The Best Wifi Adapter Money Can Buy

rosewill rnx-n180ube.

it increased my signal strength from 1 bar to 5 bars, no joke. and only cost me 20 bucks.

it can be purchased here

USA:
Newegg.com - Rosewill RNX-N180UBE Wireless Adapter IEEE 802.11b/g/n USB 2.0 1T2R / 5 dBi External Antenna / Up to 300Mbps Wireless Download Data Rates 64/128-bit WEP (Hex & ASCII), WPA/WPA2, WPA(TKIP with IEEE

im pretty sure nothing on the market can compete with this

 

Lots of things can improve or degrade wifi. In particular, an external USB wifi adapter with a good external antenna will outperform an internal card/antennas just about every time.

And what's the technical definition (usable across systems with the same results) of a 'signal bar'.

But if something is working for you, great!

 

og cmon.

you know I had to make a thread when i got the results I did. have to spread the good news you know. and besides others may want to get similar results for their home setups

 

That's not the point. Results are measured in dBm not in bars.
If you decided to make a thread on how good it is you could have provided some actual data- bars may be scaled differently on different Windows versions let alone on Linux or MacOS.
Something like a graph from inSSIDer with an old card and a new one performing in the same place would be much better.

 

its 5dbi if your are curious. sorta of in between top end and mid end antenas

and with inssider i am getting -61 vs -10. so 6 times better

 

that's better........

 

that's a good price for what you get. very good.

 

Something that can't even see the 5ghz band will never qualify for best wifi adapter IMO, especially if its "best money can buy".

USB is not an ideal interface for a NIC either.

Expresscard with standard antenna ports is what to go for these days. SR71x can be found around $40~50 if you look long enough, $80+ if you're desperate. (comes with dual mmcx omnis, easy to convert to rp-sma or N for outdoor)

For a desktop just use a nice AP as a bridge instead.

 

aluminum.

were talking about range not throughput. and who the heck has a connection that uses more than 300mbs. and how is 5ghz relevent.

please explain the advantages of 5ghz

 

Do you know if this adapter works with linux? A good USB/wireless adapter that works on both windows and linux well would be a great asset. If it doesn't work on linux it's worth nothing to me.

 

Just getting the wifi antenna out of the laptop case and clear of interference will do allot. For short range an inexpensive device will do great. There are dual band usb wifi adapters also. Is it the best wifi adapter money can buy. It depends on the distance you are trying to pick up the signal from. I am looking at a system with a router that will pick up the wifi from up to two miles away.

 

Hear gear on a good external antenna. Even some fairly inexpensive USB or dekstop PCI adapters get great range with a pretty simple antenna upgrade.

 

ive had one for awhile. works great for the money. use it when traveling mostly. at home it doubles the number of connection i can pick up though i dont use it there. for $20 its a great buy. not sure about it being the best money can buy though. maybe the best that $20 can buy.

 

The 5GHz band is unused by most people meaning it's the band to use if you are in a crowded 2.4GHz environment, like apartment buildings and there are 10 or more wireless networks on 2.4GHz. It is also less prone to interference from devices like cordless phones.

The downside of 5GHz is that the range is more limited and it doesn't penetrate walls as well as 2.4GHz. This however isn't a problem for a normal sized flat/apartment/home.