I am looking to buy a usb wifi adapter that says it is dual band and connects to both 2.4ghz and 5 ghz. My current adapter can not connect to 5 ghz. Also my smartphone can connect to 5 ghz and my speeds were 124 mbps. On my desktop it can only connect to 2.4 ghz and the speeds are around 20 mbps. Obviously a serious decrease in speed. So can any desktop with a usb connector use a usb wifi adapter and connect to 5ghz signal? Or can only newer desktops connect to 5 ghz? Basically is my ability to connect to 5 ghz a pc problem or a network adapter problem? If just network adapter then you can connect to 5ghz with any desktop? Thanks
Can any desktop connect to 5ghz internet?
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tstor
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I would say yes. The only consideration would be whether or not it requires USB 3.0. For example, I bought a USB to HDMI adapter and in order to get full HD resolution I had to use a 3.0 port. Perhaps a similar bottleneck would occur with a wifi adapter. I will check into it though.
EDIT: You should be fine with either USB 2.0 or 3.0.
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Alright thanks for the quick reply. This is the one from amazon I just ordered. I definitely don't have usb 3.0 on my current desktop. I believe I have usb 2.0.
Amazon.com: USB Wifi Adapter 600Mbps USBNOVEL Dual Band 2.4G / 5G Wireless Wifi Dongle Network Card for for Laptop Destop Win XP/7/8/10 , Mac OS X 10.4-10.12.2: Cell Phones & Accessories
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I found this about usb adapters so do you think I will need to add a usb 3.0 internal slot? Or can you add usb 3.0 by placing a usb 3.0 slot over a usb2.0 maybe?
If you are looking for faster WiFi speeds then a 802.11ac USB adapter is much faster than older hardware.
Whether you can use these speeds or not depends on the network being used.
Besides the router which must be 802.11ac compatible, the internet speed of the provider must also be considered.
Internet speeds can vary greatly from 5Mbps to 300Mbps or faster.
If your internet provider can only give you a slow speed connection then USB 3.0 and 802.11ac speeds will bottleneck and not be of benefit.
For those who have a fast internet connection or need fast speeds on their internal network then USB 3.0 would be beneficial.
The computer hardware used must also be USB 3.0 capable or the speeds will max out at 480Mbps.
Upgrading a older desktop computer to USB 3.0 is relatively easy with a PCI card such as the ORICO USB 3.0 PCI Express expansion card.-WirelessHack
If you are looking for faster WiFi speeds then a 802.11ac USB adapter is much faster than older hardware.
Whether you can use these speeds or not depends on the network being used.
Besides the router which must be 802.11ac compatible, the internet speed of the provider must also be considered.
Internet speeds can vary greatly from 5Mbps to 300Mbps or faster.
If your internet provider can only give you a slow speed connection then USB 3.0 and 802.11ac speeds will bottleneck and not be of benefit.
For those who have a fast internet connection or need fast speeds on their internal network then USB 3.0 would be beneficial.
The computer hardware used must also be USB 3.0 capable or the speeds will max out at 480Mbps.
Upgrading a older desktop computer to USB 3.0 is relatively easy with a PCI card such as the ORICO USB 3.0 PCI Express expansion card.-WirelessHack
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If you need to use WiFi then 5gHz is best. But if you can connect wired, that will be faster than almost any wireless. What really matters is how fast your ISP supplies your modem via DSL or cable or whatever if they are only 25 mbps at the modem it doesn't matter much whether the connection from the modem to the desktop is 100 or 125 mbps. Still not going to be any faster. But if you get 75 or 100 or 250 or better from your ISP then a fasted connection inside your house is worth it. But you could do that with a simple Gig switch and cat5e cable too. Wireless is convenient, but usually not the only way.
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elytron
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Why do you want to use an USB WiFi adapter? You can upgrade your wireless adapter via PCI slot directly, without needing to use USB. Check out newegg.com They carry a lot of those kind, which install into an empty PCI express slot. Through the back of your PC. A more complex install, but should yield better results. Could be wrong though.
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Waterwerx
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First, if there's a good reason you're unable to use a wired connection from your desktop to your cable modem(distance and/or too many obstructions for running the cable such as walls/floor/ceiling) then a Wi-Fi connection would be a suitable solution for it. Otherwise, I don't see the point in having a desktop use Wi-Fi instead of a direct cable connection unless you're in the habit of frequently relocating your desktop in the house and cables are an issue.
Second, there are a number of factors that can determine whether 2.5 or 5 Ghz would be better suited for your Wi-Fi. If you live in an area where others(neighbors, businesses, etc.) use Wi-Fi, you'll probably end up experiencing a lot of dropped connections. I know from experience that when I used 2.5 Ghz, every time my neighbor connected to their Wi-Fi or turned on their wireless router/cable modem, my computer's connection to my own Wi-Fi would get dropped and I would have to reconnect. Just imagine how frequently your connection is going to get dropped/interrupted if you live near 3 or more families/households that have multiple devices connecting at various times to their own Wi-Fi, using cell phones, or other devices that use a 2.5 Ghz band. It could be a real headache. This is why I use 5 Ghz instead of 2.5 Ghz. In order to use the 5 Ghz band, BOTH your wireless router(most cable modems today have it built in, i.e. an all-in-one) and the wireless network adapter/card(installed on your desktop) must support it. If only one or the other has it, you will not be able to use the 5 Ghz band.
However, it should be noted that 5 Ghz has a much shorter range than 2.5 Ghz and does not penetrate solid obstacles as well. As I said before, if its feasible, use a wired connection for your desktop as this will eliminate any connection issues that could arise with it from Wi-Fi and eliminate the need of installing/purchasing additional hardware for your desktop.
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I ordered that usb wifi adapter and should get it tomorrow. One thing I am wondering is I'd guess my desktop is around 20 feet maybe 25 feet away from the modem. Do they sell 30 foot long ethernet cables and if so would such a long ethernet cable be better than usb wifi adapter?
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Thanks for the response though @Waterwerx I had just assumed an ethernet cable would be too short but I see some on amazon that are up to 50 feet long which is plenty so if I'm not able to reach at least over 100 mbps with the usb wifi adapter then I'll buy a 50 foot ethernet cable.
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Waterwerx
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Here's an example:
GearIt 30 ft. Cat5e Ethernet Patch Cable - Blue-GICAT5EBL30FT - The Home Depot
This is a 30' long cable for about $10.00.
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Waterwerx
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I wouldn't worry about that unless the internet package you have with your ISP allows you data transfer rates equal to or above that. The reason I would choose cable over wireless for a desktop is because there's a much greater reliability in connection and the desktop doesn't need to be moved around compared to a laptop or hand-held device.
I should also mention that if you're the only one using the connection, you're better off with a 20-30 Mbps connection if your ISP offers it. Anything over that is a waste of money since you would never make full use of it unless you're constantly uploading/downloading large amounts of data. Most websites will only let you download at a rate of 3-5 Mbps, so a higher bandwidth connection will not improve speed, but instead only allow you to have more downloads/uploads going without there being a degradation in data transfer speeds between all of the active connections.
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Well good news I got the usb wifi adapter today and before I plugged it in I did a speed test and it was around 20 mbps. Disabled the current wifi adapter and plugged in the new usb wifi adapter and was thrilled to see I was getting the same speed as the other desktop plugged straight into the modem at around 115 mbps. Tested the one plugged directly into the modem and that one showed 118 mbps so virtually the same speed so I am thrilled. But thanks for all the help guys
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