What is the correct way to use an Intel Wifi adapter in a desktop computer?

2

I currently have a desktop computer with the Z390 M Gaming motherboard from Gigabyte. I want to add Wifi support to this desktop computer using an Intel wifi adapter, due to their excellent driver support on Linux. When I look on the appropriate page on Intel's website, however, to pick a wifi card (other websites give similar stories), they are all for some non-PCIe interface. This interface looks like M.2 and is labelled appropriately on Intel's website, my motherboard has two M.2 slots, and the manual suggests that one of them works well for Wifi. This seems to suggest that if I buy one of the adapters that is listed on the linked page on Intel's website, then it will work when installed in my motherboard. I have two concerns for why this may not be true:

  1. These adapters seem to need an external antenna, but I have yet to figure out a good way to mount one. Ideally, I would have a PCIe metal piece (I'm not sure what the correct word for this is) without a PCB that has antenna wires that I can route through my case to the wifi card. Unfortunately, I can't find anything that fits this description. I am aware that it would probably work to tape the antennas to the outside of the case, but I prefer to do this more professionally.

  2. When attempting to find the PCIe adapter, I found a few PCie "cards" like this one, where there is a slot that appears to be compatible with any of Intel's wifi adapters, suggesting that something like that -- and not my motherboard's M.2 slot -- is the correct way to install an Intel wifi adapter in a desktop computer.

  3. The specifications on Intel's website talk about different kinds of antennas (eg. 1x1, 2x2), but the connection ports for antennas on each adapter are identical and do not vary with these specifications. As such, it seems like I need to get a particular kind of antenna for each card. How does this work?

john01dav

Posted 2019-05-26T02:19:38.057

Reputation: 326

Laptops often use this kind of M.2-shaped PCIe WiFi modules, but are you sure they're meant for desktops as well? – user1686 – 2019-05-26T10:20:19.613

@grawity I am not completely sure, but it seems likely because the interface is called M.2 on Intel's website and my motherboard manual specifically talks about Wifi in one of the M.2 slots. Even if they are not meant for desktops, however, the titular question of "What is the correct way to use an Intel Wifi adapter in a desktop computer?" is valid (but in need of a frame change), as Intel's Wifi adapters have superb Linux driver support that, in my experience, no competitor has. – john01dav – 2019-05-26T10:29:44.637

No answers

Asked: 2019-05-26T02:19:38.057

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Active: 2019-05-26T02:19:38.057