My goal is to make my desktop wireless. What is the difference between a PCI card and a USB router if I want to make desktop wireless? Is "G" the highest level I can buy for a PCI card? Next goal would be to purchase an air card w/monthly service that will allow me the flexibility of using the same air card on the wireless laptop and on the desktop. Help! Thanks
2006-07-21 13:17:52 · 3 answers · asked by i_squeeze 1 in Computers & Internet ➔ Internet
Do I need both the PCI card and the wireless adapter? How does a wireless USB router fit into the equation? What does PCI stand for? Is this an acronym?
2006-07-21 13:22:38 · update #1
wifi PC card. Is this the card I can plug into my wireless laptop and get internet connection anywhere? If yes, this is the card I want to buy for my laptop. I understand I will have to pay a monthly fee for the service. That's ok. I will cancel my DSL. But I want to be able to use the same card to get connected on the internet on the desktop.
2006-07-21 13:37:08 · update #2
AirCard(r) is a trademark of Sierra Wireless. They make PC cards for wireless access to networks like Cingular, Verizon and so on.
You probably don't mean air card in that sense. You probably mean a wifi PC card.
g is the fastest currently available.
You will need a wireless access point in your house capable of g in order to take advantage of the higher speed.
Your laptop would already have a PC card slot most likely. But your desktop won't have one. You will need to buy a PCI card which is a PCMCIA adapter so you can plug in your wifi PC card into your desktop. However, this is another layer of hardware and drivers and there have been known incompatibilities. Further, the cost of the PCMCIA adapter for your desktop may be the same as a usb wifi adapter or a PCI wifi card.
Then what about those times when you want to transfer a file from your desktop to your laptop -you would need to have wireless on both.
2006-07-21 13:24:02 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
A PCI card is the card you need to put inside your desktop. To use wireless, you need three things.
1. A modem
2. A wireless router
3. A wireless card in your PC.
G is the highest save A but A is a crap load more expensive. G is fast and affordable.
2006-07-21 20:19:45 · answer #2 · answered by Kamran 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would buy a usb adapter because you could use it on laptops too...
2006-07-21 20:20:47 · answer #3 · answered by VzjrZ 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋