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I would like to ask for advice in choosing the best Mini PCI Express Wi-Fi card for use in a laptop and wireless router. Where would the question like this be appropriate? Is there a StackExchange site for questions like that or should I turn to some forum?

I will not necessarily be able to utilise the 802.11ac speeds, but I guess when buying new equipment, I should choose 802.11ac just in case.

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  • There are hundreds of reviews on wireless adapter cards. Why don't you just read those?
    – Ramhound
    Commented Jul 23, 2014 at 3:18
  • @Ramhound: eh, there's a few specific things those may miss it - if its in a laptop, many laptop brands maintain a whitelist for example.
    – Journeyman Geek Mod
    Commented Jul 23, 2014 at 5:30
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    Note that if you ask how to choose and not which card to choose, it's fine (blog.stackoverflow.com/2010/11/qa-is-hard-lets-go-shopping)
    – slhck Mod
    Commented Jul 23, 2014 at 17:59
  • @Ramhound I'm interested in Mini-PCI Express wireless adapters that work well with FreeBSD or Linux. FreeBSD doesn't support 802.11ac at all, yet, but I'd like a future-proof equipment and maybe I;ll use Linux, after all. I'm afraid that finding a review that takes those operating systems into account would be time-consuming.
    – Nickolai Leschov
    Commented Jul 23, 2014 at 18:23
  • @NickolaiLeschov - So you expect us to do your research for you?
    – Ramhound
    Commented Jul 23, 2014 at 18:25
  • @Ramhound Now that wouldn't be nice, would it? Maybe someone already did the research or had experience with the hardware that I'm only going to buy. Isn't that what people on forums do? I guess that kind of exchanging knowledge is better kept to the specialized forums or mailing lists. Unless, as per slhck's advice, it can be phrased as 'how to choose' rather than 'what to choose'!
    – Nickolai Leschov
    Commented Jul 23, 2014 at 18:28
  • A given 802.11ac adapter is going to be exactly like another 802.11ac adapter. The only difference will be number of antennas. Since I have never seen an adapter that can connect to multiple connections the number of recievers would be the same. Anything else like "speed of the connection" can be compared per the specifications of the device itself
    – Ramhound
    Commented Jul 23, 2014 at 18:32
  • @Ramhound Cursory examination of some reviews proves otherwise.
    – Nickolai Leschov
    Commented Jul 23, 2014 at 19:26
  • The first review page was about routers. As for the second set of reviews I did indicate the speed of the product is advertised. The throughput of the device is determined on several factors including the broadband chip being used. But outside of the speed and the number antennas the device has, an 802.11ac device, is an 802.11ac device
    – Ramhound
    Commented Jul 23, 2014 at 19:30
  • possible duplicate of Where to ask for computer hardware suggestions?
    – gparyani
    Commented Aug 5, 2014 at 17:51

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Purchase recommendations are off topic anywhere. Chat's probably the best place to ask (try root access). We don't do 'best' or 'what to buy' questions on SE proper.

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