For my desktop, should I get a PCI or USB wifi card?

My apt has free wifi, and I wanted to know the advantages, if any, of either one.

Tagged As: free wifi

interlude on March 26, 2010

generally, pci will give you better range and stability, whereas usb will give you portability.

usb is great if you plan on using it on a laptop as well as your pc.

also, if your computer is still under warranty, it is best to use usb because some of the computer’s warranty expires if you open your computer up.
VIC on March 26, 2010

I have a lap top and 4 desktops at home with a AT&T
U-verse homeportal. All of the desktops have a USB wifi card.

USB wifi cards are cheap less than 30.00 bucks and you do not have to open the case. Also this frees up an available PCI slot for graphics or sound expansion if needed later.
Iluvcumming on March 26, 2010

USB is the easiest. Either will work fine though, the advantage to having a usb card is that you can aim the antenna a little bit easier than with a PCI card. I would suggest a Linksys WUSB54G or better. Linksys is the way to go for networking. Linksys is owned by Cisco… nuff said? If your computer is Windows XP or better, I would sugguest not installing the Linksys software, but hooking up the USB with the cd in the drive and letting windows pick up the driver from the cd. Windows has a zero config utility that is more commonly used and easier to troubleshoot. (especially over the phone.)

WiFi PCI Card.com