46]

Just one important point - make sure your wireless adapter is at least as fast as your cable download speed. No point in having 100mbps coming in from cable if your adapter is only operating at 30mbps.

Good point although the signal speed coming into the 'wireless' adapter will be more dependent of its 802.11 standards and other factors (distance from the router, number & type of walls, RF interference, etc.).  Attached is a table showing these standards - my suggestion is to purchase a router (and matching adapter) w/ at least the 802.11 g standard (ideal maximum of 54 Mbps) - but most will now want at least the n or the newest ac standards.

Of course, these maximum speeds will never be achieved - my current router is an Apple Airport Extreme which is 802.11 g/n w/ dual band transmission; have TW Road Runner which should come into my cabled computer at 100 Mbps; however, on testing my laptop one room away the maximum speeds I'm getting no better than 20-30 Mbps (new MBPro w/ g/n Wi-Fi) - but has been fine to stream movies, TV shows, and music (Pandora) from a Roku device.  Dave

[XB-70 Valkyrie]

Hey, thanks for all the advice. I actually called B&H Photo in New York to explain our setup in more detail. If you don't know this shop, I highly recommend it ( www.bandhphoto.com ), as they have everything for photography, computers, etc. The guys do not work on commission and have always been really good at offering advice and recommending the least expensive/best value option for my situation. (I have no connection with them whatsoever BTW)

Anyway, they recommended a TP-Link 300Mb/s Dual Band Wireless Router ($45) with TP-Link high gain Wireless USB adapter ($17) with two antennas. Both are working great for our laptop and deskop systems. I ran into a few issues setting up the router, but TP-Link has pretty good phone support, and they walked me through it.

I would guess that if I went to Office Despot or Staples, they would have tried to sell me something way more expensive (like the $50 "gold" USB printer cable they tried to sell me once).

[DavidW]

Cool beans!  I use B&H commonly for ordering equipment for work due to their prices usually matching amazon, but unlike amazon carry enough stock to fill a large order.  For example I ordered a ton of binoculars and mounts for astronomy lab through B&H Photo.

Good to know that you're online without buying a new pc.