# USB vs PCI wireless card- which one is faster?



## beefers1

i just moved my PC downstairs and the USB card is slow as hell (used to use wired Ethernet), slower than the 6-yr old laptop's card. so i was wondering if a PCI card (with the same specs) will be any faster. thanks in advance.


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## johnwill

Please supply the following info, *exact make and models* of the equipment please.

What country are you located in.
Name of your ISP (Internet Service Provider).
What is the expected Upstream/Downstream speed for your ISP Connection?
Make *and* exact model of the broadband modem.
Make *and* exact model and hardware version of the router (if a separate unit).
_Model numbers can usually be obtained from the label on the device._
Connection type, wired or wireless.
If wireless, encryption used, (none, WEP, WPA, or WPA2)
Make and model of your computer.
Version and patch level of Windows on all affected machines, i.e. XP-Home (or XP-Pro), SP1-SP2, Vista, etc.
The Internet Browser in use, IE, Firefox, Opera, etc.




Please give an exact description of your problem symptoms, *including the exact text of any error messages.*

If you're using a wireless connection, have you tried a direct connection with a cable to see if that changes the symptoms?

If there are other computers on the same network, are they experiencing the same issue, or do they function normally?




On any affected computer, I'd also like to see this:

Hold the *Windows* key and press *R*, then type *CMD* to open a command prompt:

Type the following commands:

PING 216.109.112.135

PING yahoo.com

NBTSTAT -n

IPCONFIG /ALL

Right click in the command window and choose *Select All*, then hit *Enter*.
Paste the results in a message here.

If you are on a machine with no network connection, use a floppy, USB disk, or a CD-RW disk to transfer a text file with the information to allow pasting it here.


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## beefers1

sorry... i don't really have a problem with anything in particular; I just want something like a head to head comparison of the 2 different types of cards. prehaps this is the wrong forum? if so, can someone move it to the appropriate on please?


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## Cellus

_Generally_ PCI wireless is head-over-heels superior to USB. However with that said, it really does depend on the make and model of each. If you can give us the make and model of both the PCI card and USB dongle, we can give you a fair assessment.


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## johnwill

I agree, I prefer PCI adapters in almost every case. USB is problematic for networking, since many times other USB drivers seem to conflict with the NIC. Also, there is a fairly high CPU load for heavy traffic on a USB link, since the bytes are all handled using programmed I/O, not DMA like disks and Firewire.


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## lazareth1

And to pick up on the most obvious problem here, you have moved you actual pc further away from the wireless internet yes? If so, then the further away you are, the slower and more problematic your internet connection will become. 

I agree a PCI card will be better in this situation though, as they have independant aerials which should pick up the signal better.


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## beefers1

it IS farther away, but the thing is that the card on the old laptop (PC card) works perfectly and quickly. So i don't think physical distance is too much of a factor here.


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## lazareth1

Yes but a laptop has a better wireless facility than a USB dongle. Go for a new PCI wireless card. ($20)


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## beefers1

it was an external card in the PC card slot. thanks, though.


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