Thinking of going with an internal network card

[ClutchDisc]

Hey all, you probably remember my thread before about getting the USB network card. Well I took the chances and tried another USB network card, but this one was twice as powerful as the last one. Well it "works" but not the best. It was just plug and play, and is pretty fast. Here is the problem though. It will just randomly disconnect from the internet when ever it "wants" too. This is very annoying! So, I am thinking of just going with the internal network card and forgetting these USB ones.

What do you all think of this one? The computer this is for is the Dell Dimension E310.
http://www.discountelectronics.com/product?product_id=7303&product_model=67

Do you think that one is going to be powerful enough for me? My computer is on the other end of the house than the router. Also, is that card likely to be Linux compatible? I'm running Ubuntu 12.04. Thanks guys!!!

 

[Sawdusted]

Internal or external is not going to solve the problem if it is an issue with the wireless connectivity.

Even if signal strength is low, whenever there is weak signal, it should automatically reconnect when signal strength is strong enough. First thing I would look at would be your signal strength and add WAP if needed to extend the wireless range.

What you want would be a hard wired solution to solve those problems. Or try to troubleshoot the issues/software that causes the disconnect.

 

[dparm]

I'm with sawdusted. Switching cards is not going to make much of a difference. The antennas are virtually the same.

Either decrease the distance, or use a wired connection (run cabling or go with powerline Ethernet).

 

[ClutchDisc]

Pardon my ignorance, but what is powerline ethernet?

 

[AandPDan]

Powerline ethernet uses your house wiring for connectivity. Basically you plug an adapter into the outlet.

A patch cable connects from the adapter to your computer at one end. At the other end you place another adapter that connects to your switch.

Yes, you need two adapters.

I've had good luck with the internal cards vs. USB. You can always replace the antenna on the card for one with better gain OR you can relocate it to get a better signal.

 

[johnachak]

I had a similar problem which was solved by getting a more powerful n+ router. The standadr g's kept dropping out.

 

[ClutchDisc]

What would be simplest? I would like to just get the internet working on this computer. I was looking into the powerline ethernet....These look interesting. Price is right for sure, and they get very good reviews. What do you all think?

TP-LINK TL-PA4010KIT AV500 Nano Powerline Adapter Starter Kit, up to 500Mbps

Also if I were to get something like this, how would I know what port I would need? They list 10/100M and 10/100/1000M ....what's the difference? Also, how secure are these? Thanks guys for the help!

 

[dparm]

10/100 is fine unless you are constantly moving huge amounts of data around. 10/100 is likely already faster than your Internet connection even allows.

They're plenty secure unless someone were to actually plug another adapter into your house's power outlets.

 

[ClutchDisc]

Thanks for that info. I think I am going to get them. The price sure is right! Now, since these are Ethernet, I don't need to worry about them not being compatible with Linux right?

 

[LazyPrizm]

I think I had a similar card to that TP-Link (just going by image since that site doesn't seem to list the actual model #) - it used the ath9k driver (Atheros) and worked decently well except sometimes it'd act lousy under heavy loads like BT (latency to router would hit 2-3s for a few minutes at a time).

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: ClutchDisc
I don't need to worry about them not being compatible with Linux right?


Correct; this is simply hardware that gets connectivity to your computer. It is completely independent from the operating system.

 

[ClutchDisc]

Good. Looks like I will be ordering then. Thanks for all your help guys!