Quick hardware question. In my new/rental house I just had internet installed…the typical modem and WiFi router. Unfortunately the home is not wired for LAN, and the location that the modem/router is at is not going to be super close to the area where I am going to set up my computer desk. The house is small, so I’m not too worried that the WiFi signal will not be good…but I’m used to being hardwired with LAN cables at my old house. My MSI desktop has onboard WiFi, but I doubt it is very good (I’ll certainly give it a shot first). Is there a USB dongle or something that offers a high speed WiFi connection? I don’t have room in my small form MSI case for a PCI card or anything really…
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If I understand what you’re asking for correctly, you might try something like this.
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I was going to recommend this, but realize that it also depends on what WiFi protocol your modem is using. Did your ISP indicate which version of WiFi you are getting?
If you wanted to stay with Ethernet, you could buy a mesh solution, like the the Orbi, which would allow you to plug into a satellite, but that would exponentially more expensive.
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Hi BeachAV8R,
IS the house wired for Cable TV in your room? Maybe MOCA could be a solution if your ISP uses it and you have cable Coax throughout the house.
MOCA is Muiltimedia over Coax, it uses your Coax cable as a lan cable really neat technology and a step up from wireless…
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One caution from my experience: most of the wifi PCIe cards you can buy are likely no better than the one built into your motherboard. I have heard the ones that plug into an M.2 slot (like a modern SSD) are better - but the USB ones people are recommending are likely to give you less trouble!
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You might also consider Ethernet over 120VAC, like this:
NETGEAR Powerline adapter Kit,… https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0778Y6K6N?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
I’ve got these in my current home and they work very well. Read some reviews so your speed expectations are correct, but mine run faster than the Wi-Fi (long distance, many walls) and are reliable.
In my case they feed Ethernet to another wireless AP for my gaming room/sim pit/wireless VR setup.
One other thing to ask: is your M/B Wi-Fi antenna directly on the back of the PC, or does it have a remote antenna on the small coax? The position of those antennae can make a big difference in speed.
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Great advice has been given already. I would summarize it like this:
- Your motherboard’s built-in WiFi chip is probably fine, especially if you can get the antennae in a good spot.
- If the WiFi connection strength is too low or latency too high, you can use the cables that are in the walls already (powerline or coax adapter)
- Finally, putting an ethernet cable nicely hidden in some white casing along the wall is a simple solution that always works. If it fits.
Oh and of course, the redneck engineering style: you can use aluminum foil behind the router to “aim” some waves at your pc that would otherwise go outside your appartment.
Good luck getting settled!!
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My wife made me stop just running ethernet down the hallway like I used to. That’s certainly a good solution though. Could even sneak it under the edge of the carpet possibly. I should just do it and tell her that’s how it’s going to be, careful not to trip on it! 
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Run the CAT cable behind the baseboards or add crown molding. Just tell the other half it’s all about uping the resell value.
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That’s what I meant but couldn’t come up with the English word! Thank you!
No need to have bare cables in the home or open up the walls, just hide it nicely!
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Try using the hw you already have.
If router and client supports 802.11ac configure with 80mhz or 160mhz channel width on 5ghz.
This will give you from 300mbit and up throughput depending on distance between router and client.
The newer 6ghz 802.11ax hw has 80mhz bw as default so the alternative if the above does not work well is to buy new router/client adapter that supports the latest standard and remove the old from the setup.
Cheaper routers does often not enable detailed configs.
I use Ubiquity stuff at home, it works really well. Enterprise tech for home and small businesses.
But at a higher cost…
Per
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I do too, and it’s really great. Just works and is solid.
That said, it took me an entire day of reading and scratching my head to get it set up, and every time I change something I have to pull up the manual and learn how. It’s definitely above my head, and not intended for the average consumer.
My 2 kroners:
I used to only use CAT5 for my flight sim PCs. Then (in 2019-ish), some of you may recall that, while looking to run the cables through the attic, I fell through the ceiling and broke my neck. (I’m sure one may still be able to find the pics and the thread from that incident). Regardless, I do not recommend that practice.…a long way to say that I switched to WiFi for “health reasons” as it were.
I did not have any issues with download times or connectivity when I lived in the states in wood frame / drywall houses. Over here, the house we live in is of a bit more substantial construction, limiting WiFi range through walls and floors. I use a couple of WiFi boosters and they do the trick. Again, no issues with download times…I’ve downloaded DCS and while it takes a while, I don’t think the WiFi is the bottleneck.
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I can vouch for these things too, used them twice, not in a competitive gaming environment but still- very good when nothing else can work.
In the past I used wireless across a house and it sucked. Somebody carrying a mobile phone in the middle of the house was enough to cause packet loss.
Then I used powerline, and it sucked. Somebody switching on a Hoover or a kitchen appliance in the house was enough to cause packet loss.
If you can‘t drop a cable, maybe you can at least minimize the air gap as much as possible?
Go like
PC - LAN - old AP as wifi client - air gap - Wifi Router - Internet
Try to use fast wifi down a hallway that has a visual sightline, but keep distance at a minimum. Hide cables in corners to get as far as possible with copper. Every wall hurts wifi.
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After you do get setup, download a wifi analyzer (plenty of free apps out there) and see what’s going on around you. Might have a neighbor blasting you in which case you can mask out the offending channel.
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Thanks for all the suggestions guys. Currently my simming rig is spread all over the living room floor as I dump load after load at my new house as though fleeing Dunkirk… It will probably been a couple of weeks before I’m up and running as I’m working on getting furniture. I’d like a desk for my computer that will be useful for flight simming…so I’m trying to find something sturdy that isn’t made from compressed wood.
Thanks again for all the suggestions…
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Regarding a desk… a couple of years ago I bought myself a desk that you can raise and lower at the touch of a button. It’s great for simming because you can perfectly adjust the height of your flight controls. Mine is pretty sturdy, with 4 powered legs, but it was a bit pricey - worth it though IMHO.
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While the PowerLine series is neat to use in a pinch, I do not recommend them for 24/7 everyday unattended use.
I’ve had 1 server rack and 2 pc’s get fried when a small surge from outside came in and went through the power system and into the network lines connected to it.
Best thing to do is draw up or build your home on Paper.
Map the Wifi Transmitter Location, Note any walls (especially anything shielded like breaker panels, HVAC Ducts and Large Wall Mirrors etc) as those will block the signal entirely. Get a Wifi Mesh System, place the satellites in the correct points to create a mesh network, anything within it will have a strong signal.
I had to convert my brother’s apartment to a mesh system due to the layout.
the End room had the service drop and modem, then there was a breaker panel in the immediate wall, followed by a small hallway, followed by a giant oversized mirror in the bathroom, followed by the laundry closet, followed by the hvac system, followed by another shielded wall, then kitchen, then living area, then deck.
Originally, you’d get no signal in the living room or deck, we had to create a mesh network that basically had satellites installed on the ceiling down the main hallway and then a few satellites in the living room and kitchen.
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Holy carp, no one has ever brought that risk up. Makes perfect sense but makes me really wonder why they wouldn’t use optoisolators to break the electrical connection and prevent that from happening.
I’ll be finding a different solution pronto, because right now my gaming PC as well as my main router is plugged in to one of these.