err I'm a moron..wireless adapter vs wireless card for my desktop pc

[Prodigy54321]

skip to the end if you don't want to read my story..

I orderred a new desktop pc (dell XPS 710)yesterday..during the process there was no option for a wireless card, which I thought there would be if one wasn't included..so I didn't get anything...

I called dell cs yesterday and asked whether or not my pc came wireless ready..the woman said that it did indeed come wireless ready..

I was screwed a few times in the past couple months by people who gave me the wrong answers to questions they should really know the answers to...so I didn't completely trust her.

I went back on the site today and had a chat session with another cs rep..asked the same question and she told me that I did not select any networking option..I asked if that meant that I would need to purchase something to enable me to connect to my wireless router..she said yes..

so I guess I probably made the right read [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

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the only option when buying my computer was to add a netgear wg111 53mbps wireless USB 2.0 adapter...is this what I need? or do I need a buy a wireless card and hook it up inside my comp? why wouldn't they have an option for this when customizing a pc on their site?

this whole thing has me quite confused

EDIT: keep in mind that I am planning on playing games online..does that make a different in terms of what I should buy?

[kerowo]

it isn't very obvious at all on their order page how to get wireless card into the machine so don't beat yourself up too much... or me for not being clearer in your other post.

You need either a USB wireless adaptor, which is about 50 bucks and will plug into a USB port on your machine. Or a wireless network card which will go in a PCI expansion slot IN your machine. The network card will be cheaper but the USB adaptor is easier to set up. You can try ordering these online at Amazon or you can go to any computer store and ask the clerk, probably any office supply store in a pinch.

What you will need to know when you talk to the clerk is what flavor of wireless your router is, which it should say on the router itself, or just write down the model number. That and make sure they know it is a desktop and not a laptop.

[hukilai]

Well,

You laptop either has wifi (short name for wireless stuff) inside, and then it is integral part of it, or it does not have it and then you have to get it USB or PC Card version of it.

There is no option for laptop retailers install it as an option inside.

[Prodigy54321]

thanks again for the help bro

[LuckyTxGuy]

Also, if it were me, depending on how far your desktop will be from the wireless router, I'd get the USB option because option. It will have a 4-6 ft cord that will allow the antenna to sit up on top of your desk and that will often allow better reception than the antenna sticking off the back of an internal PCI card. The PCI card antenna will be on the back of your computer case and obviously low to the ground and if your router is a pretty good ways away, it might cause you to have some connection issues. This is by no means always the case but I have seen several occasions where the USB adapter with a cord and antenna would get considerably better connections at a farther distance away. Just a thought.

[Prodigy54321]

thanks for the advice..

this is the adapter I was looking at

my connection is running at 54mbps as I type this...does that mean that I should be fine getting this one or should I be getting a 108mbps (max) one?..not sure how this works..

EDIT: ew, actually looking at it again, these got very bad reviews...guess I'll check out something else isntead..

[Stellastarr]

Wireless really sucks for gaming.