Wireless USB adapters

[Hero in a half shell]

I bought a pretty good desktop PC, hooked it up and it's running pretty well...

...Except I've discovered it doesn't have wireless, so there's not much I can do with at the moment besides Minesweeper. (cables aren't an option as the router is downstairs)

As far as I can tell, I can either buy a wireless adapter that will plug into one of the USB ports, or install a wireless network card through a PCI slot (whatever that means)

Which would you recommend, and what sort of specs should I be looking for?

EDIT: System specs:

AMD FX-6300 6 Core Bulldozer Processor OVERCLOCKED to 3.7GHz
8GB DDR3 1600Mhz Ram,
1TB Hard Drive Storage, HDMI 1080p, USB 3.0
AMD Radeon HD R7 240 2GB DDR3 HDMI Graphics Card
Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit Operating System

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00B26EDBI/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Frezzato]

snip

I think it would benefit people trying to help if you also let them know the basic specs of your machine and what you wanted to do with your PC, like just using it just for internet access, gaming, etc.

There are several solutions out there, one of which is buying another router (I think it helps to ensure it's the same make/model) and using it as a wireless repeater. It can be a pain to configure, but you would get the benefit of the extra physical ports on the second router. However, I guess the easiest thing to do would be to buy a USB wireless plug, but I haven't used one of those in a long time.

 

[Hero in a half shell]

snip

I think it would benefit people trying to help if you also let them know the basic specs of your machine and what you wanted to do with your PC, like just using it just for internet access, gaming, etc.

There are several solutions out there, one of which is buying another router (I think it helps to ensure it's the same make/model) and using it as a wireless repeater. It can be a pain to configure, but you would get the benefit of the extra physical ports on the second router. However, I guess the easiest thing to do would be to buy a USB wireless plug, but I haven't used one of those in a long time.

Also, I just wanted to let you know I fixed the background transparency on your avatar.[/quote]
Ok,

AMD FX-6300 6 Core Bulldozer Processor OVERCLOCKED to 3.7GHz
8GB DDR3 1600Mhz Ram,
1TB Hard Drive Storage, HDMI 1080p, USB 3.0
AMD Radeon HD R7 240 2GB DDR3 HDMI Graphics Card
Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit Operating System

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00B26EDBI/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Those are the details of the computer, and major thanks on the avatar fix, I love it.

 

[Albino Boo]

I would go for a PCIe card for the simple reason they have better antennas than the usb ones. You will get better signal strength and better QoS with PCIe card.

The PCIe is a standard interface into which you can plug expansion cards that can do virtually anything.

The wireless card will be a PCIe2 16 card and will fit into a blue slot. The slots themselves are located near the back of the case and will have a removable covering in the case itself. Adding the card is an easy job and requires no knowledge.

 

[AWAR]

If the the router is downstairs, I'd doubt you will get a decent signal (at least for gaming). Better install some cables.

 

[Hero in a half shell]

I would go for a PCIe card for the simple reason they have better antennas than the usb ones. You will get better signal strength and better QoS with PCIe card.

The PCIe is a standard interface into which you can plug expansion cards that can do virtually anything.

The wireless card will be a PCIe2 16 card and will fit into a blue slot. The slots themselves are located near the back of the case and will have a removable covering in the case itself. Adding the card is an easy job and requires no knowledge.

Looks simple enough, I'll go purchase one tomorrow and report back when I install it. Thanks a million!

 

[SnowyGamester]

The wireless card will be a PCIe2 16 card and will fit into a blue slot. The slots themselves are located near the back of the case and will have a removable covering in the case itself. Adding the card is an easy job and requires no knowledge.

Looks simple enough, I'll go purchase one tomorrow and report back when I install it. Thanks a million!

They actually come in a number of different PCI configurations all the way down to the x1 slot. You can also plug an x1 card into one of the larger slots if no smaller ones are available. Though keep in mind as mentioned the signal might not necessarily be that great access points are generally designed to transmit outward as opposed to upward and also can be interfered with by walls/roofs. If you don't have any luck doing it that way then wired may be the best option.

 

[Hero in a half shell]

The wireless card will be a PCIe2 16 card and will fit into a blue slot. The slots themselves are located near the back of the case and will have a removable covering in the case itself. Adding the card is an easy job and requires no knowledge.

Looks simple enough, I'll go purchase one tomorrow and report back when I install it. Thanks a million!

They actually come in a number of different PCI configurations all the way down to the x1 slot. You can also plug an x1 card into one of the larger slots if no smaller ones are available. Though keep in mind as mentioned the signal might not necessarily be that great access points are generally designed to transmit outward as opposed to upward and also can be interfered with by walls/roofs. If you don't have any luck doing it that way then wired may be the best option.

I went down to PC World and they only had USB adapters, so I thought 'To Hell with this' and bought a £20 ASUS USB adapter. It's working fine, as you can tell, and there's a 3 year warranty so if it accidentally melts I'm covered for a new one!

Thanks anyway