Best WiFi cards for PC and laptop: Know the types and their speed

If you have an old computer or laptop and you want to improve its WiFi connectivity, you have to buy WiFi 6 network cards to improve the coverage received and also the real speed that we can achieve. There are different types of Wi-Fi cards that you can install in your computer, depending on whether it is a desktop or a laptop, in addition, there are also different models that will provide us with greater or lesser wireless performance, therefore, it is very important to choose correctly. Today in this article we are going to recommend the best WiFi cards that you can buy for your PC or laptop. 

Wi-Fi standards that exist

Best WiFi cards for PC and laptop

Right now several WiFi standards are coexisting, it is very important to look at the wireless standard because to a large extent it will indicate the maximum speed that we are going to be able to achieve. Right now the most common thing is to find networks with Wi-Fi 6, however, old routers only support the Wi-Fi 4 standard and also Wi-Fi 5, so our recommendation is that you buy Wi-Fi 6 cards because they are also compatible with previous standards.

  • 802.11n or Wi-Fi 4: this standard was approved in 2009, it can operate in both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, however, the most common is that it only works in the 2.4GHz band, since in the 5GHz band is often used by the Wi-Fi 5 standard to achieve higher wireless performance. With this standard, up to 150Mbps theoretically can be achieved for each antenna, however, this figure increases to 250Mbps per antenna if 1024QAM modulation is used.
  • 802.11ac or Wi-Fi 5: This standard was approved in 2014, and it only works in the 5GHz band. The maximum speed that we can achieve with this standard is 433Mbps for each antenna, however, this figure increases to 541Mbps for each antenna if 1024QAM is used. Logically, the real speed that we will achieve is around 60% approximately.
  • 802.11ax or Wi-Fi 6: It is the most recent standard (with permission from Wi-Fi 6E, which is the same but works in the new 6GHz band) and was approved in 2019. This new standard is capable of working both in the 2.4GHz band as in the 5GHz band, in addition, if we have Wi-Fi 6E we will also have the 6GHz band at our disposal. Thanks to this standard, we will be able to achieve a speed of up to 287Mbps per antenna in the 2.4GHz band, a speed of up to 600Mbps per antenna in the 5GHz/6GHz band and up to 1,201Mbps per antenna if it supports 160MHz bandwidth. channel. In real environments, we will be able to achieve speeds of about 1450Mbps when we have two antennas.

The most remarkable thing about WiFi 6 is not only the increase in transfer speed, but also the efficiency when managing the spectrum. Thanks to technologies such as OFDMA and MU-MIMO, when we have dozens of wireless clients connected to the wireless network, we will be able to achieve higher speeds globally compared to the old standards. Of course, we cannot forget such important features as BSS Coloring to avoid interference with neighboring networks, we also have the Target Wake Time to save energy in end clients, and even compatibility with the WPA3-Personal security protocol and WPA3-Enterprise.

Types of Wi-Fi cards

If you want to update your computer or laptop with a new WiFi card, you should know that there are three different types of WiFi cards. Depending on the computer where we are going to install it, it is better to opt for a wireless network card or another. Of course, within the type of card we also have the different standards that we have explained to you previously. Next, we detail all the types of cards and when they are more advisable to buy them.

PCI-Express or PCIe cards

These types of cards are plugged directly into the motherboard of our desktop computer. It is absolutely necessary that our motherboard has a free PCIe port to be able to install this type of wireless network cards, otherwise, you will not be able to install it and you will have to resort to other types of cards. The PCIe data interface will provide us with great wireless performance, in fact, we will not have a bottleneck due to the network interface. Generally, these types of cards will provide us with better performance than others.

This type of WiFi adapters could perfectly have high gain external antennas connected directly to the card, we could also have an antenna base where to connect the antenna cable from the card to the external antennas. Although normally these types of cards do not get too hot, it is possible that manufacturers incorporate a passive heatsink so that the cooling of the card is perfect and there are no temperature problems.

All the cards that we are going to recommend below have a PCIe port to connect directly to the motherboard of our computer, no other form of connection is possible. All these cards that we are going to recommend are based on the Intel AX210 chipset for Wi-Fi 6E networks, or they are based on the Intel AX200 chipset for Wi-Fi 6 networks.

  

Cheap cards with Intel AX210 chipset

All the devices that we are going to recommend incorporate the Intel AX210 chipset to achieve the best wireless performance in all supported frequency bands. The main characteristics of these cards are:

  • WiFi: Selectable tri-band with Wi-Fi 6E and AX5400 class (up to 574Mbps on the 2.4GHz band, up to 2,402Mbps on the 5GHz band, and up to 2,402Mbps on the 6GHz band).
  • External antennas: 2 external antennas.
  • Others: support for 160MHz of channel width in 5GHz and 6GHz, incorporates Bluetooth 5.2.

All models are exactly the same, since they all have both the Intel AX210 and support for Bluetooth 5.2 in case we want it that way.

As you can see, for about €45 we will be able to update our computer’s wireless network and enjoy a very high wireless speed.

 

ASUS PCE-AX58BT

This ASUS wireless card is one of the most recommended, internally it uses an Intel AX200 chipset, so we will have the best possible wireless performance. In addition, it has a heatsink to adequately cool the chipset and not have problems with temperature.

  • Wi-Fi: Selectable dual-band with Wi-Fi 6 and AX3000 (up to 574Mbps on the 2.4GHz band and up to 2,402Mbps on the 5GHz band).
  • External antennas: 2 external antennas.
  • Others: support for 160MHz channel width, incorporates Bluetooth 5.0.

This device is priced at around €80, a competitive price if we take into account that it will be able to provide us with a real speed of 1Gbps without problems.

This model also has a “low-cost” version that costs €30 less, with exactly the same features.

 

ASUS PCE-AX3000

This ASUS wireless card is exactly the same as the previous one, but it does not have the black heatsink to keep the cooling under control. For this reason, this device is cheaper than the previous one, but at the wireless level we will get the same speed and coverage.

  • Wi-Fi: Selectable dual-band with Wi-Fi 6 and AX3000 (up to 574Mbps on the 2.4GHz band and up to 2,402Mbps on the 5GHz band).
  • External antennas: 2 external antennas.
  • Others: support for 160MHz channel width, incorporates Bluetooth 5.0.

This device is priced at around €52, a very good price if we take into account its specifications and the real speed that it will be able to achieve.

This model also has a “low-cost” version that costs €30 less, with exactly the same features.

 

TP-Link Archer TX3000E

This TP-Link model also has the Intel AX200 chipset inside, it has exactly the same technical specifications as the previous two cards, there is no difference. In this case, we do have a heatsink to adequately cool the card’s chipset. Below, you can see the specifications:

  • Wi-Fi: Selectable dual-band with Wi-Fi 6 and AX3000 (up to 574Mbps on the 2.4GHz band and up to 2,402Mbps on the 5GHz band).
  • External antennas: 2 external antennas.
  • Others: support for 160MHz channel width, incorporates Bluetooth 5.0.

The price is similar to the ASUS, although somewhat cheaper:

If you want to save some money, we also have the cheap version here:

If you want a very good WiFi card with Intel AX200 chipset, these three models are ideal for you, however, there are other models that also include cheaper Intel AX200.

 

Other cheap cards with Intel AX200 chipset

Currently we have many PCI-Express cards that incorporate the AX200 chipset, all of them have exactly the same wireless characteristics, so any of them could serve you perfectly. Next, you can see three other recommended models:

As you can see, all these cards have the same features and a very similar price.

 

M.2 PCIe cards

These types of cards are also inserted directly into the motherboard of the computer, in this case it would be from portable computers, and in this type of device space is very important. Right now there are different models of M.2 cards with different technical specifications, however, the Intel model is currently the king, because most laptops and ultrabooks have this connectivity, however, Realtek is also widely used.

The antennas of these cards are not external and high gain, but are internal to the laptop itself, generally the internal antennas are connected with an antenna cable to the UFL connectors on the card itself. It is highly recommended that our laptop always have two internal antennas, in order to be able to install 2×2 MU-MIMO cards and have better wireless performance both in terms of coverage and speed.

This type of WiFi adapters are the ones that we must install in our laptops or ultrabookis. Nowadays, most laptops and ultrabooks make use of an M.2 2230 interface, therefore, we must make sure that our laptop has these types of cards. The vast majority of laptops, except the very low-end ones, have two internal antennas, so we can replace these cards with faster ones that have the Wi-Fi 6 or Wi-Fi 6E standard to have compatibility with the new bandwidth. 6GHz. All the Wi-Fi cards that we recommend below are based on the Intel AX210 chipset for Wi-Fi 6E and the Intel AX200 for Wi-Fi 6.

Cheap cards with Intel AX210 chipset

All M.2 cards based on the Intel AX210 chipset are exactly the same, the price difference is justified by the content of the package and by the specific brand, but all of them carry the important thing: the Intel chipset. Next, you have the characteristics of these wireless cards to update our laptop:

  • WiFi: selectable triple band with Wi-Fi 6E and AX5400 class (574Mbps in 2.4GHz + 2,402Mbps in 5GHz + 2,402Mbps in 6GHz).
  • External antennas: 2 internal antennas.
  • Others: support for 160MHz of channel width in 5GHz and 6GHz, incorporates Bluetooth 5.2.

The price of these cards is around 45 euros, a really competitive price if we take into account that they incorporate the best of Intel right now, with the latest Wi-Fi 6E standard.

As you can see, both cards are the same in terms of specifications, we recommend that you verify that the interface of your laptop is M.2 NGFF compatible with M.2 2230 to ensure 100% that it is compatible in size and data interface .

 

Cards with Intel AX200

In this case, the same thing happens as in the previous one, the Intel AX200 chipset that all the cards share have the same specifications, there is no difference.

  • WiFi: selectable dual-band with Wi-Fi 6 and AX3000 class (574Mbps on 2.4GHz + 2.402Mbps on 5GHz).
  • External antennas: 2 internal antennas.
  • Others: support for 160MHz of channel width in 5GHz and 6GHz, incorporates Bluetooth 5.0.

Taking into account that the price is similar to the Intel AX210, our recommendation is that you buy directly the ones based on the new chipset that has Wi-Fi 6E and the same characteristics.

 

usb cards

Finally, we have WiFi adapters with a USB interface, either USB 2.0 or USB 3.0. Nowadays for WiFi 6 adapters, the data interface is always USB 3.0 so as not to have any kind of bottleneck. These types of cards are the easiest to install, because it is only necessary that the desktop or laptop computer has an available USB port to connect it.

Although there are different models of WiFi adapters, there are some that have one or more external antennas, in order to achieve better reception of the wireless signal. There are also devices that have internal antennas, and are like “pendrives”, without any type of antenna, although logically they are larger than pendrives.

WiFi adapters with USB interface is the easiest way to update our desktop or laptop with the new Wi-Fi 6 standard, because it does not require computer skills to disassemble the computer and stick the card into the PCIe port. We must also indicate that they are somewhat more expensive than the previous ones, in addition, in general we will get less wireless performance compared to the previous ones. Next, you can see the best USB 3.0 WiFi adapters.

 

D-Link DWA-X1850

This model from the manufacturer D-Link was one of the first to hit the market, it will be able to provide us with very good wireless performance, and a really easy and very fast installation, suitable for all audiences. Next, you can see the technical characteristics of this model:

  • WiFi: selectable dual band with Wi-Fi 6 and AX1800 class (574Mbps on 2.4GHz + 1,201Mbps on 5GHz).
  • External antennas: 2 internal antennas.
  • Others: quick and easy installation on Windows.

The price of this WiFi adapter is around 70 euros, a somewhat high price, but we must bear in mind that these types of devices all have more or less the same price.

If you want other cards with the same characteristics, but with other designs in terms of their antennas, here are two other recommendations.

 

JOOWIN AX1800

This JOOWIN model has a drop-down antenna that can be placed vertically, in this way, we can improve signal reception and achieve a little more theoretical and real speed. This device is quite interesting because thanks to this drop-down antenna, we will have better performance compared to other models that do not do this.

Next, you can see the technical characteristics of this model:

  • WiFi: selectable dual band with Wi-Fi 6 and AX1800 class (574Mbps on 2.4GHz + 1,201Mbps on 5GHz).
  • External Antennas: 2 internal antennas but flips up to improve reception.
  • Others: quick and easy installation on Windows.

The price of this adapter is approximately 60 euros, very competitive if we take into account the possibility of moving the internal antennas upwards.

If you want it to have the external antennas, then pay attention to the following model.

 

EDUP AX1800

This JOOWIN model has a drop-down antenna that can be placed vertically, in this way, we can improve signal reception and achieve a little more theoretical and real speed. This device is quite interesting because thanks to this drop-down antenna, we will have better performance compared to other models that do not do this. Next, you can see the technical characteristics of this model:

  • WiFi: selectable dual band with Wi-Fi 6 and AX1800 class (574Mbps on 2.4GHz + 1,201Mbps on 5GHz).
  • External antennas: 2 external antennas, we can move them to orient them perfectly.
  • Others: quick and easy installation on Windows.

This model is worth only 42 euros, a very good price considering that it is AX1800 class and has external antennas to improve signal reception.

As you can see, today we have different types of Wi-Fi cards to have the latest wireless connectivity on our PC or laptop.