wireless card for desktop (how much can a new one improve poor signal?)

[kelticpete]

I have been googling the crap out of this question with nothing definitive.

 

my roomies and I have an airport extreme. right near the hub the mbps are awesome. but I am at the far end of the house...and am getting crappy signal-- fair to poor.

 

I am trying to figure out ways to boost signal and/or looking at getting a new wireless card. I have the factory card that came with my dell xps 8500 which is an internal mini-card.

 

any help or sympathy would be appreciated. steam's download times are killing me.

[FMod]

If you check any business employing a large number of PCs, they all use cable Ethernet, despite their relatively high costs for laying down and maintaining resulting complex networks.

 

Get a real cable to your router. Wi-fi is for internet cafes and tablet on the sofa. It will do in a pinch for a home solution if all you need is some internet, but it's still the same as throwing around a bunch of extension cords instead of mains wiring, even if more hip.

 

Wi-fi solutions aren't specifically rated on reception capability, it's mostly similar and similarly poor between them. Especially so for desktop wi-fi cards that are mostly desperation solutions.

 

If a real internet connection is definitely out of the question, you'd want something with a high gain antenna that can be placed away from shielding and interference.

Premiertek advertises the highest gain at 9 dBi for this model. I can not attest to its actual performance nor to it being better than other high-gain solutions, only relay the claim.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833381014

[JimboUK]

Homeplugs are a decent alternative, far better than wireless and you don't have to lay cables throughout the house. Each end must be connected to a proper socket though, not an extension.

[kelticpete]

so you just plug the homeplug in, and run an ethernet cable to computer? that is cool. I never heard of that.