Best wireless network card (M.2)

Hardware
,
1

I was planning to buy an i3-10110u laptop that has Intel 9462NGW Wireless Card.

I intend to use this device as a thin client.

What I usually do (or plan to do in the future):

  1. I work on my NAS and SSH into my server.
  2. I also RDP into my server-side Windows machine.
  3. PS4 remote streaming.
  4. Multimedia playback from NAS.
  5. I prefer the convenience of wireless over wired.

Hence, fast and low latency wireless networking is a priority for me.

My Wireless Access Point is Asus RT-AC58U AC1300. I do not plan to upgrade it any time soon.

I was thinking of upgrading my wireless card (as I’ve seen critical evaluation of Intel 9462NGW on notebookcheck iperf tests)

The cards I had in mind are:

  1. Intel AX200
  2. Intel 7260.HMWG.R

Questions:

  1. Should I change the inbuilt card?
  2. Which card should I opt for, given I don’t plan to upgrade my WAP?

Thank you

2

It’s likely not an m.2 but a micro pcie.

3

It’s m.2

Source: The specs document from manufacturer states “One M.2 2230 slot for WiFi and Bluetooth combo card”

4

Ok I just wanted to confirm because that’s weird.

5

No problem.

I’m going with Intel AX201 as of now. (bought it on Aliexpress)

This card has some weirdity (if that’s a word) in the way that it is only compatible with 10th gen Intel processors and up and the motherboard has to have CnVio2 interface.

I will update how it went after usage.

PS: I also learned that Intel 9560, which is present on many high-end laptops requires Cnvio1 interface.

It is quite difficult to find resources on Wifi Cards and their interfaces. So little material is present on the topic. :face_with_monocle:

6

I think that’s because many people don’t upgrade their laptops. Also WiFi cards have been funky on laptops for a while. Some manufactures like Lenovo are known to white list cards in their BIOS. Which in turn makes it harder to upgrade the cards.

1 Like
7

This ^^

Depending on model you won’t be able to swap it anyway but to that end I would say you shouldn’t change it anyway. There’s no real advantage given you only have an AC capable access point. An AX client doesn’t improve anything realistically.

8

The best one is definitely the AX200/AX201 series, or their killer derivatives. They even support Bluetooth 5.1 now.

9

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