In today’s life, the three among the most necessary things are a good laptop, a smartphone, and a high-speed internet connection. The first two depend on a user’s budget and specific requirements so that the choice can be changed to person by person. And for the high-speed internet connection, the common things are a good-quality modem, a router, a reliable ISP (Internet Service Provider).
For having a better speed and better connectivity, a solid essential thing is a USB Wireless Adapter. Especially when it comes to online gaming, no one wants to compromise with the speed and connectivity. A good-quality gaming wireless adapter certainly adds some extra functionality to your internet connection to enhance your enjoyment of gaming. Here we are providing the top rated USB WiFi adapters will take your gaming experience to a new level.
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The high-end design with an excellent performance makes the Netgear A6210 to be placed at the top place of our list of the best USB WiFi adapter for gaming. It has a similar tiny design like the TP-Link and Edimax USB Wireless adapters. Check the detailed review of Netgear A6210 WiFi Adapter here.
Main features and specifications of the Netgear AC1200 A6210 USB WiFi Adapter are:
This T4U AC 1200 dual band USB gaming wireless adapter from TP-Link provides the speed of up to 300Mbps with 2.4GHz or 867Mbps with 5GHz. For an enhanced online gaming experience, the 5GHz band is advisable if you are living in a crowded area.
Features and Specifications of TP-Link Archer T4U USB Wireless Adapter are:
The WUSB6300 USB wireless adapter from Linksys allows you to connect your PC or laptop to a high-speed wireless AC network. It helps you to enjoy lag-free online gaming and HD video streaming.
Features of the Linksys WUSB6300 Wireless Adapter are:
You can enjoy the high-speed performance with an extended WiFi coverage with the NET-DYN USB WiFi adapter. It has a slim and nano design which allows you to connect it with the free USB port of your computer without disturbing other USB ports.
Features of the NET-DYN USB WiFi Adapter are:
Glam Hobby has designed this high-speed gaming wireless adapter to provide you an enhanced gaming experience on your computer or laptop PC. It streams videos and media at a lightning speed of 433Mbps without waiting for buffering and loading.
Features of the Glam Hobby AC600 USB Wireless Adapter are:
Alfa USB WiFi adapter gives you a powerful, long-range performance by delivering blazing-fast wireless speeds. It is an ideal WiFi adapter for gaming at home or office or wherever you want.
Features of the Alfa Long-Range USB WiFi Adapter are:
Upgrade your laptop or PC to a wireless AC network with the help of D-Link DWA-182 USB WiFi adapter. This wireless AC1200 dual band network adapter provides amazing fast speed to achieve a peak performance of your network service.
Features of the D-Link DWA-182 Wireless USB WiFi Adapter are:
Wireless Protocols | Speed | Operating System | Weight | |
---|---|---|---|---|
NETGEAR AC1200 | 802.11 A/C | 300/867 Mbps | Linux, Windows XP, Windows 8, Windows C | 8.8 ounces |
TP-Link Archer T4U AC 1200 | 802.11 A/C | 1200Mbps | Mac OS X 10.7 Lion, Linux, Windows XP, Windows 8, Windows C | 3.2 ounces |
Linksys WUSB6300 | 802.11A, 802.11B, 802.11G, 802.11n | 867Mbps speed with 5GHz and 300Mbps speed at 2.4GHz | Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 8 | 5.3 ounces |
NET-DYN | 802.11n, 802.11b, 802.11g | 150Mbps | Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, XP,Linux,Mac OS X 10.6-10.10 | 0.3 ounces |
Glam Hobby AC600 | 802.11n | 150Mbps speed at 2.4GHz and 433Mbps speed at 5GHz | Windows 8.1/8/7/XP/Vista(32-bit and 64-bit) | 0.3 ounces |
Alfa USB WiFi Adapter | 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ac | N 300Mbps and AC 867Mbps | Linux, Windows XP, Windows Vista | 8.8 ounces |
We know that there are a number of WiFi USB adapters available in the market which give top speed, performance, and reliability. They are good to have for the general purpose of surfing the web or just checking Facebook wall or Twitter tweets. But, when it comes to a particular need like gaming, performing with high-end applications, etc. then you should choose a wireless adapter which comes with the specially designed features. For example, there are wireless adapters for PCs, Windows 10 WiFi adapter, top-class adapters for Kali Linux, USB WiFi dongles (adapters) for gaming consoles like Xbox, and much more. They are specially designed and featured to give an ultimate performance in the particular task.
If you are going to get the best WiFi adapter for gaming, then check these below things to have a clear idea of what you are buying.
Distance
You know particularly well that using a WiFi connection means facing problems regarding distance. The far you go, the less signal you will get. This can be extended by using the high gain antennas, or placing the adapter where it has to deal with minimum barriers, etc. But, it also depends on the frequency the adapter has. The technology advancements are good, but sometimes they give bad impressions too. Like in the case of the gaming wireless adapters, most people prefer the adapter with the support of the 5GHz band and using it most of the time. It is good if you are living in a crowded environment, but one thing you may not know is that the 5GHz frequency has less wireless range than the older 2.4GHz. So, you should check which kind of band your adapter is using and what actually you need from it. If it supports both the bands, then you can change them as per your need of distance and speed.
Speed
For a wireless connection, speed always matters.
The latest wireless protocol 802.11ac has a maximum transfer speed of 1.3Gbps, and the modern WiFi adapters come with support to it, which is good. But, it only works on the 5GHz band and so if you prefer distance over speed, then it is better to stick with your old 2.4GHz band. The 2.4GHz band supports Wireless-N protocol which can transmit up to 150/300 Mbps speed which is not at all slow for the personal use.
There are some other things you should consider like the size of the gaming wireless adapter to match with your USB ports without disturbing the nearby ports, the bundled accessories like antennas to have a long distance range and reliability of connection, the price of the wireless adapter to fit in your budget, the Operating System it supports and what you are using on your system, the wireless protocols it supports, and the supported features and applications it come with.
Conclusion
There are a bunch of brands claiming the wireless adapter they provide is the best among all (plunderer; it’s not). Admittedly, it can become the tough task to decide which is the best gaming wireless adapter to worth your money. Because there are different types of wireless adapters with different functionalities and price. As well as there are various types of internet users too with having own requirements. But most commonly, the choice of a good wireless adapter for gaming depends on your budget, the network connection you are using and your purpose of gaming (whether you are a serious gamer or just want to spend some minutes to feel relax).