The value of 5Ghz WiFi Adaptors

So, I just started using my TP-Link router and my new Spitz router on 5Hz – mainly as it is a pain to wire up our place in Spain. Thinking my PC had no WiFi at all, I sent off to AliExpress for a cheap dual-band USB3 WiFi adaptor.

Today the adaptor arrived – along with a similar (not so cheap) adaptor from Amazon.com courtesy of GL-iNet who wanted me to try this adaptor with their Brume-W router (covered elsewhere).

It was at this point, as I was plugging one of these adaptors into the PC and wondering why two WiFi connection options were showing up that I realised that, after all, my PC DOES have WiFi. WEEEEELLLL…..

The upshot of this is that I tested my current Internet provider with the internal 2.4Ghz PC connection and both (one at a time) of the USB devices. My PC has 2.4Ghz WiFi only, the devices are both dual-band – and on such a slow connection (up to 30Mbps download, up to 3Mbps upload) – there really was not a lot to choose between all the options.

The adaptor on the left (no brand – 866+300Mbps – also has a WPS button) – was the cheapy from AliExpress – the one on the right (Alfa AWUS036ACS – 150/433 speeds – whatever that means) came from Amazon.es and arrived complete with extension lead and base. Both look fine, both work just fine – but on my limited checking could I see any real difference between them?

No. They were around 10% -15% slower than using a hard-wired connection – which in itself says something about all three options – as it happens my PC is hardwired but if I had to use wireless on it, the loss is not that bad. I’ve noticed elsewhere than my Spitz router provides a decent 5Ghz WiFi signal to my Android box which runs the TV. (Just as well as the alternative to get my beloved HD viewing was house rewiring).

Over time I will come back to this and do some WAY more precise and demanding testing of course. Meanwhile I’m just happy to have new dual-band capability as I want to palm off my home control onto the slower 2.4Ghz connections while reserving the 5Ghz WiFi for streaming media – as I am currently in Spain and much of my HD media is in the UK (where I have 18-20Mbps upload capability – MORE than enough to upstream decent HD).