Products at a Glance
How We Picked the best WiFi cards for PC
It is quite hard to select the best WiFi card for PC as they all essentially do the same job. However, what you need to look at to separate the weak from the strong is; the wireless range, what wireless standard they’re running off, and the quality of antennae the WiFi card is utilizing. These are the three key aspects that we used to select our top five picks in an effort to secure the best WiFi cards on the market. Moreover, we have given certain WiFi card awards such as best budget, to try and make it even easier to pick the right WiFi card based on your needs. This doesn’t mean you can’t do specific tasks each of these, but we’ve discerned there are some advantages to specific use cases
Of course, a WiFi card is only one part of the equation for fast speeds. You’ll want to ensure you’ve got a stable network sorted, including the best modem router combo for you and possibly the best routers for mesh networks.
Product Reviews
- WiFi 6 ready
- Two antennae
- Bundled in Bluetooth functionality
- Dual-band
- Cables length doesn't offer much flexibility
The first of two TP-Link WiFi cards on this best WiFI card for PC list is the AX3000. It utilizes the latest WiFi 6 technology allowing for speeds of up to 2.4Gbps, therefore making it fantastic for today but also way into the future. To get these speeds means this WiFi card is dual-band, allowing you to connect to both 2.4Ghz and the faster 5Ghz networks. Moreover, with this card being built for WiFi 6, it results in ultra-low latency and uninterrupted connectivity with OFDMA and MU-MIMO technology, making it perfect for not only the average user streaming video but also gamers keen to get the best connection possible.
Looking at the wireless range, we can see that TP-Link has implemented two antennae on a platform that can be attached anywhere on your setup through a magnetized base. While these antennae are already powerful as they are, the ability to place them wherever you like on your rig allows you to find that signal sweet spot and further improve that wireless range aspect. You’re also able to rotate these in a 360-degree fashion, thus not being limited to the fixed antennae that some WiFi cards opt for.
While we’re focusing on the WiFi capabilities, there is another top-tier feature this WiFi card for PC has – Bluetooth connectivity. Yes, not only is it a fantastic WiFi option, but you’ll also be able to take advantage of Bluetooth 5.0 technology for your PC, opening up the possibilities of wireless peripherals if you so choose. While this might not be a requirement for some who have Bluetooth-enabled motherboards, a large majority of individuals do not, and will benefit those dramatically.
To conclude, this is probably the best WiFi card for PC if you want incredible range due to those dual antennae that can be placed wherever you like in your setup. Additionally, with the WiFi 6 capabilities and dual-band network connectivity, you can take advantage of that range and have a super speedy wireless connection that even wired advocates would be surprised by. That Bluetooth 5.0 inclusion is also a nice addition and in our eyes is extremely handy, especially if you’ve got a bunch of Bluetooth devices.
- AC1200 speeds
- Dual-band
- Easy installation
- Pretty affordable
- No WiFi 6
TP-Link’s AC1200 PCIe WiFi Card for PC is an affordable and straightforward option when it comes to adding WiFi capabilities. It doesn’t offer the grand claims of other cards, but it’s around $20 cheaper than many so gets off to a good start. This dual-band WiFi card offers support for AC1200 speeds; TP-Link claims 867Mbps on the 5GHz band and 300Mbps on the 2.5GHz band. Those speeds don’t match the likes of the AX3000, but they’re plenty fast enough for many uses if you’re not worried about having the extra ‘clearance;’ for streaming of games, or to live streaming services. Honestly, for most things you’d want to do this card should handle with ease.
The card supports protocols to 802.11AC. That means this card lacks 802.11ax support and so there’s no WiFi 6 support. There are other options from TP-Link if you do want that, but you’ll be paying more for the privilege. The AC1200 does support Bluetooth, but it’s the 4.2 protocol, so again you’re missing the latest option in Bluetooth 5.2. Once more though, this is a budget pick with ease of installation in mind. And installation should be very easy – firmly secure it into a PCI-E 1x slot, using either the low-profile or standard brackets included. Then connect it to an F_USB connector to enable Bluetooth. Driver support is available up to Windows 11 too.
Despite the lack of cutting-edge technologies, the AC1200 makes our best WiFi card for PC list through its cost-effective simplicity. It won’t allow you much choice in terms of the position of its dual-antennae, and it may not support the fastest speeds. But neither should be large issues if you’re fine with your wireless access point signal strength and don’t require demanding data transfer.
- Four antennae
- 802.11ac wireless standard
- Heatsinks
- Dual-band
- No WiFi 6
ASUS, known for its plethora of computing equipment, also has some stellar WiFi cards to keep your wireless connection strong and stable. It is similarly known for its top gaming products and this WiFi card fits right into that category.
The PCE-AC88 on show here details 802.11ac ensuring that up to gigabit speeds can be taken on coupled with a dual-band architecture to boot. Looking at that dual-band feature, ASUS has implemented its NitroQAM technology which gives PCE-AC88 Wi-Fi speeds of up to 2100Mbps on a 5GHz network and 1000Mbps on a 2.4GHz network, which is impressive and more than capable of taking on the streaming and more importantly, gaming requests you may have of it.
The design of the WiFi card itself alongside the antennae is where it really sets itself apart from the rest. Looking at the antennae, it sports a four-pronged approach dramatically increasing WiFi range and signal stability. This, in turn, will improve signal clarity and overall wireless quality. Moving to the design of the card, like our budget pick, heatsinks make a return. These custom-made heatsinks improve stability and reliability when running bandwidth-intensive network tasks in hot environments, enabling you to game long into the night and not worry about it impacting your WiFi signal.
Overall, with this WiFi card using the 802.11ac wireless standard in conjunction with its four antennae and heatsinks, it all comes together to create a wireless experience that almost all individuals would be over the moon with. Furthermore, when putting all of these plusses into the gaming aspect, it will satisfy your performance requirements and put your worries to rest about whether multiplayer gaming is possible when not plugged directly into your router.
- Bundled in Bluetooth functionality
- Change position of antenna
- Dual-band
- Only one antenna
- No WiFi 6
Things To Consider
Wireless Range
Like all wireless products, you’re going to want a stellar range to get the most out of your broadband speeds. This is, however, pretty much the defining factor of any WiFi card as many will be placing their setup in an office or a room upstairs, requiring a strong wireless connection. WiFi cards with superior range usually come in at a slightly higher price point but it’s more than worth so you’re not losing your hair over your connection dropping out every five minutes.
Wireless Standard
In a nutshell, there are three wireless standards you’re going to want your Wi-Fi card to be a part of 802.11g, 802.11n, and 802.11ac. All of these provide a higher echelon of wireless speeds, enabling you to have a speedy connection. Breaking down these three, however, it is very easy to see you are going to be limited by 802.11g compared to 802.11ac with up to 54Mbps for 802.11g and up to an astonishing 1300Mbps for 802.11ac thus making the latter the much more attractive option. This does come at a cost though and for devices of that ilk, you’re going to have to dig a little deeper in your wallet. It’s also a little rarer to find one of those devices in the wild o opting for an 802.11n with up to 900Mbps speeds might be the easier route to go down.
Antennae
With most, if not all WiFi cards you’re going to want and need some antennae to strengthen that wireless signal and keep your connection stable. Naturally, you might think that more antennae the better and yes, most of the time you’d be right but you’ve got to think about the quality of those antennae too. You may be able to take advantage of four antennae but it’ll probably be a little overkill unless you’re in a mansion or extra-large office space.
Do WiFi cards affect internet speed?
A good Wi-Fi card for your PC will eliminate any worries you may have over your wireless connection and will pretty much ensure that it will never drop, at least from your PC’s side anyway.
What’s the fastest WiFi card?
From our list, we’d give it to the AX3000. The AX3000 utilizes WiFi 6 technology allowing for speeds of up to 2.4Gbps, therefore making it fantastic for today but also way into the future. To get these speeds means this WiFi card is dual-band, allowing you to connect to both 2.4Ghz and the faster 5Ghz networks. Moreover, with this card being built for WiFi 6, it results in ultra-low latency and uninterrupted connectivity with OFDMA and MU-MIMO technology, making it perfect for not only the average user streaming video but also gamers keen to get the best connection possible.
Looking at the wireless range, we can see that TP-Link has implemented two antennae on a platform that can be attached anywhere on your setup through a magnetized base. While these antennae are already powerful as they are, the ability to place them wherever you like on your rig allows you to find that signal sweet spot and further improve that wireless range aspect. You’re also able to rotate these in a 360-degree fashion, thus not being limited to the fixed antennae that some WiFi cards opt for.
Our Verdict
Looking at the positives of TP-Link AX3000 PCIe WiFi Card we think that this, overall, is the best WiFi card for PC, it has an impressive wireless range and that all-important WiFi 6 technology ensures that you’re going to get the broadband speeds you’re paying for. However, if you’re looking more on the budget side, the TP-Link AC1300 PCIe Wireless Wifi PCIe Card is definitely the avenue to take, it has more than enough range and certainly does the job overall when thinking about a stable connection. On the other hand, our best gaming pick – Gigabyte GC-WB867D-I is certainly not one to be overlooked and while it’s fantastic for gaming, it’s perfectly fine for general use too and potentially could be a perfect fit depending on your requirements.