How do I choose a wireless card?

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I'm experiencing disconnects from my wireless network which my administrator claims is due to a poor wireless card in my laptop (currently a Qualcomm Atheros AR9485WB-EG if relevant). My laptop is approaching 4 years old, so I'm getting a new one, but the main purpose of this new purchase is to improve connectivity.

The problem is that I don't know how to choose a wireless card. There are oddly no guides for this (compared to, say, how to choose a GPU). It seems most people just assume that the default card works, but since I'm buying to improve connectivity, I'd prefer something more concrete.

What guidelines are there to picking a wireless card? How do I tell if one card is superior to another? I'm definitely willing to pay more for a good card here, but I still need to know how to identify them.

Allure

Posted 2018-01-06T05:46:04.930

Reputation: 231

Question was closed 2018-01-06T22:40:01.850

If this doesn't satisfy the "asking how to find out what suits your needs" requirement in the closure reason, I have no idea what does. – Allure – 2018-11-06T07:21:24.637

Answers

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Improving connectivity starts by having a good router and the recommended wireless encryption settings: WPA2-AES only. Avoid any WEP or WPA/WPA2 mixed modes and especially TKIP.

Then, depending on the router capabilities, choose the WiFi standard accordingly (there's no point in having an "ac" WiFi card if the router only supports "n" or worse).

In any case (specific) hardware recommendations are off topic here.

user772515

Posted 2018-01-06T05:46:04.930

Reputation:

Are you saying all cards with "ac" in them are equal? I'm also not asking for a "get this card" recommendation - I'm looking for a guide to help me select one. – Allure – 2018-01-06T06:17:16.597

No, I'm saying that any industry standard is supposed to be more or less the same. I'm also saying that most likely you're focusing in the wrong piece or the least important part in the equation. For instance, a crappy router and/or "incorrect" wireless encryption settings will always give crappy results regardless. And, BTW, different parts in the same model is common practice for all manufacturers. Again, hardware recommendations are off topic therefore I won't discuss any particulars. If the answer is useful then please accept it, if not ignore it and take the time to educate yourself. – None – 2018-01-06T06:25:21.930

Asked: 2018-01-06T05:46:04.930

Viewed: 48 times

Active: 2018-11-06T07:20:54.420