Reddit mentions: The best internal computer networking cards

Here, have an upgrade guide. This is mostly oriented for gaming, but I tried to make it as general purpose as possible.

First off, if you're trying to survive gaming on an older system and are wanting to upgrade, remember to check out the PC Gaming Wiki as well as the Low Spec Gamer YouTube channel and /r/lowendgaming. There are lots of tips and tricks to get games running better, and if you discover your own, don't forget to share them!

• If you have a motherboard older than DDR3, save and upgrade to a new platform. It's not worth investing in a platform that old for anything other than novelty purposes.
  
  
• If you want to upgrade your motherboard (like if you're looking at buying an unlocked CPU but have a locked motherboard), save and build a whole new system, unless you happen to come across exactly what you want for cheap. Used motherboards are usually just as expensive as new ones so it's not really worth investing that much into an older platform.
  
  
• If you have an Intel motherboard and want to upgrade your CPU, see my reply to this comment. Character limit, woo!
  
  
• If you have an AMD motherboard, I'm not as experienced with this but upgrading to an 8320 or 8350 Black edition would be good.
  
• I'll do some research and put some detailed information here later; like I did for Intel processors. Again, after the aforementioned good night's rest.
  
  
• When buying any used processor, especially on eBay, be very wary of scams. Any price that seems too good to be true or is from a seller with very little feedback is something of which you should be very wary.
  
  
• If you have less than 8GB of RAM, buy a 2x4GB kit. Dual channel actually makes a difference these days. If you want more, well, divide the amount you want by the number of slots you have. 16GB / 4 slots = 4GB sticks, so get a 4x4GB kit. PCPartPicker is a good resource for this, although new DDR3 is getting more expensive. It might be worth looking at the used market, but be careful you don't buy ECC RAM (server memory) unless you have a motherboard and processor that support it.
  
  
• If your system isn't using an SSD as its boot drive, buy an SSD and reinstall your OS onto it. I don't know if I can recommend a SSD smaller than 250GB considering how cheap they're getting. Brand doesn't matter a whole lot but make sure to do a little research first. PCPartPicker, again, is a great resource for this. Filter by the minimum capacity you want and sort by lowest price, then go from there. Samsung is expensive but reliable; I don't know a lot about other brands.
  
  
• If you're running out of space, 2TB HDDs are pretty cheap and reliable these days. Here's a Seagate one, although I couldn't find Western Digital's equivalent for some reason.
  
  
• I don't really know much about graphics cards other than they're hard to buy new these days. If you buy new, I can't recommend anything with less than 4GB of VRAM, because modern games are getting better at using it. If you buy used, try not to go less than 2GB. Other than that, pick what fits your budget and performance needs, and remember you dont have to run everything on max settings. Dropping the settings a little can allow older cards to still compete today. I still run a 7870 and haven't found any unplayable games yet; 99% of games I get a solid 60, and once I upgrade to an e3-1240v3 that's in the mail I expect that to go to 99.9%.
  
  
• Make sure you have a good PSU. You can get really solid ones for $50 or less these days. Don't forget this one when upgrading your system, unless you already have a good PSU. This is the SeaSonic one I've been recommending a lot. Fully modular and 80 Plus Bronze seems pretty good to me. PSUs are a topic of a lot of controversy, though, so make sure to do your research.
  
  
• Similarly, investing in a case you like will last you a long time and significantly improve a build's appearance. Not its frames, though, so this isn't a priority. Pick one with all the features you want, good cable management options, something you don't mind looking at, that kind of stuff. Look up a review (google "[case name] review") where someone builds a computer in it so you can get an idea of what kind of issues people run into when building in it and if those issues are dealbreakers for you.
  
  
• Optical drives aren't really used this day but if you don't have one it can be worth it to pick one up. Blu-ray drives are getting cheaper, too. PCPartPicker -> optical drives -> filter by features -> sort by price.
  
  
• Monitors I cant speak much on, but if you're gaming at all, get one that goes at least 120hz at its native resolution, and don't get one lower than 1080p. If you don't do any gaming, make sure you get an IPS panel. I personally can't recommend any resolution other than 1080p (1920x1080) because compatibility issues are annoying and most software is either designed to work at 1080p, or have workarounds to run at 1080p. 4k is the next jump worth taking since that seems to be the next big standard (again, in my opinion), but hardware is still a generation or two out from that being mainstream.
  
  
• Multiple monitors are a thing. I don't think I can live with less than 3 monitors again. It's so nice to have a game on the center monitor, a webpage on the left, and a voip program on the right. You can kind of do this with window snapping, but, well, you can also do that with 3 monitors for much more information when you need it.
  
  
• Invest in good network gear. I cannot stress this enough. It will cost a chunk of money but will make your life so much better. If you're renting a modem from your ISP, or your modem/router has your ISP's logo on it, you need to upgrade. I'm currently running the Netgear R7000. If you're on cable internet, get a Motorola SurfBoard and something like the R7000. If you're on DSL, there's a variant that has a phone jack for dialing in. If you have fiber, the ONT that you have isn't replaceable but it's probably fine (but you'll still want to replace the included router). For all of these, you'll probably need to look up a guide on switching and it will probably involve calling your ISP. Expect to spend $200ish on the equipment, but seriously, you won't be constantly rebooting your router, wondering why the WiFi isn't working this time, etc. And a good modem will let you know if it can contact the network or not so you'll know if the internet is actually out or not. And if you're renting a router, you'll save money in the long run.
  
  
• If you're using WiFi, get a good network card. I saw this one linked on this subreddit the other day and it looks pretty good. I've personally found USB WiFi dongles unreliable, but YMMV.
  
  
• Don't forget to upgrade your peripherals. Check out /r/mechanicalkeyboards, /r/steamcontroller (it's about more than just the Steam Controller there, the name is a little misleading TBH), and the YouTube channel Rocket Jump Ninja (he does mouse reviews). I think /r/emulation has had some good threads on controllers, too. There's fun stuff like Mayflash adapters for GameCube controllers, or you could pick up a bluetooth dongle for a DualShock 3 or DualShock 4 (or WiiMote passthrough in Dolphin). There's lots of fun to be had in the peripheral department.
  
  I think that's about everything. Let me know if I missed anything and I'll include it.
  
  edit: Updated some stuff and tried to include more details.

Hey, great parts list imo. Honestly, there really wasn't anything I could change. With that being said, I went ahead and put together an "alternate" build. Please read my notes before proceeding:

• CPU: If you'd like, you can order your Ryzen 1600 from Amazon for the same price as from Newegg + Free Shipping (and one day with prime). For whatever reason Amazon's page for the 1600 is glitched and doesnt display the right price. To get the correct price ($265), go to this Amazon page, and then add to cart.
  
• RAM: Your choice of RAM is definitely the best value, no doubt. Since I couldn't do anything here, I went and added the next best value. Its slightly quicker, has much better timings, and uses Samsung B-Die (best RAM die on the market).
  
• CASES: I see that you wrote that you really like the Air 240! That's great, its an awesome case. Just for some alternatives, I'd suggest taking a look at the Fractal Design Define C ($95 w/ $5 coupon, awesome value) and the brand new Fractal Design Meshify C ($120+$20 S/H, sadly its a bit pricey). There's also the Corsair Carbide which is also very pricey, but I thought I'd throw it in there as it's similar looking to the Air 240.
  
• PSU: The Rosewill Photon is a pretty good power supply, certainly no slouch if you get a working one. This series is hit or miss. I'd definitely recommend the EVGA 650W GQ primarily because it is more reliable, but also because it has an additional 100W overhead. The real steal is that it's only about $5 more once you've completed your $20 Mail-in rebate!
  
• WIFI: Admittedly my knowledge regarding this category and the following are rather limited. All I know is that the AC1900 is a super well respected wifi card and it's on sale for $72 on Amazon, in your position I'd pick this one up.
  
• MOUSE, KEYBOARD, AND HEADPHONES: I threw in a bunch of different alternatives in here since a lot of it is definitely personal preference. The mouse and keyboard you selected would definitely be fantastic, especially if you get the charging pad for your G403. I really like the G502 at its current Amazon price though ($90), and for the keyboards any of them would be fantastic (I'd lean towards the G610). For the headphones I have even less knowledge, but I have the HyperX Cloud and I love it. It's currently on sale for $98 on Amazon.
  
  Here's the pcpartpicker list for those items that I mentioned above, be sure to remove the extra keyboards and mice I threw in for reference. When you do that (and -$20 for the MIR on the Power Supply), this build comes to about $90 more. Like I said before I just wanted to show you some alternatives (what you've selected is already great).

That is a pretty solid build, congrats. These are my feedbacks:

The only thing that stands out negatively is the USB WiFi adapter. There's no need for a USB card when you can have a PCI-E card. I suggest this one:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007GMPZ0A

You may not need the dual band but trust me, it's handy and the difference in price makes it worthy, since with that card you'll be future proof even if you get Google Fiber.

I'd personally get a better case. The 200R is a good case, don't get me wrong, but with a budget like that I'd get something better: the Cooler Master 690 III for example, which is pretty much the best mid tower case available on the market:

http://pcpartpicker.com/mr/ncixus/cooler-master-case-cms693kkn1

I also have no experience with EVGA PSUs. However I know that the best PSU manufacter on the market is SeaSonic. Some PSU manufacters buy SeaSonic parts and use them for their PSUs. I don't know if EVGA does it, but XFX is one of them, and I'd get this PSU:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00I5HF0KU/?tag=pcpapi-20

650W, Fully Modular, Gold Certified, same price as yours.

This depends on your habit but you could save on the Optical Drive (who uses DVDs anymore?), and if you don't want to you could get a OD from an old build/an old PC since as long as it's a SATA drive it'll be fine.

I'd also recommend Windows 8 instead of Windows 7 since it's SSD optimized and it boots a lot faster. You don't have to use the Start Menu if you don't want to, or you can use it to store your desktop applications like I do.

The rest of the build is fine to me, congrats on your rig man.

The R9 390 is much, much cheaper and offers same or better performance. I made a few changes. Here's each change, and why.

i5-4690k: can still be overclocked, but since you mentioned nothing about streaming, the i7 is pretty much unnecessary. The price difference between the i5 and i7 is not big enough to warrant so much money unless the i7's hyperthreading really benefits you. In most games (recently, poorly optimized games like fallout 4 have been wanting an i7), the i7 will offer little, if any benefit.

Cooler: Less noise. Lower temps.

RAM: Cheaper. Same performance, still a reliable brand and 16gb.

SSD: Newer. Better in all ways.

Video card: Literally the best card on the market right now. If you're staying at 1080p, I recommend the AMD R9 390, but this GTX980ti is top of the line and there's pretty much nothing better that isn't called a Titan. Offers huge 1440p performance.

PSU: Not overpriced as hell, but still provides efficiency and good power delivery and stability. Also, you could proooobably add a second 980ti if you want to play at 4k and have to buy a new PSU.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor | $227.99 @ SuperBiiz
CPU Cooler | CRYORIG H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler | $34.50 @ Newegg
Thermal Compound | Arctic Silver 5 High-Density Polysynthetic Silver 3.5g Thermal Paste | $4.55 @ OutletPC
Motherboard | Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard | $139.89 @ OutletPC
Memory | G.Skill Sniper Gaming Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory | $62.99 @ Newegg
Storage | Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive | $84.88 @ OutletPC
Storage | Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | $49.98 @ OutletPC
Video Card | MSI GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Video Card | $596.99 @ NCIX US
Case | Corsair 500R Black ATX Mid Tower Case | $109.99 @ Amazon
Power Supply | EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply | $101.99 @ NCIX US
Optical Drive | Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer | $17.78 @ OutletPC
Operating System | Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) | $89.99 @ NCIX US
Case Fan | Cougar Vortex PWM 70.5 CFM 120mm Fan | $14.89 @ OutletPC
Case Fan | Cougar Vortex PWM 70.5 CFM 120mm Fan | $14.89 @ OutletPC
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total | $1551.30
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-09 16:44 EST-0500 |


Wifi card that supports bluetooth: http://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-Bluetooth-Expansion-Components-GC-WB867D-I/dp/B00HF8K0O6

This is what I came up with. Normally, I would recommend a Ryzen 5 3600 and a 5700xt for a $1000 gaming build but as you will be doing some video editing, the Ryzen 7 2700x is probably a better choice as it has a higher core/thread count meaning it will do better in video editing and other productivity tasks, and it is still pretty good for gaming. If you want, you could always swap it out for the 3600 if you're after better gaming performance. Other than that, the 5700xt should be able to handle VR games like beat saber just fine.

As for on board wifi, there aren't too many options in the micro-atx market. I would recommend purchasing a pcie wifi adapter as they aren't too expensive and deliver the same performance you would get on a motherboard with wifi. Here's one I found on amazon for less than £30.

Good luck with your build :)

PCPartPicker Part List

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
CPU | AMD Ryzen 7 2700X 3.7 GHz 8-Core Processor | $159.00 @ Amazon
Motherboard | Gigabyte B450 AORUS M Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard | $69.99 @ Newegg
Memory | Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory | $79.99 @ Best Buy
Storage | Intel 660p Series 1.02 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive | $82.99 @ Newegg
Storage | Western Digital Caviar Blue 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | $37.99 @ Amazon
Video Card | Sapphire Radeon RX 5700 XT 8 GB PULSE Video Card | $412.98 @ SuperBiiz
Case | Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mini Tower Case | $49.99 @ Amazon
Power Supply | Corsair TXM Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply | $69.99 @ Newegg
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total (before mail-in rebates) | $982.92
| Mail-in rebates | -$20.00
| Total | $962.92
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-11-30 16:21 EST-0500 |

>I know this setup is not the best out there, but I'm sure it's alright for my every day needs. I'm not looking to play games like R6S/Battlefield and stuff like that, I just like playing games like CSGO/Minecraft/GarrysMod which I'm sure they will run alright with the 1050 Ti. (which suit perfectly the price range I'm looking for)

You actually could play BF1 on medium settings, 50fps just fine.

>For the CPU I went from the 1400 to the 1500x (wanted the 1600x but it was a bit off price), so yeah

That'll work fine.

>My memory card is missing so I really need your help to choose one (8GB RAM preferred)

What you mean is "RAM," or "DDR4," or "memory sticks." A memory card is something that you put in your camera or phone to hold pictures.

Any 288pin DDR4 sticks should work. Make sure you get 2 4GB sticks and not 1 8GB stick. 2 sticks run in "dual channel mode" which means they move data twice as fast. (But 4 sticks don't move data 4 times as fast, so don't worry about getting 4 sticks). Also, your motherboard can only fit 2 sticks.

>I'm not completely sure what "bays" mean when choosing a case for your build, but I've chosen the one selected on the list randomly (I've also seen some people get the case for free, any idea how? / is my current one compatible?)

A "bay" is a slot that holds a component, you shouldnt need to worry since any case has enough to hold a couple HDDs.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drive_bay

Summary: a 5.25" bay holds DVD drives( among other things); a 3.5" bay holds full size hard drives (among other things); A 2.5" bay holds a laptop sized disk drive. Most SSDs, are 2.5". However, you can put a 2.5" drive, in a 3.5" bay.

>- In PCPartPicker I can see an option to buy the operation system? I've seen many builds that do not come with that listed, but do I need to buy it? (my cousin has a pen drive that does install Windows 10, he used it on his Razer laptop, but should be compatible in general).

You need to ask him about that. But it's probably just the installation media. Which means that it installs windows onto any (compatible) PC. However, you still need to activate it. (Otherwise windows will yell at you and be a pain to use). His laptop came with a license so he didn't need to buy one.

You can see if your university (if you go to school) has free/discounted windows licenses, many do. Otherwise, you will have to buy it.

>- I've also seen the wired and wireless adapater option to buy, I really don't know if this is stupid but do I need to add it to the cart too? (My PC will most likely be at my room, and my router/modem is not even near so ethernet cabling is not an option for me, going straight to wireless)

You will need a wireless card to use wifi. Some Motherboards have it built in, but yours doesn't. Here's an example.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0079XWMEI/ref=mp_s_a_1_4/131-2308338-9019942?ie=UTF8&qid=1502032137&sr=8-4&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=wireless+card&dpPl=1&dpID=41rS1aE2IAL&ref=plSrch

>- What about the sound card?

Don't need one

>Thanks, and have a great day.

You too. Let me know if you need any clarification.

Hi! :)

Maybe to give some context, I by default try to optimize builds in a price-performance direction. Many builders are not aware they do not need the $400 ROG board and the $300 Full ATX case to end up with a good system.

But now to your specific remarks:

> Like I mentioned, I like to play games that can be CPU heavy as well, so I think I can still benefit from the 3700x opposed to the 3600.

The 3700X won't give you much more performance in games. That's important to realize. Even if games started to target more than 6 cores, the 12 threads of the 3600 would cover that until around 8 to 10 cores are expected. Which will be many years from now. But it's not like there is a drawback in getting the 3700X, apart from the price.

Bluetooth/Wifi:

> I think it is cheaper (also easier) to go with a board that has that straight out of the box.

Can't argue with easier (minimally), but not cheaper. Get https://www.amazon.de/Gigabyte-1733-wb1733d-i-Mbps-Express-Adapter/dp/B07FBSV1XZ/ for example and you still save 30-40€.

> If I had more budget I would have wanted a 2080 Super

Then the 2070 Super is preferable to the 5700 XT, since it is indeed a bit faster.

> I am aware a HDD is cheaper, but a SSD is faster and the price is almost negligible.

Not even with your budget is the price difference negligible. If you get a 1TB SSD and a 2TB HDD that will be 200€ cheaper than your current configuration. In the end it's of course you who know best how much storage you need, but more than 1TB "live" SSD storage in a gaming PC is excessive.

> Is there a specific reason you changed the PSU aside from price?

Just to show that a 650W psu is enough. The Whisper M though has the additional advantage of being really quiet.

> You changed the RAM, but obviously I chose that specific RAM because of its RGB elements. Is there any specific reason not to go with the RGB RAM aside from it being more expensive?

No

> I have read that the Meshify C benefits from having fans in the front, and I think the RGB elements could be a fun addition. Any specific reason you removed the fans?

Just not a part of my lists and my build tool (yet), you can certainly add the fans you prefer here. One or two additional fans won't hurt.

Hey. That's quite a... detailed list you've got there. I'll clear up what I can. I'll go through your issues one by one.

First off:Motherboard. Addresses in problem #7 #5.
-Bluetooth. Most motherboard don't have a built in Bluetooth module. If you want Bluetooth anyway I recommend you to check out this:
https://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-GC-WB867D-I-Bluetooth-Adapter-Computer/dp/B00HF8K0O6
This also comes with wifi. Bonus points for convenience.

-Motherboard:Your 6700k is an unlocked processor, which mean it is designed for a Z170 chipset motherboard, which enables CPU overclocking, you can learn more about it in Google. Considering your concern about audio quality I recommend either an:

+ASROCK Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming K4

Or a

+Gigabyte Z170X Gaming 3

Both of which comes with the newest onboard audio codec [ALC1150] but I generally prefer the Z170X Gaming 3 because it has better build quality and comes with an Op Amp. Solid choice overall.

Secondly:Performance related issues. As addresses in problem #2 and #3

-Ram:32GB of RAM is all you need, most of the people who run out of 64gb RAM are the ones who work on hi profile project like BF1 and AAA titles. Don't sweat it.

-Storage:1TB SSD is pretty pricey but is worth it if you can pay the bucks. If you can't, then opt for a 120gb or 240gb SSD and then get 3x500GB HDD and run it in Raid 0 configuration. This feature is supported by the aforementioned motherboards, this makes the HDD faster while still having fast boot time and low cost.

Third: Comfortability. This one is small so I'll keep it short.

-Keyboard:It depends on your need. If you want a quiet and tactile, go for Brown switch. If you don't use the keypad much but can use some extra money and space they get a TKL keyboard, it all depends on your preference. My recommendation:
https://www.amazon.com/Storm-QuickFire-Rapid-Tenkeyless-Mechanical/dp/B007VDKLLM?th=1&psc=1

-Monitors:Are you multitasking? Do you want to watch porn while playing GTA5? Then get 2 1080p.
If you prefer quality instead, I recommend an ultra wide 1440p monitor. The 1070 isn't powerful enough to hit a steady 144fps at max settings.1080 also has a hard time hitting it so just stay with the 1070 and SLI later for extra performance. My recommendation:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00VBNQJSM/ref=as_li_tl?tag=amazon0251-20&ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00VBNQJSM&linkCode=as2&linkId=DXJX3BVD7T5PL252
There is enough real estate for multiple windows when you're not gaming. So if you can spare a few buck then this may be cool for you.

-Case: Just go with what the community considers best: the NZXT S340. Simple and efficient.

-Installation: You do indeed need to buy a Phillips screwdriver if you want to assemble the PC. The rest is just adult Lego.

Hope I cleared that up. If you don't understand anything feel free to ask me.

Yes I do (Althought I always recommend Cable over Wifi ,but I'll just assume that isn't a possiblity for you :P )

The Archer T series are good. The 3 models come up as top, T6E , T8E , T9E. Some do 802.11AC wifi others don't. Depends on your router and home network if you would have any use for that.

Those are all PCI Cards you place inside your PC. The Asus PCE-AC68 also deserves a mention if we are talking about High performance Wireless cards. Althought its expensive.

You can also go the USB route, you'll end up with dongles like this Netgear AC1200 which is a excellent USB options, but once again pricey (See the trend, dont worry we are getting there)

A more affordable PCI Options would be this TP-LINK WDN4800 N900 or a USB dongle like this TP-Link WDN4200 N900

And if you are really low on funds you could go for something like the Asus USB-N13 for 18$ or TP-Link N300 which is only 11$.

Personally I'd recommend you grab the TP N900, either the PCI or USB variant would do fine , PCI is faster, USB is probably a bit more versatile as you can use it with any PC/Laptop. N900 gets great reviews all around and it supports 802.11N , should be plenty fast for gaming. One issue the N900 seems to have is Digital signage with W10 ,so you need a different driver than the official one to get by this issue and use 5ghz. Not sure if thats relevant for you.

Either way ,you see the trend, Asus and TP-link are really my go2brands for anything networking.

I realize I still gave you a ton of choices, might not be the most helpful, but atleast you'll have some direction to look.

> Is now the right time to buy a PC or should I wait because new cards are coming out and they will lead to price drops? But how long until those price drops will even come into effect?

I would wait slightly, prices of the older cards will not fall (in the used market they will. But new cards, not so much.) so just wait for the price gouging of the new cards to stop and pick up one of those.

> Also, when building a PC what parts do I need to connect to Internet/Wi-Fi? A wireless network adapter? Or do motherboards come equipped with being able to connect to WiFi? And what do you look for when choosing a wireless network adapter if you need them?

Some motherboards do come with Wi-FI adapters built in, but these are typically in a price range that it's not worth it to most of us. If wifi if your only choice your best bet is to get a PCI express Wifi adapter. Something like this: https://smile.amazon.com/Gigabyte-GC-WB867D-I-Bluetooth-Adapter-Computer/dp/B00HF8K0O6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1466008737&sr=8-1&keywords=pci+express+ac+wifi
When you're shopping just make sure the adapter supports the best wifi standard your home router/AP does (AC, N, etc)

> Finally, when looking at Graphics cards, e.g. the GeForce GTX 1070, I saw they were sold by various manufacturers like EVGA, Zotac, MSI etc. Does it matter which manufacturer you buy from (apart from price differences)? Does it affect performance or anything of the card or can I just relax and buy from any company?

There are differences in each of the cards from the companies. You will want to read reviews for the cards you may be interested in. One card may run quieter than the others, one may have higher clocks and therefor perform better.

2.4G antennas usually work for 5GHz too, but are not ideal, but it should still work.

You'd have to open the laptop, wireless card is usually not soldered onto a motherboard in most cheap laptops, it's actually a card, usually it looks like this:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00N7474CS
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MZA1AB2

Basically, you have to open the laptop and see what you're dealing with if you can't find the pictures of the internals for your laptop model online.

There's a ton of videos on youtube of guys changing the cards in various laptops, so you get an impression of what you're going to be dealing with:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwnxTKyacqE

ifixit.com also has really nice macro photos and guides, since the cards are similar in most laptops, you'll probably find them useful

Make sure you have a clean flat stable desk surface to work on, magnetic screwdriver and a magnetic tray help as well. If you don't have those, good luck! , you can probably use plain white sheets of paper as well just so you don't lose the parts. Try not to exert any force on any of the screws or plastic bits. Don't leave it open for longer than you have to -- so you don't lose parts.

Good luck!

Yes you will need a network adapter, http://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-TL-WDN4800-Wireless-Express-Low-profile/dp/B007GMPZ0A/ref=lh_ni_t?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
That is the #1 on amazon.
Although might I suggest getting a better motherboard with the rest of your left over budget? The one you have is good, and will do the job, but for relatively not much more, you can get one with many more options available to you for the future.

BTW, something also to think about, mouse, and keyboard, what type are you going to use? I mean, my thinking is, why buy a sports car (gaming PC) but have seats like a school bus. A cheap mouse and keyboard get the job done perfectly well, but you can get some pretty nice ones (let's be honest, we like to spoil ourselves).

Warning: THIS IS BUILDAPC, where we will always, even by accident, try to convince you "Hey if you spent just a LITTLE bit more, it would be so much better for you!"
I ended up planning my build with a 660, to a 760, and now I am debating if I NEED a 770 just because everyone else is getting one XD.

Hey thanks for the reply.

First, here's the deal for the EVGA PSU. They're having a large sale today.

Regarding your changes:

• The WD Blue 250 GB SSD is currently on sale on Amazon for $70, $10 cheaper than the MX300. Would you recommend it?
  
  
• For the case he would prefer a window and thus, something with a PSU shroud to help with cable management and looks. What would you say are the differences between these two cases?
  
  
• The wireless adapter does have bluetooth. It doesn't say it on PCPartPicker, but the Amazon link does say Bluetooth 4.0. (It's also the same one that I have and it does have Bluetooth haha)
  
  
• Why is the 1400 worth the $45 difference compared to the 1300X?
  
  
• I feel that PCIe Wi-Fi adapters are better than USB ones. Is that true?
  
  I agree that for now a CPU cooler isn't necessary as the included one will be fine. He likely will not be overclocking regardless. Regarding RAM overclocking, however, is that not a tad harder than standard overclocking?
  
  In general, is this ~$50 price increase notably different from my previous partlist? My friend would rather stay lower than push the limits of the budget.
  
  Also, I've been looking at this list throughout the day and making tiny changes, and on my saved partlist I swapped out the Corsair RAM for this higher speed (and cheaper) G.Skill Aegis DDR4-3000 RAM. Is the extra ~$50 for 16 GB worth it?
  
  Thanks!
  

If you want the absolute best reception possible, a PCIe card is the best choice. Not too expensive.

If you want something that'll save you money and still offer solid reception, there's USB adapters.

Alternatively, depending on how old your house is (I'm not sure of how the logistics go; you'd have to search around on that), powerline adapters are the next best thing to a wired connection.

Wired > Powerline > PCIe > USB

USB isn't bad, but PCIe is a good sweet spot if a powerline adapter wouldn't work.

So roughly $10-40 for WiFi. It's well worth it over purchasing a motherboard with it built-in.

---

With your budget? Yessir. Hardware before luxuries.

---

It's not hard at all. There are plenty of instructional videos and articles on how to do it.

tl;dr Make a bootable flash drive (at least 4GB on the drive; might as well have a bigger one, though), put the Windows ISO on there (make sure your Windows is tied to your Windows account; not as a local account either), install it to the SSD, boot up, sign in with the same Windows email as before, and activate it. Easy as that.

Make sure you wipe your hard drive, too.

> but which one should I buy, considering a Wi-Fi adapter?

The TP Link WDN-4800. It's very popular on this subreddit and gets recommended very often.

For cpu and Mobo I'd go with the I5 4690 and the ASRock H97 Pro4.

> Which 750w PSU for my GPU? (I'm talking about compatibility for pins)

Most 750W power supplies come with the necessary cables for the computer. I know for sure that this XFX Pro Series 850W has all the cables you need.

> About the RAM, I'd go for the faster CL9 I put in description

There is no scenario where you'll even notice the difference between CL9 and CL10... It might, just might improve when doing something like rendering / 3D-modeling.
So you can save yourself about 8,- that way.

> and same thing for the SSD 840 Pro, which has better read/write speed.

When only considering the read/write speeds you'd see 1 maybe 2% performance improvement over the 840 Evo. While the 840 Evo is ~30% cheaper.
If you think performance is important get the Samsung 840 Evo 120GB twice and put them in Raid 0. It improves performance up to 100%! And is still cheaper than the 840 Pro.

3- wd blues are great drives, and i've been running one solo for the past 2 years, but about to buy an ssd for my os and important programs. 1tb and 2tb. also note that the 1tb drive is 7200 rpm vs 5400 rpm in the 2tb, but since you aren't running the OS on that and just using it for storage, it's nothing to worry about.

4- stick everything in here. that's there recommended wattage psu to get, but its probably worth it just to get something 50 watts over that.

5- obviously, ethernet is the best choice, but if that's not available you can get something like this. one of my friends has powerline, and its really weird for him. some outlets he gets good speeds, and others are absolute trash. turning off and on the lights repeatedly causes a little lag while gaming, but overall he still likes it and uses it.

6- 27 inches is really huge, and you're not going to find a 1440p, 144hz, 27in, and gsync monitor for less than that.

Powerline works just like ethernet, but over the power wiring in a building. It won't work in this situation because you're not going to have a physical connection to a switch in a data closet. You're going to need to stick to wireless. I'd recommend getting something like an Intel 7260 / 8260 or an Atheros AR9462 series based card. Usually they're Mini PCI-e cards in a PCI 1x or 4x adapter card.


Here are some examples from Amazon:


Intel Branded PCI-E Card


Gigabyte Card using Intel's 8260 chipset


Gigabyte Card using Intel's 3160 chipset


All are dual band and I believe all support Bluetooth as well. Get something like this instead of a USB adapter. These last longer and will provide much better performance. Alternatively, you can take an old router and if it supports DD-WRT, use that in wireless bridge mode. Hook up an Ethernet cable from you PC to the router and you'll have a very powerful wireless adapter.

So I, like many others, have done this upgrade recently. With comcast and the other ISPs feeling the heat lately they are upgrading for free, via promos. I helped my mom and my uncle out after they upgraded.

First, I, personally, wouldn't buy a modem new. There are plenty of perfectly good used modems out there. This is the list of comcast approved devices. You might have already been aware of it. Try not to spend $100+. As long as you get a modem with the DOCSIS 3.0 standard and telephony you should be fine. My recommendation is to buy a used, but not totally beaten down, modem from a reputable dealer on ebay or amazon. Don't spend money you don't have to.

Second, you might want to consider upgrading to the wireless AC standard. I actually own a TP-LINK N300, but there is, most times, a good deal of packet loss with wifi. This will result in slower actual network speeds than the 300 Mbps specification. I cannot say you won't get the full 105 Mbs but if you have a lot of local traffic (from say your NAS and other local devices) you will definitely see a slowdown. It all depends on the amount of traffic at any one time, and if you desire to utilize the entire 105 Mbps. Wireless AC will alleviate this concern.

At the very least get a wireless AC adapter because they only cost a few dollars more than the N's. If you choose to upgrade the router later you're only out $20.

tldr: Buy used modem. Future-proof with wireless AC router and adapter, if you/your household are a heavy wifi users.

Best of luck!

Hello hello, first-time poster here. I've been lurking around this thread for a while now and after recently completing a new PC build, I decided it was time to put some effort into my battlestation as well. I call this... Japanese Steampunk. Maybe not so much steampunk, but I do really like the copper and wood elements.

[EDIT] Yes, I know this isn't steampunk. I'm sorry, I wish I could change the title but I can't. I had steampunk elements in mind when designing the room, hence the title, so I apologize for misleading anyone. Let's just all focus on the Japanese elements, then! :D

For the computer, I did my best to go with as much white as I could. Many of the parts (especially the peripherals) were chosen with the color and a budget in mind. My original intention was to use one monitor for my PC and the other for console gaming, but the boyfriend ended up hooking his PC up to the second monitor so that we can play Overwatch side-by-side, ha.

The desk and shelving were custom-made by me with parts from IKEA, a little spraypaint, and a few power tools.

I haven't added up what everything cost me, but I'm going to ballpark around $2500. Not cheap, but pretty good considering that this setup will last me for years.

Computer
-------------------
Case

• NZXT S340 Glossy White Steel ATX Mid Tower Case
  
  Motherboard
  
• ASUS TUF SABERTOOTH Z170 S
  
  CPU
  
• Intel Core i5-6600K 6M Skylake Quad-Core 3.5 GHz
  
  RAM
  
• Crucial Ballistix Sport LT 32GB (4 x 8GB)
  
  Cooling
  
• Corsair Air Series AF140 140mm, white, ENERMAX ETS-T40F-W 120mm Twister Aluminum 120mm, white
  
  Graphics card
  
• ASUS GTX 900 GeForce GTX 970
  
  Harddrive
  
• Crucial BX200 2.5" 480GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive
  
  Power
  
• EVGA 220-GS-0850-V1 80 PLUS GOLD
  
  Wireless
  
• TP-LINK Archer T9E AC1900 Dual Band Wireless PCI Express Adapter
  
  Peripherals
  -------------------
  Monitors
  
• Vizta V32Lmh1 White 31.5" 8ms HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor
  
  Keyboard
  
• SADES K10 LED Backlit Wired USB Mechanical Keyboard
  
  Mouse
  
• GW SADES S7 Flash Wing PC Gaming Mouse
  
  Speakers
  
• Logitech Multimedia Speakers Z200
  
  Headphones
  
• Sony MDRZX110 ZX Series Stereo Headphones
  
  Headphone stand
  
• Just Mobile HS-100GD HeadStand, gold
  
  Phone stand
  
• elago M2 Stand, gold
  
  Lighting
  
• Jansjo Copper work lamp, Fairy LED Copper Wire String Lights, LED lighting strip
  
  Desk & Shelves
  -------------------
  Karlby counter top, walnut
  
  Godvin legs, white
  
  Capita legs, stainless steel
  
  Signum cable management
  
  Henriksdal chair, brown-black, Nolhaga gray-beige cover
  
  Ekby Stodis shelf brackets
  
  Rustoleum Hammered Copper spraypaint
  

You didn't specify what type of case you have, but I'm guessing it is some type of tower. Like Xeppo said, the 1U PowerEdge C1100 is going to be loud. The smaller the fans, the more noise they make. You may want to consider other Generation 11 PowerEdge servers with similar specs and larger cases.

One advantage you get with a used rackmount server is exposure to DRAC/IPMI/iLO OOB management. (This is an optional feature, so check the description.) Your typical consumer motherboard won't support anything like that. A second advantage is that most PowerEdges will have a PERC for you to play around with.

With a rackmount server, you also need to consider where you are going to put it. If you lay it down, it is going to take up a lot of surface area. If you stand it up, you need secure mounting brackets, or something comparable. If you put it in a rack, you need a rack which takes up a good chunk of space. You can stick a tower almost anywhere.

Read some reviews that compare 2 SSDs in RAID vs a single SSD. The performance can be hit or miss. On a budget, you would probably be better off spending (or saving) that money elsewhere. I don't have enough SSD experience to comfortably recommend any particular brand.

If you do decide to go the white box route, the Intel PRO 1000/PT Dual Port NIC is $44 shipped. Intel network adapters are worth the minimal added cost. TrendNet is not one of my first choices for... well, anything.

Nice none of that amazon a10 gaming pc scam

Parts I recommend are :

CPU: i5 6500. It's a perfect CPU for the price. Rumoured to be better than some i7 ones

Ram: 16 gb ddr4. If you want 8 is fine but it's relatively cheap for 16 gb. Go for Kingston or g skill ripjaws.

Motherboard: standard lga1151 board. Matx is what I recommend. Spend like 80 ish dollars to 100 on this. Don't really know that much on this sorry.

Gpu: windforce gtx 1060 6gb. Beast card. If you have the cash upgrade to the 1070 is highly recommended it will smash every game at 1080p

Psu: corsair always reliable. Get a 650 watt one and you're set.

Hdd: western digital blue 1tb. Perfect mass storage for all your games and applications

Ssd. Samsung 850 240 gb. Use this to store you're operating system and crucial applications.

Case. Nzxt s340 elite perfect case with ample space to work with whilst also looking beast

Operating system (if you need one) windows 10 don't know the price

Some peripherals you may like

Logitech g502 mouse. Solid mouse for most games
Anker 4 port usb hub for extra connectivity

Also if you plan to use wifi get a wifi card from tplink. Here's one I use :

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B007GMPZ0A/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1482097102&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=wifi+card&dpPl=1&dpID=41dj0fWrySL&ref=plSrch

Is cheap fast and reliable.

A USB adapter for WiFi is generally not going to be as good as something like a PCI one.

Currently, you have High Power Signal King 48DBI, which is USB. I'd recommend a dedicated wireless card that uses PCI/PCIe. Your motherboard (MSI Z87-GD65 GAMING) doesn't have a PCI port, just PCI Express, so you could get something like this. It comes with a generic antenna which may be good enough, but you could pair it with a better antenna in the future (benefit of dedicated wireless cards!).

Or, spend a bit more money (though you could save a lot of money elsewhere...) and get one that has multiple antennas, which can all be upgraded for fantastic wireless experience.

I would definitely still get the HDD. I’m am advocate for as much space as possible, but I am a bit of a data hoarder. As for wifi adapters the best value, in my opinion, are the PCI-e adapters with AC in the ~$40 range. I forget the exact model number of mine, but I have a $35 gigabyte PCI-e with AC wifi and bluetooth and it’s been great.

Edit: I have this wifi card. It is worth noting it has some issues in rare cases with 5GHz networks, but I've contacted support about it and hope we can get a driver fix out for it.

Edit: As for the GPU compatibility issue, whether that impacts things depends on the layout of the case and I’m not familiar with that one in particular so can’t say.

The wireless card in your partlist will be prone to interference from other devices in crowded areas and other RF devices like mircowaves, but if you don't live in a middle city apartment it'll probably be fine. For better reliability you might want to look at something like this: https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Archer-T6E-Wireless-Technology/dp/B016K0896K/

Motherboards with onboard WiFi will cost more than the price of a PCIe wireless card, but they tend to be better quality boards. The wireless performance between the card I linked and something onboard will be pretty much the same.

As for general build feedback, I'd swap the 9700k for the 8700k and take that budget out of the cooler, it'll perform quite a bit better in newer games that are more thread limited. Something like https://pcpartpicker.com/list/JRdCxG

I'd actually recommend something more like this.

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/FvMLgw

Far more power for around the same price. As for peripherals, don't spend too much. You're wasting money if you go out and spend 150 on those things. For the headset, get the Mpow EG3. I have that headset, and it is tremendous value. As for keyboard and mice, that choice is up to you. Look around and research a bit and get one with the features, keys, and buttons that you like. But I wouldn't spend more than 40 on the keyboard and more than 35 on the mouse.

Edit:

If you can maybe wait a month or two and bump your budget up to around 800, then you get a far more well rounded build.

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/t74ydX

Keyboard: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Redragon-K552-N-UK-Mechanical-Keyboard-UK-Layout-No-Light/dp/B07CMJFMW8/ref=sr_1_10?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1549485596&sr=1-10&keywords=red+dragon+keyboard

That keyboard has clicky blue switches, so they may be loud for your taste. Look around for what you may like.

Mouse: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Logitech-Gaming-Optical-Colour-Customising/dp/B01MYQ4HJD/ref=sr_1_7?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1549485619&sr=1-7&keywords=gaming+mouse

Logitech just makes quality mice.

Headset: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mpow-Headset-Surround-Cancelling-Compatible/dp/B07HKGH683/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1549485673&sr=1-1&keywords=mpow+eg3

Probably the best bang for your buck headset. I've got it and it's pretty decent. Gets loud. Base is a little on the low side, but for gaming/watching videos, it's great. Mic is actually quite nice. About above average.

And if you need WiFi/BT, then just slap one of these on as well.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07FBSV1XZ/?tag=pcp0f-21

I have a Ryzen 5 build paired with a GTX 1080 and that same case (mobo too), so about half of what I say will come from personal experience.

1. I tried a USB dongle with my PC, sure it worked (kinda 70% wired speed at 10m away althought it was USB 2.0), but aesthetically, it's awful. I'd recommend this PCIe wifi card w/ bluetooth for less than that dongle. It was a slightly difficult install after having everything built and running. If you install it beore installing the mobo, it'll be a 30 second install easy. Plus you get 90% speed from 10m away AND bluetooth for LESS.
   
2. I'd opt for a larger SSD because the OS will be at least 25 GB, and having a larger SSD for games helps (since game files can be large).
   
3. I wouldn't buy an ITX version graphics card for an ATX build (they heat faster, thermal throttling, etc.) Opt for full size. Actually made this mistake with my build and returned the ITX card for a full-sized one.
   
4. This case comes with 2 120mm fans that I used for outtake. I personally recommend buying 2 140mm fans for intake--helps maintain positive pressure and keeps the case WAY cooler for OC'ing, PC health, etc.
   
5. Double check that the 1060 6GB is going to meet your needs @ 1080p144hz. Also, that's a pretty decent price for a 1060 (considering mining craze).
   
6. Ryzen will comfortably OC to 3.7-3.9 GHz (depending on your luck) with good temps.

Since ASUS decided to drop GPT formatted drive booting support, you'll have to install the bootloader to the EFI partition if you wish to keep using the Unibeast method. Also be sure to install TRIM support for your SSD in multibeast.


HOW TO INSTALL THE BOOTLOADER TO THE EFI PARTITION:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ix0BtrKitMs


If you really wanna avoid this in the future and when you learn more about Hackintoshes, then you will discover that Clover will solve alot more problems and such, even the booting problem because by deafult Clover is an EFI bootloader. :) BTW Clover will bring not only Legacy support but also UEFI support for those who like it. I personally say to everyone if your current legacy Chimera/Chameleon install is working fine, then there really is no need for Clover, unless they wanna experiment. In which case, you should always make a backup.

As fpr your wifi card, it seems it no longer is supported in OS X Yosemite or any recent OS X version such as Mavericks or Mountain lion either. Maybe you could send it back if its new and dish out a few more bucks for the TP-Link TL-WDN4800 Wifi adapter. Its usually like 30-40 bucks, but trust me, even as a high schooler with a tight budget, it was worth the money. Its an amazing adapter even dual booting with windows. Works out of the box in Yosemite on most installs.

http://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-TL-WDN4800-Wireless-Express-Low-profile/dp/B007GMPZ0A

I was more asking how far the signal has to travel. The big bonus that more expensive cards give you is more range, but if he's only going to be a room away then the range matters a bit less.

If price legitimately doesn't matter and his PC is pretty far away from the router or there are thick walls between the PC and router, this thing gets great reviews:

https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-802-11AC-Wireless-AC3100-Adapter-PCE-AC88/dp/B01H9QMOMY

Never personally used that one, but a lot of people seem to like it. The drivers are a bit wonky though. If that's overkill, I own the card linked below and have never had any issues with it, and for the price I honestly don't know if you can beat it performance-wise. I would recommend it to anyone unless they need some serious range:

https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Archer-Heatsink-Technology-T6E/dp/B016K0896K

I use this https://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-450Mbps-Wireless-Express-TL-WDN4800/dp/B007GMPZ0A/ref=sr_1_3?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1475178432&sr=1-3&keywords=wifi+card

I don't know if its the best, but it works great for me. I play games pretty competitively (csgo, battlefield,dark souls), and have never had a problem. I sit rather close to the router, not sure if that makes a huge difference. I recommend.

Generally speaking.... Routers that advertise as "Gigabit" are referring to the Wired/Ethernet chipset inside the Router... and that Ethernet-chipset is designed/spec'ed to support 10/100/1000 negotiation. Whether you actually GET Gigabit speeds or not.. is going to depend on a lot of factors beyond the Routers chipsets. (such as:... Cabling, Distance, Interference (yes.. ethernet cables can get interference) and the OS/Ethernet-chipset/Driver on the client-computer(s).

WiFi-specs are somewhat the same... the "optimal" speed for WiFi-G or WiFi-N or WiFi-AC... is usually spec'd/tested under "laboratory conditions" (IE = where everything is perfect, equipment is high-quality and there isn't any obstacles or interference).

So for example:

• If you use a cheap/shitty WiFi Router... and a cheap shitty USB-WiFi adapter... then you're probably gonna get cheap/shitty WiFi speeds. (even though the Router or WiFi-Adapter claims to be capable of more).
  
  
• If you use a nice high-quality WiFi Router (like a ASUS RT-N66U or RT-AC68U.. or an Apple Airport Extreme).. and you use a nice high quality WiFi-Adapter (like one of these: http://www.amazon.com/Intel-Wireless-AC-Bluetooth-Adapter-7260HMWDTX1/dp/B00EKQN2KK/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1421372401&sr=8-11&keywords=intel+centrino ) ... you're more likely to get good reliable speeds.
  
  As in any technology situation... it's best to buy high-quality equipment.. and best to standardize (Apple WiFi Routers for Apple equipment.... or if you buy an ASUS Router.. also buy an ASUS WiFi Adapter,etc)...

I have both This one and this one on 2 different PC's with this router.

Can recommend all three. Both have strong connection through walls, and undropping 450-600mbps connections. That Gigabyte is particularly a great bang for buck card, I recommend it to everyone, zero complaints. From my internal server it handily has constant 50-60MBps transfers. Just over half wired speed upload and download, which for wireless is perfectly acceptable to me.

USB adapters work, and can work just fine. But a PCI card will have better throughput and better range. I use that very same adapter on my Rpi because it isn't the most powerful thing, and it does work. But not nearly as well.

Usually there is some thermal paste pre-applied to metal base of the cooler, or a small amount of paste will be included.

As for tools a screw driver should be all you need (a long one can be useful to reach), an ESD wrist wrap. can be useful but to be honest I don't use it myself, just try to rid yourself of any static electricity (one other easy way to do this is to touch your PC case while the PSU is installed and plugged in, it has a ground connection).

There are PCIe add in cards that you can buy for wifi, something like TP-Link T6E is fairly common.

Feel free as well to hit my up about any specific X570 recommendations come launch.

Realtek doesn't make the actual adapters just the chips that run them. Broadcom is another,theres Atheros which Qualcomm owns. Anyway they aren't bad chips. For instance this Asus Is using a broadcom chipset.

Anyway pretty much any PCIE adapter with antennae will probably do. Generally speaking ignore the "gaming" ones as it's the same thing just with some QOS and more software and extra money.

Most adapters that aren't "basic" are probably going to be more than what you need by a large amount. They're are, however, some "nice to haves" things like multiple antennae for both 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz for "Beam forming" which works both ways to improve the signal. Or an ASIC for processing the data.

Anyway I spent some time looking and found the Rosewill n900 With an Atheros AR9380 It's bigger brothers have similar Atheros chipsets if you want to bump up to wireless AC, assuming your router supports it. Anyway Atheros are good chips, found pretty much everywhere but sometimes the implementation isn't so good. (Mostly labtops and not add-on cards) On the hardware side anyway. Make sure you have good drivers and any updates that come along should be checked.

Intel's little niche for wifi is little standalone chips that go into laptops for the most part. They do have adapters that you can use to place them into desktop computers but then your looking at the chipset plus adapter and you kind of have to know what your going for. I did find quite a few PCIE cards but most had older chipsets. And one good premade Has one less antennae but also has bluetooth and supports AC. Needs an empty USB slot on the motherboard to use bluetooth.

you need to make sure you're looking at wireless cards, so you won't see those numbers. I'd look for something that at least supports wireless N. And the 5GHZ (dual band) if your router supports it. If it doesn't, there's no reason to spend extra.

Something like this would be a good place to start: http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0079XWMEI Feel free to look for something cheaper. I know I have had very good luck with my TP-Link adapters.

Okay, so the issue probably stems from the USB wireless adapter. Your spikes in CPU usage are almost definitely coming along with spikes in network traffic (uploading/downloading). The reason for this is that USB I/O is controlled by the CPU. (EDIT) By using a separate card it offloads much of the work from the CPU to a dedicated chip on the card itself.

Your best bet (and I'm assuming you have a desktop) is to replace the USB adapter with a PCIe x1 adapter. Something like this, this, or this. These cards all fit into a slot on your motherboard that looks like this (the small green one, could be any color though), so you'll need to ensure that you have a slot that can accommodate it.

By the way, I apologize if any of that was overly simple, I don't mean to offend.

(assuming you're talking about a desktop) I have this thing and it's absolutely perfect on linux:

https://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-GC-WB867D-I-Bluetooth-Frequency-Expansion/dp/B00HF8K0O6/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1542902422&sr=8-8&keywords=wifi+pcie


It's pci-e, so it does require you to open your pc and plug it inside, but the connection is very stable also thanks to the external antenna. It uses an intel chipset (the card is basically a glorified adapter for a laptop wifi card) which is well supported on linux.

If you've got a PCI slot on your mobo free you can get a wireless card to put in there for sure. Like this.
You could also get an Ethernet Over Power kit like this. You'd plug one into an outlet near your router, and run an ethernet cable from the router to it. Then plug the second one in near your PC, and connect to it with your ethernet cable. Voila. I've never used them, but I have a friend who uses one with great success.

This is kinda non-related but I have a question about wireless signals and setups in general for aiding in cracking methods.

I plan to add a wireless card to my desktop however I would like to cap the max (20 dbm) signal on the card. The card is listed below and comes with 3 2dbm antennas.

http://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-TL-WDN4800-Wireless-Express-Adapter/dp/B007GMPZ0A/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=1D34L74W8U07B&coliid=I3QAQTO4G7E2VI


I would like to purchase 3 of the below antennas that are 7 dbm (which would total 21 dbm together?)

http://www.amazon.com/D-Link-ANT24-0700-Omni-Directional-Indoor-Antenna/dp/B0007XXU3E/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=1D34L74W8U07B&coliid=IP0YLEKH6GHBX


Would adding 3 of the D-LINK antennas work with this setup while maxing out the signal strength of the network card? I'm curious if spreading the antennas out as far as they could would have any impact or if they combine signal strength. Still learning how wireless hardware works.

I'm using the ASUS Maximus VIII HERO and it's absolutely fantastic. It is, hands down, the best motherboard I've ever owned. I can't recommend it enough. In fact, I like it so much that I've built three additional machines with it (for myself and coworkers at work).

It's relatively easy and simple to hackintosh.

In order to easily use Handoff/Continuity features, unfortunately Ethernet, wifi USB and Bluetooth USB chips won't work. In order to enable SMS forwarding and other continuity features (i.e. Universal Clipboard, unlock, etc), I'd recommend getting a Bluetooth/802.11ac PCIe card.

It's using the same Broadcom chip Apple uses in their laptops for Bluetooth and wifi, so it will work without ANY kexts or drivers or anything, it's just instant.

802.11AC Desktop Wifi Card 802.11 A/B/G/N/AC Bluetooth 4.0 OS X Yosemite 10.10+ PC/Hackintosh - Handoff and Continuity https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MDLG51U/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_kl5pybWV6BWMH

Awesome. I'll be happy so long as I can get at least 720p @30fps. I'm planning on buying this adapter to go with it, so it'd be sweet if the 5Ghz connection helps even more. Thanks for the help!

With the modeling and simulations, have you looked at 16GB of ram? I think it would still fit within your budget with that addition unless you already know the capabilities of your work programs.

Also, I highly recommend the TP-Link TL-WDN4800 over any other pci-e wi-fi card. I have two, in my w8.1 desktop and linux htpc, that do a fantastic job. The extra cost was definitely worth it in that category for good reception (three antennas) and great speed.

So question, what are you running? I know elsewhere in the thread you were debating. The reason I ask is because Freenas has recommended hardware and esp since you're spending around 1k, it might be better to go with the guide.

That being said, I'll comment on your parts (assuming you're gonna run some sort of desktop/server os). Oh and I'll go in reverse order (don't ask why, I'm weird).

1. NIC - So if you want to completely save money, you will have the mobo nic, the intel one I got is $50 and has hardware teaming which is handy since windows 8.1 doesn't support it.
   
   
2. I'm not an expert on powersupplies, but that unit has good reviews, my only concern is whether or not 450 is enough.
   
   
3. I'm not a super huge fan of mini-itx since smaller area, less room for expansion drives, but mostly a preference thing.
   
   
4. Reds are good drives, but for about $20 more, you can get the 3tb ones.
   
   
5. If you're running freenas, more ram = better. Otherwise, 8 isn't bad and that particular model has decent reviews.
   
   
6. Mobo looks good
   
   
7. Cpu looks good
   
   Again, I'm not knowledgeable about Freenas, so you may want to check out their recommendations if you're thinking about running that.
   
   Also, keep checking out newegg's combos, before you buy, you can find steals occasionally.

Generally, PCI-E is much faster of an interface. However, Wifi speeds don't go nearly as fast as even the maximum speed of USB 2.0. So, speed-wise, it doesn't matter.

The USB one will be good for futureproofing your computer in case you later get a router with AC and 5GHz support. It's also nice in that you'll be able to preposition it to different USB slots for better signal.

For PCI-E, I would recommend this TP-Link one instead of the Rosewill:
https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Wireless-PCI-Express-Adapter-TL-WN881ND/dp/B0079XWMEI/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1483091328&sr=1-1&keywords=wireless+network+card&refinements=p_n_feature_keywords_three_browse-bin%3A6011949011%2Cp_36%3A700-2500
It's from (in my opinion) a more reputable company; it seems like it's a current model from their website; and it's a buck cheaper and will probably ship faster. Otherwise pretty much the same as the Rosewill.

There is a third alternative I found:
https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-N300-Wireless-Adapter-TL-WN822N/dp/B00416Q5KI/ref=sr_1_3?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1483092749&sr=1-3&keywords=wireless+network+usb&refinements=p_36%3A1253503011%2Cp_72%3A1248879011%2Cp_89%3ATP-Link
This would be especially great for if you know you get a bad signal between your router and computer. You can connect it via USB and then stick the device up high somewhere for maximum signal. If you have a place to put the device and don't currently have or have plans to get an AC or 5GHz router, this is what I would get.

It looks like it does not support Wifi, googling the specs tells you this. You can bet that if it did have WiFi, they'd use it as a selling point somewhere obvious lol.

Really, any PCI-e wifi card will do. Just get something with a PCI-E x1 connection, make sure it has specs that you like (as well as decent reviews), and slap it in there. I'm personally using this adapter from Gigabyte, since I wanted Dual-Band (2.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz) as well as bluetooth functionality for my VR-capable rig. But if you don't need all that, feel free to shop around. I recommend at least a Dual-Channel card though, so check to see if it offers 5.0 GHz connectivity.

The only thing I really dislike about it is that the antenna is a magnetic mount; it sticks to the (out)side of my computer case and just kinda sticks out like a... well, like an antenna. Most of the cards that I've seen around have antenna that just stick out the back of the card, and therefore the back of the PC; out of sight, out of mind.

+1 for PCI

I game and have never had problems connecting unless it was ISP side (boo comcast). I also stream Netflix and Amazon without any signal issues.

I use [this PCI-E adapter] (http://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-TL-WN881ND-Wireless-Express-Low-profile/dp/B0079XWMEI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1405104552&sr=8-2&keywords=tp-link+pci+wifi) with good results. They also make regular [PCI] (http://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-TL-WN751ND-Wireless-Adapter-Low-profile/dp/B005FUGPP4/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1405104552&sr=8-4&keywords=tp-link+pci+wifi) depending on what you have available. I'm sure the Rosewill one is quite good too.

I also picked up something similar to [this] (http://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-TL-ANT2405C-Desktop-Omni-directional-Antenna/dp/B001VEAI74/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1405104686&sr=8-11&keywords=tp-link+antenna) to help with my signal, since my room is quite far from my router. It will give you some flexibility on your antenna placement, and gave me a huge boost in signal.

For your purposes either would probably work but I prefer having the cleaner look of a PCI card and I'm under the assumption that there is better power/bandwith going through PCI. If you do go with USB, I suggest something like [this] (http://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-TL-WN722N-Wireless-Adapter-External/dp/B002SZEOLG/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1405104921&sr=8-14&keywords=usb+wifi) where you can add on an optional antenna if you have signal issues.

Amazon search, PCIe, Amazon Prime for that sweet free shipping:

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_st_review-rank?keywords=wireless+adapters&fst=p90x%3A1%2Cas%3Aoff&rh=n%3A172282%2Cn%3A541966%2Cn%3A193870011%2Cn%3A17923671011%2Cn%3A13983711%2Ck%3Awireless+adapters%2Cp_n_feature_keywords_three_browse-bin%3A6011949011%2Cp_85%3A2470955011&qid=1538695753&sort=review-rank

40 bucks, amazon's best seller:

https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Archer-T6E-Wireless-Technology/dp/B016K0896K/ref=sr_1_4?s=pc&rps=1&ie=UTF8&qid=1538695772&sr=1-4&keywords=wireless+adapters&refinements=p_n_feature_keywords_three_browse-bin%3A6011949011%2Cp_85%3A2470955011

AC1300 dual band, not the other one.

"N300" is just 2.4 ghz, don't go there.

Not sure what router you have, if this higher end card would be of benefit:

https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Archer-T9E-Beamforming-Technology/dp/B00TQEX7AQ/ref=zg_bs_3012291011_4?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=VVAD1W30VR3E1GVMJ2X0

Rosewill stuff is OK in my experience:

https://www.amazon.com/Rosewill-Wireless-802-11AC1200-Including-Low-Profile/dp/B0799J48HD/ref=zg_bs_13983711_21?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=BPF41JVTDJR8NADY6FKH

I have seen this name mentioned, I think for Hackintosh builds, Fenvi?

https://www.amazon.com/Fenvi-Express-Single-chip-Dual-Band-2-Stream/dp/B07H3TCXMK/ref=zg_bs_13983711_49?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=BPF41JVTDJR8NADY6FKH

Intel Wi-Fi cards are generally the go-to for good Linux support since you say you don’t care about binary firmware blobs.

You’ll notice they don’t make their own PCIe cards directly, but I’ve had great luck with one of these which is basically just an adapter with a good Intel laptop form-factor card in it.

That monitor is pretty good (I think it's 1200p), but for cheaper(I think) you can get an Asus VS248H-P (1080p).

You can get a wireless adapter such as this. Having a good router is obviously beneficial.

Make sure the PSU is big enough to CFX those cards.

You can get a more recent i5 4690k and z97 board.

FYI to link to reddit, there is a button on the top right on pcpartpicker (above the part list) which is labeled "Export/Markup". Click that, and then copy and paste the highlighted text into reddit.

0% chance

BUT - you can use it once you've modified it with Clover and added all your clover config files.

BUT - I would not recommend you take your working real mac and gut it, until you're done and happy with your new install.

So - Pick up a cheap hard drive, and get your build and install working, then you'll have the real mac to build the OS installer (and to help when things go south).

Then you can add in your mac mini SSD later, install clover, copy your known working config files and extensions - and when you're satisfied its all good, wipe the other hard drive and use it for data storage - or keep it for a backup

One last thing I noticed - many people want WiFi on these small builds - if you don't want to run an ethernet cable around to it, consider a wifi / bluetooth solution with a broadcom chip - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MDLG51U/ (despite their image - it's been verified here that it works 100% on 10.12.4 - there's a recent thread about it if you search for Fenvi)

1. How important is RAM compatability with motherboard? I have always figured a lot of it is plug and play, but I was going through the online support manual for my MSI Z97 PC Mate to see what kind of memory I should be getting. The Kingston HyperX Genesis model that I was interested in isn't specifically listed as compatible with the motherboard; the MoBo supports a different kind of HyperX memory, but not the cheaper blue one that I wanted.
   
   Should I risk trying to make the 2 work, or just go with another memory module ($2 difference, ADATA instead of Kingston, not blue, from Newegg not Amazon)? I am leaning towards the latter: better safe than sorry.
   
   
2. How to determine compatabilty between this PCI-e WiFi card and PC? MoBo comes with PCI-e 1x adapter, case has 7 expansion slots (GPU takes 2). Anything else to take into consideration? Should I go ahead and pull the trigger on the WiFi card?

Wifi is actually pretty straightforward, not as scary as a lot of other bits of networking. This article does a decent job of explaining the different standards out there. It's a bit dated though, just know that if you're buying a router new, you should be getting an AC. For your wireless adapter on the PC, AC is obviously ideal, but settling for a dual band N isn't terrible if you're on a budget. You shouldn't see anything older than N in the wild anymore.

TP Links are pretty reliable, any one of those should serve you well depending on your budget. It'd be worth looking into what type of wireless router you have as well.

Edit: Better article on AC wifi specifically. And as Badillin said, make sure you have an open slot. Typically they aren't hard to fit in though.

Unfortunately the NIC card you picked is quite old. Just looking at its specs, it is only an "N" wireless card that only supports 2.4ghz WiFi, which means limited performance on channels that can be quite crowded. But even then, it should not be so painfully slow as to not be useable at all in most cases.

However, looking at the reviews on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-TL-WN881ND-Wireless-network-Adapter/dp/B0079XWMEI

the very first question asks if they are ever going to release a Windows 10 driver for this card, and the answer seems to be NO. It's just one bit of proof on a review comment, but it fits your problem and makes sense.

Question:

Any one knows a windows 10 fix? I am getting better signal and stability on my phone and laptop. :(

Answer:

I opened a support ticket with TP-Link and their response was that they would not support this card on Windows 10. They said they will not be providing a driver and that I could use Qualcomm's Atheros driver, but that was not working. So the solution to this problem is to buy a supported WiFi adapter. I had the same problem with an Nvidia graphics adapter where the only solution was to buy and install an ATI=based card. see less 
By Riggsveda on October 3, 2016



I'd Google your card's model number and "Windows 10 driver" to get more confirmation, but it looks like that card is too old and not supported on W10.

Look for a new card that has "AC" and 5ghz support, it'll make a big difference. Be sure it has W10 drivers before buying, of course ;-)

You buy a physical card that plugs into your motherboard, like this one.

They have very good range (and can easily get a bigger external antenna). They don't suffer from speed limiting issues like USB or powerline. They're compatible with most modern PCs.

The downside is that it's not as clean inside the PC if you have a super good looking build, and you still need strong wifi signal wherever your tower is. Also slower and usually more expensive than just running an ethernet cable to your PC, if that's an option.

Thanks! Happen to know any good PCI/PCIe cards to use? Oh yeah, would a PCI be better than a PCIe or vice versa? Not quite sure what the difference is..

Edit: I think I'll get this one, it seems to have some pretty great reviews!

I like a lot of the changes and you did a great job of keeping the builds integrity, while still decreasing the price, thanks a ton!

If I were wanting to have Bluetooth and WiFi capabilities with this build, what would i need to do?

Edit: found this and I think it is pretty good: http://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-Bluetooth-Expansion-Components-GC-WB867D-I/dp/B00HF8K0O6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421396763&sr=8-1&keywords=GIGABYTE+Model+GC-WB867D-I+Bluetooth+4.0%2FWiFi+Expansion+Card

The CPU cooler on the Ryzen 1400 is actually pretty good. It would be more beneficial to get a 120/240 ssd instead. The 1060 6GB is still pretty over priced right now because of mining so it might be worth waiting. And [something] (https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Wireless-Express-Adapter-TL-WDN4800/dp/B007GMPZ0A) like this would be good for your wifi card.

The Z390 Aorus Master has an excellent VRM and Excellent VRM cooling. (Actual finned heatsinks) it is arguably the best Z390 motherboard (aside from the MSI Godlike or Aorus Extreme, Wich are both $500+)

Most people don't really have a need for 10gbit internet. But some people do, and it sounds like you do.

The built in 10G port is definitely nice to have, however 10G internet can be added to the Aorus Master (or any other motherboard) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072N84DG6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_J.GoDb1G4X9D6

Thanks - Ill definitely go with PCIe now.

As much as I like Asus - I was thinking of going with one of these two -

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0079XWMEI/?tag=pcpapi-20

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006WWMZSK/?tag=pcpapi-20

They seem to get better reviews and are cheaper.
Also, This question may get a little technical- but certain standards such as 802.11a/b/g/n offer different speed rates. Since N is capable of 300mbs, isnt that a little overkill - considering my internet provider will give me something around 50mbps? I dunno just hoping your a comp whiz that knows everything - thanks for the advice!

Nothing will beat a wired connection. And you will never get that download speed on wifi... You have no access to your basement or attic to run ethernet? 100 feet is cheap.... Pair it with a 5 port gb switch for your desk would be a nice upgrade if needed...


With ~40 feet of distance, and everything in between like walls and doors, even with the best USB or PCI adapter, there will be signal loss.

A good way to test and see connectivity is to use your cell phone where your PC is located... speedof.me in your web browser, or the Speed Test Ookla app... Also, I know on android, you can see the properties of the access point you are connected to and see the current speed you care connected at, ( n130, dual band n300, ac900~ish)

The Gigabyte GC-WB867D-I you linked would be a decent choice, especially being it has a better positionable antenna... Anything PCI and that type of antenna would be better than usb.

TP Link could work as well

sure thing...

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Core i7-4770 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor | $296.78 @ Amazon
Motherboard | Gigabyte GA-H87N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard | $111.99 @ Amazon
Memory | Crucial Ballistix 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory | $59.99 @ Amazon
Storage | Western Digital Scorpio Black 500GB 2.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | $54.99 @ Newegg
Case | Apex MI-008 Mini ITX Tower Case w/250W Power Supply | $49.20 @ Amazon
| | Total
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available. | $572.95
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-10-30 14:01 EDT-0400 |

Thats comparible in price to the i5 mini. but you'll get 4 times the amount of render threads, twice the ram, and a faster Harddrive. It doesnt include an OS tho. If you already have one, then youre golden. Its the price of the cheapest mini, with components that are faster than the 799 model.
If you really wanted to get fancy, the components are hackintosh ready too. all youd need to add is one of these for OSX native wifi support (if you need it).

This one does include an OS:



PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Core i7-4770 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor | $296.78 @ Amazon
Motherboard | Gigabyte GA-H87N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard | $111.99 @ Amazon
Memory | Crucial Ballistix 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory | $59.99 @ Amazon
Storage | Western Digital Scorpio Black 500GB 2.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | $54.99 @ Newegg
Case | Apex MI-008 Mini ITX Tower Case w/250W Power Supply | $49.20 @ Amazon
Operating System | Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) | $88.98 @ OutletPC
| | Total
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available. | $661.93
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-10-30 14:03 EDT-0400 |


Which aint too shabby, considering These (click the benchmarks at the top) are the benchmark for the 4770 vs the i7 3615QM they have in the mini now.... which is the 799 model. Its a smaller harddrive and a bigger enclosure.... but twice the ram and a faster processor, for about 150 less. Which like i said... aint to shabby for a headless rendernode.

Still, it's your call... I understand you pay for a convenience when you just buy the mini, no question. (and boy, is that thing sexy) but I enjoy putting together computers. and id hide a rendernode under my couch or somthing anyway.... *shrugs*

wired is always best.

gigabyte AC PCIe card is the best wifi expansion card for the money I've found ($33 in freedom dollars). 867mpbs, bluetooth, magnetic antenna. pretty much an Intel AC 7260 rebranded for less.

http://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-Bluetooth-Expansion-Components-GC-WB867D-I/dp/B00HF8K0O6

You caught me at the store, so just to come back and cover it.

This is very viable as a wifi dongle and easily removed when not traveling. It has speeds that are faster than most isp's will provide, however like all non-wired connections (including the one already on this mobo), it does increase latency slightly. Also, This + This is also viable. I've never screwed around with an M.2 adapter though so no data on that, I think it's just plug and play, but youtube is your friend. What I was trying to avoid is putting this below the 1070 card on the mobo, and not have a dongle hanging out of it. If you're primarily wired though, plenty of options on other micro atx mobo's.

And I usually give an upgrade/downgrade option so...Personally if you wanted to upgrade and stay in budget, i'd go for a larger ssd and drop the hdd. Mind you, the monitor is cheaper than listed ($420 on dell.com and 399 on sale), so you would have ~$130 to add worth of ssd drive and still be at or below $2k. And to downgrade without losing much performance i'd go for an i5-6600k processor + micro atx mobo to match, which could save you ~$70-100 depending on setup.

Hope this helps, bud.

I bought this, it was only released a few months ago. 2.4ghz, 5ghz and bluetooth 5.0 with aptxhd support.

I mainly got it for the bluetooth support for better audio quality but the wifi works great and connects to both my personal 5ghz network and the main one downstairs (Through 2 walls) just fine.

I highly recommend.

​

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07FBSV1XZ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Wireless integrity depends on a significant number of factors such as distance from the router and number of users/signals in your immediate proximity. If you`re in an apartment building it can be rough. If you`re like me, where you have a house and being hardwired isn`t financially viable at the moment but you are still relatively close to your router, results are much better. I am using one of these guys (https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00TQEX7AQ/ref=pe_3034960_233709270_TE_item) and have zero issues. Can play games such as WoW, Overwatch, destiny, BF1, etc etc etc with zero issues and zero disconnects.

10Gb has become easy to deploy, still not cheap, but not crazy. 10Gb core switch and 10Gb NIC(s) and call it a day. Yes, if you’re running new cable it should be cat 6a, but cat 5e is perfectly capable of 10Gb up to 45 meters.

Core switch example
TRENDnet 8-Port 10G EdgeSmart Switch, 8 x 10GBASE-T Ports, Lifetime Protection, TEG-7080ES https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BV2VYVF/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_GQRrDbDQSDJ1G

NIC example
ASUS XG-C100C 10G Network Adapter Pci-E X4 Card with Single RJ-45 Port https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072N84DG6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_9YRrDb9YRP2GD

Looks pretty nice! Thanks sir.

Do you think its a good idea to upgrade the antennas? I'd either like to extend them with a cable, or buy larger ones. My AP isn't that far away, but I think that slightly larger antennas would benefit me. It's gotta go through a few walls. I have one large antenna that I can try putting on it to experiment. I just hope this adapter does the trick for me.

https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-PCI-Express-Beamforming-Archer-T9E/dp/B00TQEX7AQ/ref=dp_ob_title_ce

do you think this is worth the additional cost? it's the AC1900 version. btw it's 69.99 at my local microcenter

Thank you so much! The first setup looks great. I'm not huge fan of the white case though. Do you know of any alternatives perhaps in black that would also fit all of the internals?

Oh I also forgot to mention that I'll be needing a wireless adapter as well. I found this online. It seems like it would fit the job well.

• This one from tp-link is pretty much the best you can get, it connects to pci-e x1, which is the smallest pci lane on that motherboard, so it can easily be slotted in with the graphics card taking up 2 other lanes
  
• Not particularly, plenty of room for storage expansion, 4 pci expansion bays (so enough for the 2 slot graphics card, 1 slot pci-e wireless adapter and still one left for something in a left over pci lane). They're only a downside for serious enthusiast builds with triple/quad sli, or sound cards and raid cards and huge cpu coolers etc.
  
• that is the same harddrive essentially, just with a bigger cache, which means it would be slightly faster. personally I go for whatever's cheapest. I assume that the harddrive quality from aria is fine, I've only ever heard about problems with files still being on a new harddrive bought from overclockersuk.
  
• I chose that one since it's a mechanical keyboard, which are generally people's choice in a high budget build. It could certainly be changed for this, or even cheaper this. Membrane keyboards are still fine to use, I'm currently using one and have personally never used a mechanical
  
• You'll need a screwdriver, but that's about it. Just be sure to build on a non conductive surface, and don't be standing on carpet. If you're happy with this build then you should head over to /r/buildapc for the others of there to give it a look over, and to ask any questions.

Awesome. Thanks so much for your help. Would you say that's the best range router I could get for under £150?

Another question if you don't mind. I currently have this network card in my computer. What difference would I get if I got this card instead?

Dude get this. My sister has the exact same computer and we got that for it. It's super easy to install (take off the side, plug in to PCI port, plug Bluetooth cable in to available plug on the moherboard if you want Bluetooth, put the side back on and then screw the wifi receiver on to the back. Boot up computer and use the disc to install drivers). This thing works perfectly for both wifi and bluetooth and I'm very happy with it.

Well, then the Archer T9E is a good option. It's AC1900 with 3 beamforming antennas. Should be good for pretty much anything, but might be overkill. I've no clue what Rogers is giving customers these days, it just says "AC", but that could be anywhere from 750 to 5400. Most likely it's 1200 or 1350 though (I'd assume they'd include the same router with each package for simplicity's sake, and the gigabit package has to have a router of at least 1000, but has no benefit from anything over that). You could go for the Archer T6E if you wanted to save a bit of money, since it's AC1300 so it'll still be plenty fast, but as it's a two antenna card, the signal strength wouldn't be as good, though you've said that's not really a concern.

Sounds good. Any EdgeRouter will be perfect for gaming. The best way to connect your desktop to Wi-Fi would be to install an actual Wi-Fi adapter. Assuming you have a PCI-E x1 slot available, this one should be perfect for you.

I'd recommend the Asus 4.0, though it does take a rebate to get it to $10. Also sold on Amazon but currently out of stock.

The Kinivo 4.0 is the most popular one on Amazon, but looks like it's currently out of stock from Amazon.com so you take the small risk of getting a counterfeit from a 3rd party Amazon marketplace seller.

AFAIK the non-counterfeit receivers mostly have the same one or two chips inside, whatever the brand stamped on the outside. The risk with getting cheaper no-name ones (or name brand from shady sources) is you're probably getting old or counterfeit radio chips.

If you want to go super swank on desktop, there's the $50 Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 with Bluetooth 4.0. The range on that thing has to be crazy.

The Seagate Barracuda ( https://www.amazon.co.uk/Seagate-BarraCuda-Internal-Drive-Cache/dp/B07H2RR55Q) and the WD Blue HDDs are pretty decent, whichever is the cheapest of the two in your region is what I would go for. Just make sure its 7200rpm and sata 6Gb/s (most are).


As for WiFi cards, anything that is ac wifi (wifi 5 I believe) and is from a trusted brand should work just fine. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gigabyte-WB1733D-I-1733Mbps-Express-Adapter/dp/B07FBSV1XZ for example, or https://www.amazon.co.uk/T6E-Archer-Wireless-Interface-Low-Profile/dp/B013HCNTZU?th=1 .

I personally just got this one for $35 US as a warehouse deal and it works amazing. It has the same speed as wired with almost the same ping. And it has better speed/ping than using a powerline adapter. Although this is using my old router's antanaes. Not sure how it performs with the stock ones. Probably almost exactly the same.

As far as what you actually need/want I would assume something like this would probably suit you just fine and would likely work just as well. Or this one which may get better performance.

Edit: Put in Amazon.ca link for first one

Basically, all you need to build a router is a PC with a bunch of NICs.

While you can technically do routing on Windows, most people are going to be using Linux or BSD. BSD is generally the go-to choice for networking, a common distro is m0n0wall. Linux distros include Clear OS and Vyatta. You're probably going to want to go Linux because you're probably going to want to turn this into a media server with Plex or something like that. Typically a PC is overkill for the small number of users you're going to have on the network.

Don't cheap out on the NIC cards, especially the wireless NIC. Get a nice Intel card they have good Linux drivers.

Note that this is a very expensive way to build a router. It won't outperform most high-end consumer routers ($200 range). That's why you'll probably want to turn this into a media server. It will do a much better job as a media server than attaching a NAS to a consumer router (like a Netgear Nighthawk).

Just get a PCIe card like 99% of people do. boop

They work with AMD cpus but if you have the space in your case and on your board, just get one of those. Asus and MSI also make something similar. Make sure to plug the antenna in too.

M.2 e key for wifi/bt is just an uncommon feature that's all.

I'm sure there are lots of good wifi cards M.2 cards out there though. If you want the space go for it. Just be sure to connect the antenna. You can use Intel ones (those be the best) with any processor even AMD.

This is fantastic - thank you! (edit: I like the choice of case, too!)

Two questions from me - the PSU seems to have been on sale and is now closer to the upper 70's. What would be your opinion if I were to go with an equivalent Bronze-rated offering from Corsair or EVGA? They seem to sell well on Amazon. The max. 5% difference in efficiency doesn't seem that bad?

Secondly - any advantages of the Asus wireless card over something like the Gigabyte GC-WB1733D-I? Only a few pounds of difference, but I'm curious - is it a case of reliability?

purely for gaming:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel - Core i5-9600K 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor | $261.98 @ Newegg
CPU Cooler | Noctua - NH-D15 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler | $89.95 @ Amazon
Motherboard | Asus - TUF Z390-PLUS GAMING (WI-FI) ATX LGA1151 Motherboard | $163.98 @ Newegg Business
Memory | Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory | $99.99 @ Newegg Business
Storage | Crucial - MX500 250 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive | $49.95 @ Amazon
Storage | Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | $42.98 @ OutletPC
Video Card | *Gigabyte - GeForce RTX 2080 8 GB TURBO OC Video Card | $689.99 @ Amazon
Case | Fractal Design - Focus G (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case | $54.28 @ Amazon
Power Supply | Rosewill - 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply | $64.99 @ Newegg Business
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total | $1518.09
| *Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria |
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-02-20 13:05 EST-0500 |

for gaming/multitasking:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
CPU | AMD - Ryzen 7 2700X 3.7 GHz 8-Core Processor | $308.99 @ Amazon
CPU Cooler | Scythe - Mugen 5 Rev. B 51.17 CFM CPU Cooler | $51.99 @ SuperBiiz
Motherboard | Gigabyte - X470 AORUS ULTRA GAMING ATX AM4 Motherboard | $119.99 @ Newegg
Memory | G.Skill - Trident Z 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory | $125.98 @ Newegg
Storage | Crucial - MX500 250 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive | $49.95 @ Amazon
Storage | Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | $42.98 @ OutletPC
Video Card | *Gigabyte - GeForce RTX 2080 8 GB TURBO OC Video Card | $689.99 @ Amazon
Case | NZXT - H500 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case | $71.99 @ Amazon
Power Supply | EVGA - SuperNOVA G2 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply | $89.99 @ Amazon
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total | $1551.85
| *Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria |
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-02-20 13:08 EST-0500 |

both should be great for 1440p 144hz gaming, the bottom one is very similar to my own build

also wifi card: https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Archer-T6E-Wireless-Technology/dp/B016K0896K/ref=pd_lpo_vtph_147_bs_t_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=8GJ092D3XRA1Q6RH67P9

If your devices are truly pushing that much data and you really need 2GB to your computer, you'll need both a switch and a network card that support LACP (Link aggregation).

Most relatively inexpensive prosumer switches support this now, look at something like this for a switch and this for a NIC.

There are, of course, tons of other choices for switches and NICs - just make sure they support what you need.

Sounds like you're pretty much stuck using wifi.

I like these TP Link cards: TP-Link AC1900 Wireless Dual Band PCI-Express Adapter with Beamforming Technology (Archer T9E) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TQEX7AQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_T.5GzbDN6R49G

Anything more than that and you probably won't see an improvement because your Unifi AP probably doesn't have a 4x4 radio.

The other person was right, though. AC may not be faster or more reliable than 2.4n because of signal loss due to floors/ceilings.

Also remember for gaming that low latency and packet loss are always better than high bandwidth. A slow (within reason,) reliable connection is better than a spotty, fast one.

If you choose a USB one, try to make sure it is plugged into a different USB controller than the two main sensors for your Rift. They use the most bandwidth.

Good luck!

To start off with, we need to know what kind of motherboard is in your PC to make sure it has a free PCIe slot. Can you provide us a model? I would recommend this WiFi card ; TP-Link AC1300, as long as you have a free slot.

If you are on Windows 10, it will have a generic driver it will use that will get you online. Then go to the manufacturers website to grab the most up to date driver.

​

Honestly, I would try and run a cable that 30-40 feet if you can make it look tidy.

Just get a USB wifi adapter. Something like this or if you want one thats smaller and less in the way you can get this one. The smaller one probably has less range and lower max speed.

Or if you have extra expansion slots and need faster wifi you can get a PCIe wifi card like this.

NOTE: I haven't done much research on this so the listed products are just examples of the types of solutions available. By no means am I recommending these as the best in their respective classes. I just own TP-link stuff and trust them is all.

Any time man :)


https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00HF8K0O6/ref=yo_ii_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This is the one I have and it works great, it even has a magnetic antenna you can stick on top of your case to help it pick up the wifi signal better!

I haven't had any problems with this wifi card, no wifi cutouts or any type of lag and I'm glad I bought it.

Have done exactly what you are asking.

I am typing this on the lowest end 9570 (refurbished Dell Outlet) with an upgraded SSD and 97whr battery.

These are the exact parts and where I got them:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/EBK-6GTPY-Battery-Compatible-Dell-XPS-15-9560-9570-Precision-5520-M5520-Replacement-5XJ28-5041C-H5H20-5D91C-Laptop-6-Cell-11-4V-97Wh-12-Months-Warran/987434458

​

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B079QH5KW1

​

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073SBX6TY

​

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BGZEVHU

​

You will have to take out the HDD to put in the bigger battery. You may also need to change BIOS settings to get the best SSD performance.

​

You will need a special screw driver to open the case, use the biggest one that will fit and remember rigthty tightly lefty lucey. :)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00QZLV03O

​

Look online for how to open the case. Don't forget the two Phillips in the middle under the magnetic plate.

​

Battery life is outstanding.

I've never heard of edimax but i know from experience tp link makes great wifi adapters for the money. Also trash the usb adapter and get a real card with antennaes.

https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Wireless-PCI-Express-Adapter-TL-WDN4800/dp/B007GMPZ0A/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1511749543&sr=8-4&keywords=tp+link+wifi+adapter

or if you can't afford that i have this one and its great.

https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Wireless-PCI-Express-Adapter-TL-WN881ND/dp/B0079XWMEI/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1511749543&sr=8-7&keywords=tp+link+wifi+adapter

You may have more luck with this: https://github.com/tomaspinho/rtl8821ce

I've used it under Ubuntu, and online people have reported it works under Fedora as well, despite not being supported.

If it's at all possible, I would honestly reccomend just replacing the wireless card with one by a vendor that actually supports Linux properly. Intel is personally my preferred brand due to good experiences, you can get a replacement card for $14 on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Intel-Wireless-Ac-9260-2230-Gigabit/dp/B079QH5KW1/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=intel+9260&qid=1550993117

Alright, here is what I found. If you would please let me know what you think/if it will work/ fit with everything else. :)

Wireless adapter: www.amazon.com/dp/B006WWMZSK/?tag=pcpapi-20

optical drive:http://pcpartpicker.com/part/lg-optical-drive-wh14ns40

Case: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005869J4O/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Thanks so very much for helping me with this. :D

The antennae on the card might not be connected, or the card could be failing. The connector to the antennae is tricky to connect, and you can easily damage them when you connect them. On the positive side replacement cards are $8 at NewEgg

https://www.neweggbusiness.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIV06X7DH8500&ignorebbr=1&source=region&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleBizMKPL-PC&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleBizMKPL-PC-_-pla-Corn+International-_-Network+-+Interface+Cards-_-9SIV06X7DH8500&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI4u-8tICz4gIVCsBkCh0M4QwFEAQYASABEgKubfD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

​

If you are on a desktop, and have a spare PCI slot you could buy one of those in that format, and many have a place for an external antennae that will improve your signal and speed. In my mind the PCI-E mini cards are more for notebooks, but if your motherboard has that connection I can see why it was used. Here is a PCI wireless card for $18 at Amazon that is faster than the card you have.

https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-TL-WN881ND-Wireless-network-Adapter/dp/B0079XWMEI/ref=asc_df_B0079XWMEI/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=309818716690&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=15764911061575811937&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9026204&hvtargid=aud-643574997066:pla-343899285340&psc=1

​

Now for really great speed, run an ethernet cable from the router to your PC for some really blazing internet speed.


I would check the drivers and make sure you have the most up to date ones, as your card could be find, just needs new drivers. You might check HP's site.

Wireless card

The processor will come with a stock fan but if you're going to be putting any pressure on it then you will definitely want to switch it out. The 212 I linked you to will do the job and it's excellent value for money.
People will tell you to opt for watercooling but if you ask me it's more hassle than it's worth and will only benefit you if you're constantly putting your rig under serious pressure

Edit: spelling

I bought a refurbished hp 8300 that has 8GB or RAM and an intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core -- that CPU has AES-NI which means that if you want to do any sort of encryption (like run a VPN or do active MitM on network traffic) you'll be able to do it easily.

The issues are that the refurb doesn't have 2 ethernet ports and no ssd. So I bought an 120GB ssd and a pci-e dual port and it's perfect.

hp 8300

dual Gbit ethernet

ssd

honestly for less than 300 bucks if you can do better let me know.

Thanks for your suggestions. I'm currently at work, so I'm not able to try them out just yet, but I will as soon as I get home. However, they do sound similar to what I've tried so far, and my hopes aren't very high. Maybe I'm just being cynical, but 8 hours of swearing at a computer will do that to you, haha.

I'm thinking I may just need to replace my network adapter card entirely; it's possible it was fried somehow. I'm looking at this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Intel-Gigabit-Network-Adapter-EXPI9301CTBLK/dp/B001CY0P7G/ref=lp_13983711_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1375401196&sr=1-1

It's the top rated and I only need one ethernet port, so it seems fine. Plus, it's pretty cheap. Any thoughts?

You probably should get a better network card. Your router support AC and dual band. You probably want to take advantage of 5GHz frequency. Also, check your wireless network traffic in your apartment. There's an app on your phone that will tell you how many traffic you have 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz around you. From there, you can choose which frequency or perhaps both.

You can get something cheap like this

Or something more expensive like this

There are cheap wireless AC adapter now. You can look around Amazon and probably find something suitable to your need and finance.

You can buy any PCI or PCI-E card and stick it in whatever free slot you have.

I'd suggest an intel one because they'll probably last you a lifetime and they have the best driver support (and because you obviously don't have a budget computer :) )

https://www.amazon.com/Intel-Gigabit-Network-Adapter-EXPI9301CTBLK/dp/B001CY0P7G/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1473701820&sr=8-6&keywords=pci+ethernet+card

Warning:

Never pay someone using PayPal friends/family.

Always have a seller comment on your thread prior to making the transaction. This shows that the user hasn't been banned.

Title: [PC] Mid-Tier PC bundle
Username: /u/Feinberg123
Original Post:
Hi - I'm wanting to sell this as a full-build preferably sometime in the future and just wondered how much these components would sell for. Thanks :)

Case: Fractal Design Define R4 Black - https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B008NFWNFO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

HDD: Western Digital Blue 1TB - https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0088PUEPK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

SSD: Samsung 840 Evo 250GB - https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00E391OX6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Power Supply: Corsair semi-modular 600W - https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00ALYOTTI/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Keyboard: SteelSeries 6G v2 US Layout - https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0038X3ZVM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Graphics Card: Asus R9 280X - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Asus-R9280X-DC2T-3GD5-1070MHz-Express-Graphics/dp/B00FRV9FDK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1463679982&sr=8-1&keywords=asus+280x

CPU: Intel i5-4670k (I've not overclocked it) - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Intel-4690K-Processor-LGA1150-Socket/dp/B00KPRWB9G/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1463680059&sr=8-2&keywords=Intel+i5-4670k

Motherboard: Gigabyte Z87X-UD3H -
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gigabyte-Z87X-UD3H-Motherboard-4thGeneration-Processors/dp/B00CU4L508/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1463680142&sr=8-1&keywords=z87x-ud3h

RAM: 2 x 4gb RAM (8gb total)
Monitor: 1680 x 1050 Dell 22 (might be 24) monitor (very old would give away for free in a bundle)

Wireless Adapter - TP-Link WDN4800 N900 - https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B007GMPZ0A/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Windows 10 Pro


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If you can plug in using a wire, I recommend doing so, as it is faster and more stable. You can pick your color/length for solid price here.

If you're in a situation where you can't plug into your router/modem, then wifi is your next choice. Something like this will work just fine, but if you're comfortable attaching a card to your motherboard, this will provide a stronger and more reliable experience.

PCI has enough bandwidth for wifi adpaters. The difference is pcie has more bandwidth, but PCI has gigabit speeds, so like I said doesn't matter in this case.

And yeah, tplink is something i'd recommend. But i would recommend this instead. More antennas will provide better connection, and you're not going to be able to us 802.11ac through multiple floors.

What sort of router/internet speeds do you have? If you're going to do wifi in an apartment, using the 5GHz band is almost a necessity. Asus makes a pretty good model and the TP Link Archer wifi cards are also pretty good. If you have internet faster than 500mbps or plan to in the near future, you may want to spend the extra $10-20 on the AC 1900 models.

This gigabyte wireless PCIE card is the most recommended product out there. They actually use an intel 8265 wireless card attached to a PCIE card so it works great. Asus makes a slightly cheaper version using their own wireless card too, but the gigabyte is the most recommended on pcpartpicker.

From what I've seen a PCIE expansion card costs about $40, and buying an m.2 card costs about $25 (as long as you have a slot that accepts it on your motherboard). You can cut corners here and there but sticking to intel-based wireless products seems to be the best choice for reliability.

As you're finding out, what you pay is what you get. If you care about high performance, you want to avoid USB adapters for WiFi unless it's a last resort or there's a technical limitation of the device you're trying to get on WiFi.

I'd go for a PCI/PCI-E wireless NIC with actual, physical rubber duck antennas (assuming you have a free PCI/PCI-E slot). The antennas are critical regardless; you can find these on USB adapters too, but usually only 1 (and you want at least 2 for high throughput). You're probably looking for something like either of these, depending on the exact model of your wireless router:

http://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-TL-WN881ND-Wireless-Express-Low-profile/dp/B0079XWMEI (for 2x2 wireless routers, 2.4 GHz B/G/N only)

http://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-Wireless-Express-Adapter-TL-WDN4800/dp/B007GMPZ0A (for 3x3 wireless routers, dual band 2.4/5.0 GHz A/B/G/N)

I would probably recommend the first one as baseline, but urge you toward the second. If your wireless router supports the 5.0 GHz band (A/N), then it'd be worth looking at the second card instead. The second card is overall of a higher quality regardless. Note that with either card, your computer will need a PCI-E slot.

Buy a new wireless card. Here is a cheap one:
https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Wireless-PCI-Express-Adapter-TL-WN781ND/dp/B0036AFAEW/ref=pd_lpo_vtph_147_lp_tr_t_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=ZG31YN21PDS12QZSKX6M
Here is a nicer one (may be unnecessary):
https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Wireless-Express-Adapter-TL-WDN4800/dp/B007GMPZ0A/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1498623987&sr=8-2&keywords=pcie+wireless


New GPU will be the biggest improvement. 1050 Ti is a quick and easy upgrade generally ($150).

SSD for OS wouldn't hurt.

Up to 16G ram if you are feeling like a boss.

I have a TS440 and 2 TS140's, but the TS440 is my favorite by far. It does not come with caddies but I got mine here for $15: http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00T4SZ720?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00

I also got this 4 port NIC for it: http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B000P0NX3G?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00 and it has worked great.

Only negative with the TS440 is that it is louder than my TS140's, but still a manageable level. And I love having the hot swappable drives. Maybe someone can chime in about running ESXi on it, I have only used Hyper-V on mine.

Three options.

the first/PCIe one is the cleanest as the device will live in the computer and make the desktop act like a laptop in respect to how wireless networks function.

• wireless ac via PCIe
  
• wireless ac via PCIe
  
  The second/USB one is pretty much the same but will have less performance due to antenna diversity and the USB interface.
  
  
• Wireless ac via USB
  
• Wireless ac via USB
  
  
  The third/router is probably the most ideal as it will allow the computer to continue using the onboard ethernet, and give you additional ports to plug other things into. It does have the complexity of having to switch the router into bridge/client mode, but that isn't very hard.
  
  
• Router in bridge mode
  
  As of now the OnHub/GF equipment doesn't interop directly. They are separate business units, and operate independently. It's possible they will integrate in the future but as of now they are on distinct paths from each other.

Welcome to shitty home routers.

Solution, Build a network from good hardware.
Build a pf sense box and get a ubiquity AP. Yes its enterprise gear. But that price means you get enterprise class reliability.

Pf sense is free. Just chuck it on an old pc and buy a dual port gigabit Ethernet card. (Intel based preferably. Here is a link to a good one. Amazon

Hey, I've found Intel chipsets work pretty well out of the box. If you're cool with using a PCI-e slot, this Gigabyte WB867-I Rev 4.2 card meets your requirements. FWIW, this is the card I'm currently using and haven't had any issues whatsoever. Good luck.

I recommend TP-Link Archer T9E AC1900 Dual Band Wireless PCI Express Adapter, 5Ghz 1300Mbps + 2.4Ghz 600Mbps, Beamforming, 3T3R, Include Low-profile Bracket, Support Windows XP/7/8/8.1/10 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TQEX7AQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_JsK6xbE6V6YTB
Very good card. I have great speeds and mostly single digit ping.

This one has great reviews on Amazon and is only $15.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006WWMZSK/?tag=pcpapi-20

Go with an internal card whenever you can because they usually have better signal strength and you won't have to worry about bumping and breaking it.

I'm from the UK but you can find the same for wherever you are.

ASUS PCE-AC56 Carte PCIe Wi-Fi double bande AC1300 https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00JNA337K/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_RArXCbTSS5QY0

Gigabyte GC-WB1733D-I Wireless-AC PCI-E Network Interface Card + Bluetooth v5.0-1733Mbps https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07FBSV1XZ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_5BrXCbRWMABE3

TP-LINK T6E AC1300 Archer Dual Band Wireless PCI Express Adapter with Two Antennas https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B013HCNTZU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_6DrXCb6GTM261


I believe the gigabyte one also has bluetooth 5.0 ( not too sure you can look it up) but I would say these are popular ones and worth money. Personally the asus or gigabyte one will do great!

I have that exact same adapter and I finally ended up just running a 30 foot ethernet cable any time I wanted to hard wire. It worked great for a couple of weeks. It had fantastic speeds. The only annoying thing was that anytime I put my computer to sleep, the adapter would fall asleep as well and the only way to wake it up is to unplug and replug it in (obviously not the end of the world, but very annoying over time). But after two weeks it started randomly cutting out. I'd be in the middle of a Rocket League match, get the red disconnect triangle, and get kicked from the game. I'd look underneath my desk and the adapter lost it's powerline connection. Replugged it back in and all was well for another 30 minutes or so before I got kicked from another game. I definitely will not use it anymore - it's not even worth the time.

I recently bought this wifi card after I gave up on the Powerline adapter and I've had good luck with it so far. No issues in game at all. I looked at some of the cards that you listed with bluetooth built in as well and I kept getting sketched out by the reviews.

I've never used one of those but I can't imagine that its better than an external option since the case probably blocks some of the signal.

Not sure if the prices are different where you are:
PCIe AC1200 version for $25

USB wifi adapters tend to work fine too IMO as long as its a reputable brand.

I use this one for one of my devices. $13 for AC600

But its a bit slower than others on the market like this AC1200 for $22

In the end do what you would like. Many people are still using the N protocol just fine, some are using even older than that. It all depends on your use case.

thank you for your incredibly detailed response. I will look into this tonight. Our modem only has one port out so I don't want our network to go down during the day.
Your second point we have been thinking about replacing the router with a pfSense box, but I have not been able to convince people that the router may be the problem. This will hopefully help me convince them. Can you recommend any 2 port Gb cards? I was looking at this one
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BMZHX2/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=3O9QUPXR9L1VT&coliid=IJ4NGVGDPSEAH
But I am not sure if it is beefy enough and we should be going with a more expensive one.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HF8K0O6/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I used this for years with no issues. I don't use it while at school, but at home where my wireless is almost as great as my wired at school it works excellently.

It's a bit more obscure because it's more of a Gigabyte OEM product, but the GC-WB867D-I is a really excellent high-end wireless networking card (with bluetooth!) based on the Intel AC 7260 chip (intels highest-end wireless card). The price is also very good for what you get!

I built my computer without a wifi adapter because I had direct access to a router. Since then I've moved to a house with shared wifi and I no longer have direct access, so I've been using phones or other devices on wifi and tethering them to the PC. This works ok for downloads and streaming but when i try playing online games like Rocket League I experience low ping (30-50ms) but still a lot of lag due to what I assume is packet loss.

Is the best option for me to buy a wifi adapter like this:
https://www.amazon.ca/Adapter-600Mbps-Wireless-Antenna-Support/dp/B01M0Q51UI/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1493994588&sr=1-1

Or to buy a card along the lines of this:
https://www.amazon.ca/TP-Link-TL-WN881ND-Wireless-Express-Adapter/dp/B0079XWMEI/ref=sr_1_9?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1493994588&sr=1-9

I haven't done any research into the products themselves im more curious if the shortcut of simply buying a USB adapter will address my issues.

https://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-GC-WB867D-I-Bluetooth-Frequency-Expansion/dp/B00HF8K0O6/

I have an older model of this, but it works great. it really helps to have an antenna that extends to a higher position that's not directly plugged in to the bottom of the tower sitting on the ground.

WiFi adapters are plug and play. If you go the WiFi route and are unsure about it, these two are fairly inexpensive and should work great. I recommend the PCIe models over a USB kind for reliability and speeds.

Gigabyte model & ASUS model.

Windows 10 will auto detect those and install the driver. Of course going through two floors of your home may degrade the signal a bit it's worth a shot. The 2.4Ghz signal can pass through obstructions better than the 5Ghz signal so you may try both and see which gives you better speeds. If you have close neighbors though the 2.4Ghz spectrum may be cluttered and give interference.

I am in the process of upgrading some of my network to 10 Gb. Here is what I have found out so far.

1. There are many deals on Ebay. Just because something is listed on Ebay doesn't mean it's not available cheaper somewhere else. Don't assume, practice due diligence.
   
2. You're going to need a 8X pcie slot for each network card in many cases, I don't think I have seen less than 4.
   
3. Watch for SFP vs SFP+ The SFP is only 1 Gb. It's the + that's 10.
   
4. On each end of the cable you need a transponder. It's an interface between the SFP+ and the cable.
   
5. You can get optical (fibre) or Copper (10GbaseT). The Copper ones seem very expensive.
   
6. There are many different transponders and cables. Here is a wiki on the cable types https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_form-factor_pluggable_transceiver
   
7. Asus makes a 10 Gb card that uses Cat6 cable. https://www.amazon.com/XG-C100C-Network-Adapter-Single-RJ-45/dp/B072N84DG6/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1542208120&sr=8-3&keywords=10gb+ethernet+cardThey have the transponder "included" so all you need is the Cat6 cable. They are about 150 bucks Canadian. This is ideal for just wiring 2 computers together. I'm a bit concerned about how the routing will go on windows machines but I'm sure I can figure it out.
   
8. I have been looking for routers. There is a trendnet switch https://www.amazon.com/TRENDnet-28-Port-Lifetime-Protection-TEG-30284/dp/B01EOPSRP6/ref=sr_1_18?ie=UTF8&qid=1542207851&sr=8-18&keywords=10gb+router which has 4 SFP+ ports and 24 regular ports. I ended up buying a force10 router off ebay (for about 150 USD) but man is there a learning curve. I wish now I had bought this one instead but there you go it's an opportunity to learn. This router would not really be compatible with the Asus cards mentioned above without buying some 10GBaseT transponders. The cheapest I could find for those was on ebay for $150.00.
   
9. I'm waiting for parts to come in, I haven't got anything working yet. Today is screw with the new router day.

Intel wifi card. They're stable, drivers are simple, and they actually provide close to their rated speed.

I own this adapter and get 20 megabytes / second minimum sustained, sometimes 25-45 if everything is perfect. My link speed is 867 or something like that when connected to my R6400. I get the transfer speeds from transferring large files (10GB + from a dedicated NAS server running Windows 10 and connecting to the network via gigabit ethernet)

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Intel-Wireless-AC-Desktop-Network-7260HMWDTX1-R/dp/B00OM0L9ZO

My local retailer (Canada) and the exact one I bought: http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX56976

I have this wireless card in my PC and I love it. Have never had any issues with it:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B016K0896K/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_QsluDb4YZYY0X

This looks like a good Ethernet card:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000XKBQU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_juluDbH0ZT4BH

But if you have the room I'd recommend:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003CFATNI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_IvluDbZ7EP9F2

I use this one, which is also the best seller for these types of cards on Amazon. I've had it for over a year and it's been great. Based on your router and isp plan comments in other threads, this would probably work well for you.

I use one of these adapters for M.2 wifi chips on my PC. Provides a pretty nice upgrade path as long as Intel keeps supporting the standard. Their wireless chips are actually pretty cheap in comparison to buying a USB adapter.

Well, I'm actually thinking its not as the same issue happened when I was trying to get HDMI Audio to work and editting kexts. Had to do a fresh instal, all worked well, until Nvidia drivers installed then it wouldn't boot no matter what bootflag I used. Also cant boot OS X from USB anymore. Tried making new USB's and wiping the whole drive with Windows USB instal but that appears to have left enough of OS X on for the problem to persist. Using an SSD so cant use DBAN to nuke. Don't reallllly have any use for OS X in the living room (iMac steams to Apple TV for most media consumption) but it would have been nice. Annoyingly, everything went so well first couple of times around, no hitches or issues, until I got to getting a GPU working. Have also checked BIOS settings as Windows wouldn't work at first but was fine after I switched from Intel graphics.
Annnyway... yep, PCI card.. this one. Works perfectly.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B007GMPZ0A?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00

I've been building PCs for a super long time and I've never seen this site before, it's great. $100 for something so simple is kinda crazy...I went with the Intel model :)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OM0L9ZO/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=AKY6F0TJ9BHIQ

It really depends on your budget and use case. Do you want this box to function as a NAS too? How many VMs/Containers do you anticipate (take your number and double it to future proof your setup)

I currently have a virtualized pfsense instance in my proxmox box, I think the easiest way to handle the support is to get a separate NIC and do PCI Passthrough to your VM, I used an HP NC364T as it was cheap and supported. This allows you to not have to deal with configuring the oddities of forwarding network interfaces and virtual network ports and lets pfsense's setup go significantly smoother.

If you plan on having multiple HDDs, I'm a huge fan of the Fractal Design Node 804 Case

Powerline adapters are pretty dependent on the integrity of your house's wiring, and the distance. If your house is kinda old, I'd go with a solid wifi card like this one.

What speeds do you normally get with the wifi? Is the signal strong in the area you want to move it? Light interference?

I like my sound card, which sounds 10x better than the default realtek built into most motherboards. This is the one I use https://us.creative.com/p/sound-blaster/sound-blaster-z

I also bought a 2 port Intel 1000 Pro NIC to replace the realtek on board NIC in the past. Just make sure you buy one that uses PCI-e and not PCI. Luckily the motherboards I've used recently have built in Intel NIC's.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BMZHX2

If you're also looking for something to do with 5.25 drive bays (if you have them) some nice drawers are great for storing flash drives, screws, SD cards and that sort of thing.
https://www.amazon.com/EverCool-Drive-Storage-Drawer-Molding/dp/B00GJVBH88

I haven’t played FO4 with a PS4 controller on PC, but I use THIS for my DualShock 4 for all my PC games and it works amazing. I also use DS4Windows as the software.

I think I bought my card for $25 on eBay so I know you an find it cheaper than what’s in the link :)

Wifi card- https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Wireless-PCI-Express-Adapter-TL-WN881ND/dp/B0079XWMEI/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1493592379&sr=1-4&keywords=wifi+card

DVD drive- https://www.amazon.com/LG-Electronics-Internal-Optical-GH24NSC0B/dp/B00MOUBYDQ/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1493592497&sr=1-4&keywords=cd+drive

best of luck man. Have fun.

A) First off, if you are close to your router, invest in some Cat5e or Cat6 cable for connection. A lot of people here might preach Wi-Fi, but I believe for what you intend to use this computer for (Gaming???, probs due to its name) you'll have better luck & Connection by hardwiring directly to the router itself.

B) https://www.amazon.com/PCI-Wifi-adapter/dp/B007GMPZ0A/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8 This SHOULD work for a wi-fi adapter. This is coming from an Amazon review who bought the Motherboard and then went on to put this adapter in one of his open slots.

As already stated, you don't really need an ac protocol for "only" 50Mbit.

But, keep in mind that the AC protocol only works on the 5 GHz band and not the 2.4 GHz band. So, if your router doesn't support using an extra 2.4 ghz (which is very very unlikely), you have to make sure the wifi-card supports 5ghz. That doesn't mean you MUST buy an ac card, because ac is always 5 ghz, but the n protocol can be both. So, just a little tip ;)

I don't know where you live, but maybe this one is a nice in between, between the two cards you proposed :)

Yeah I have wireless. At the moment I'm sitting on 4 bars on my connection strength, although it does commonly sit at 3. I only built my PC six months ago, so I doubt it's malware. When I built the PC however I bought quite a cheap wireless network adapter (this one to be exact http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B007GMPZ0A?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00). My internet is at around 30 mbps upload and download, with fibre optics which i'm happy with. If I upgraded my adapter do you think that could be the solution?

1. Hard to say. Some games are really well optimized and others not. Some will run fine at 1080p but will chug at 1440p. Most of the time though the 1440p meta is a Ryzen 5 or Core i3 cpu and a GTX 1070ti. You'd have to look up 1440p benchmarks of your favorite games running on a 2600x / 1070 pc.
   
   
2. $30 to $100. Though you'll probably want something like this.

Thanks, that helps so so much. Does it matter what card I buy or can I just buy a cheap card? This card seems pretty good based on the reviews, but will it affect my ping (ms) in games at all? TP-LINK N900
Edit: Just did a little research and this much more expensive one is supposedly much higher quality, but is it really 3x (the price) better? ASUS AC 1900

I had this same issue with this card, I was just about to RMA it but I read the 1 star reviews and saw this as the top comment:

>This is my second card I have attempted to use. The first I assumed DOA... The second could not be detected either. Here was the remedy I had to perform on my ASUS SABERTOOTH z87 motherboard. Enter BIOS, Ensure on the newest BIOS. Enter advanced settings. Then proceed to locate my PCIe settings. Turn off AUTO, and select 1X to slow down the PCIe lane width to support the 1x wireless card you just installed. The card is lacking the capacity to dial down the PCIe port on its own... Which explains why so many people cannot install it.

Might need to do something similar to this, you can read more about PCI-E bandwidth here.

I'm considering adding a wireless adapter to my computer. So, I looked at the top two rated wireless adapters on PcPartPicker and found these to be pretty popular:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F42V83C/?tag=pcpapi-20

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007GMPZ0A/?tag=pcpapi-20

My question is, is the price difference worth it in performance? I obviously would want a connection that works well in gaming and watching streams.

TP-LINK TL-WDN4800 Dual Band Wireless N900 PCI Express Adapter,2.4GHz 450Mbps/5Ghz 450Mbps, Include Low-profile Bracket https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007GMPZ0A/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_qNecvb1RWMR3V

It's amazing and super easy to install, even worked in bios.

The included CPU cooler with the Ryzen 7 is a good cooler to do decent overclocking. You can also save a bit of money on the PSU by getting a 500-550w 80+ bronze rated PSU by corsair...

As far as a network card, my gf just bought this and she's been happy with it so far...

https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Wireless-PCI-Express-Adapter-TL-WN881ND/dp/B0079XWMEI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1505540833&sr=8-2&keywords=pcie+wifi+card

You're fine for 16gb of ram. Anything over than that would be overkill for most games.

Don't use driver tools like "Driver Talent" or any such "helpful driver software". They are all full of it, and either don't work or don't install the correct drivers. Did your card come with any driver disk (old school)? I have done some searching for you and can't find any official drivers for it. I would highly recommend to just buy a new wifi card. This is the one I have in my system. I know it's more on the pricey side, but this one I just put into a friends PC I built. I did find this driver, if you want to keep trying.

Basically any PCIe wifi adapter will work. I'd get something like this

https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Wireless-Express-Adapter-TL-WDN4800/dp/B007GMPZ0A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1492674096&sr=8-1&keywords=pcie+wireless

It has more features than you need, but still isn't that expensive at $35

If you just want the bare minimum at $16

https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Wireless-PCI-Express-Adapter-TL-WN881ND/dp/B0079XWMEI/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1492675033&sr=1-2&keywords=pcie+wireless

Assuming you don't live a densely populated area where lots of people will have their own networks, or your router is close to your computer then the second will be perfectly fine. The first will provide a bit more future proofing such as being able to connect to 5ghz networks.

You need two devices. Bluetooth transceiver to plug in you pc. And Bluetooth receiver that you can carry with you.

I can't recommend specific models but first should look like this (It can look like usb dongle but i couldn't find or you can use tranceiver that connects to pc audiojack) and second like this

Sidenote. If i am not mistaken there shouldn't be difference bettwen Bluetooth 4.2 and Bluetooth 5.0 for stereo headphones.

It really depends on how much you'd want to spend on it.

My friend has this one and it's pretty quick for 20 bucks, but he isn't very far away from the router.

But if you're farther away and looking to spend more, This is the best seller on Amazon

Thanks so much! I wasn't including ngff on my searches for antennas so that must have been why I was having issues finding ones that worked with the 9260.

I was just going to get this one since it seems to be the cheapest of the bunch on Amazon even though they all appear the same.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079QH5KW1/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_4GrjDbDXYZZG2

I'm not sure why my back panel has 3 antenna holes but I'll just cover the 3rd one with foil tape I guess. I haven't seen any antenna set for a m.2 WiFi card that has 3 antennas.

Yeah I wanted to avoid a pcie card since I have a 5700XT and wanted as much free space for airflow as possible. Not sure if it would matter but figured it couldn't hurt.

Thanks again for the help!

Don't get a USB one. PCI-Express cards are more reliable, have larger antennas that can be adjusted. USB devices can be subject to random disconnects, poor bandwidth negotiations with other USB device, poor heat dissipation, and shoddy drivers. You can certainly find a USB wifi dongle that works for you, but I wouldn't risk reliability on your network connection.

I have this tp link AC1300 card and its working great on my wife's desktop that recently got moved too far to run ethernet to.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016K0896K/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

edit: yes thats the same one you are looking at, it works fine

I recommend using the TP-Link WDN4800. Its what I have in my system and works great for iMessage. I'm not sure about Handoff and Continuity support but as far as I know, its not supported with this particular card but for iMessage, it works great!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-LINK-TL-WDN4800-Wireless-Express-Adapter/dp/B007GMPZ0A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1481114190&sr=8-1&keywords=tp-link+wdn4800+450mbps+pcie+adapter

What one are you using now? If it's a name brand one and your previous one was also a good brand there could be an issue with your USB ports.

Assuming you're on a desktop as you are using wireless adaptors I would recommend a PCI-E wifi card this one is what I use and is really good, never had an issue with it.

If you're US/Europe find it on your local Amazon rather than Amazon UK.

Like I mentioned, if you're willing to drop a high power PSU and go with a lower power-delivery amount, you can get the Sonnet 350. It costs 200$, and I've seen it as low as 170-180$ occasionally. You will still need to keep your charger connected to the other USB-C port of your system, and this won't power the highest-end cards, but something like a RTX 2070 will work just fine.

Edit: You can see a pretty comprehensive list of eGPU enclosures here. The prices may not be entirely up to date, but you can look these up yourself.

Both the Asus Prime and the MSI Gaming Carbon are great boards, but unfortunately neither of them have integrated WiFi/Bluetooth as you requested. That would cost an additional $30 or so with an add-in card such as this- https://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-GC-WB867D-I-Bluetooth-Frequency-Expansion/dp/B00HF8K0O6

Anyhow, no, the 2700x doesn't require an X470 motherboard, as X470's biggest selling point is SLI compatibility (and usually better VRMs, etc). Go with what makes the most sense to you. You can find VRM specifications listed out with a quick google on each board, and determine if spending more money in total is worthwhile or not. All of these options will give you great performance.

After a lot of google searching and a phone call to comcast WE have fixed the problem! My wireless wifi card doesn't work well with windows 10. I downloaded a new driver(for windows 7) and now it works. Oh btw I have a [tl-wdn4800] (http://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-TL-WDN4800-Wireless-Express-Low-profile/dp/B007GMPZ0A) but this is what it looked like before the driver and after the driver Thanks for the help! EDIT the before and after are backwards

TP-Link makes good wifi cards. This is the one I have and I recommend it.

If your wifi is strong enough from where you're planning to put your computer, I'd recommend getting the wifi card. You don't 'have' to use it if you end up moving your computer closer later on.

For PC shops, I know of Neo, and Ender Computers. Ender has a location in North Liberty, and a couple in CR. If you're heading up to CR, there's also Barbs. I think the rest of them have closed up though.

Do you not want to wait for it? Are you needing PCIe, PCI? It sounds like USB won't work for you.

N300 PCIe (only a few bucks more than the N150)
http://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-TL-WN881ND-Wireless-Express-Low-profile/dp/B0079XWMEI $18.99

N150 PCI (~$10 cheaper than the N300 PCI)
http://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-TL-WN881ND-Wireless-Express-Low-profile/dp/B0079XWMEI $13.74

Those could be in your hands wednesday with a free Amazon Prime trial.

1. Practically not at all.
   
   
2. The ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming is nice.
   
   
3. The Gigabyte adapter it's nice, AC support and a antenna that's not tied directly to the back of your PC.
   
   
4. Maybe like 20% more?

Is your router the ISP handed one ? Look into changing it. You want an ac WiFi card like this (good value option but there are more expensive better ones)

It connects in a pcie x4 slot in your mobo just like the one you connect your gpu but smaller

Insert standard anti-prebuilt comment here.

A wireless card is something that looks like this, the silver half of which would be visible on the back of your PC.

If you don't have one you've got a few options.

• Buy one. Here's a link
  
• Buy a much less reliable, but cheaper and... Fine USB adapter.
  
• Run an Ethernet cable from your router to your PC. I'd highly highly highly recommend doing this, as it'll improve your stability and speed noticeably.
  
• Look into Powerline connections, which use the wiring in your house to transmit the connection with a Ethernet socket on each end.

A great 802.11N Wi-fi card is the TP-Link TL-WN881ND for $20.

Edit: For Wireless-AC, the Gigabyte Wifi/Bluetooth combo card is pretty popular.

Looks to me like a standard half-height mini PCIe card for the WiFi. I'd suggest one like this


According to Intel (which is usually a better source than the manufacturer), the chipset supports up to 16GB DDR3-1600, and you can get a kit from Amazon for about USD$50.

You could try doing a couple things, move the PCIe adapter to another slot, or even buying another pcie card. You could try this one Reboot your router and modem. Also try a new ethernet cable on the ethernet connector. Make sure it's connected to the right port on the router as well. Download the drivers for the card as well as your chipset drivers for the motherboard and uninstall all the affected drivers before you reinstall them. Good luck!