Nothing can ruin your day quite as much as lagging out right at the end of that online multiplayer match. You may have one of the best gaming PCs money can buy, but you still find yourself clutching defeat from the jaws of victory - and it’s not even your fault. Well, there’s a simple and low-cost way to banish problems with your local WiFi connection - and that’s installing the best WiFi card for gaming. Even a new budget PC can come with less-than-ideal components. Time for an upgrade? You’ll never lose that battle royale to a flakey wifi connection ever again.
Best WiFi card for gaming at a glance
• Best overall WiFi card for gaming: TP-Link AC1200 Archer T4E Dual Band Wireless PCI Express Adapter - View at Amazon
• Best budget WiFi card for gaming: Ubit 1200Mbps PCIE Bluetooth WiFi Card - View at Amazon
• Best high-speed WiFi card for gaming: Ziyituod 5400Mbps PCIe WiFi 6E Card - View at Amazon
• Best gaming WiFi card for range: TP-Link AXE5400 Tri-Band Wi-Fi Adapter -View at Amazon
We’ve found options to suit all gamers, from fast and furious First Person Shooter fans to players with nerves of steel testing their mettle on racing games or getting immersed in RPGs. We’ve looked at the radio frequencies and top connection speeds as well, so you should find one that’s the perfect match for your home router.
It’s a great time to be an avid gamer, with some of the best PC games ever to hit our collective monitors with immersive stories, next-gen graphics and innovative indie games as well as the AAA titles we all look forward to. From budget options to high-speed gigabit-laden powerhouses, we’ve found the best WiFi cards for gaming - up next.
Best WiFi card for gaming
Best overall WiFi card for gaming
For us, this card from TP-Link really does it all. Hitting the sweet spot in terms of cost versus spec, what we have here is a mid-priced dual-band PCI-E card that will connect to the vast majority of routers in homes today. And that’s down to the bands it can connect to, of course. With a blisteringly fast and solid 5 Ghz band for speeds of up to 867 Mbps, down to standard 2.4 Ghz ac networks for 300 Mpbs connections with just about everything else.
If you’re looking to bring instant, lightning-fast connectivity options to your gaming rig, and at a sensible price from a renowned brand, this is it.
Pros
- A great balance of specification and price - dual bands will connect to most home routers
- Integrated heat sink to keep the card running cooler and faster
- As a 2×2 MIMO (two antennas) model, it can support two data streams with a single device, doubling throughput
Cons
- Some users find the antennas can come unscrewed if adjusted frequently
- No Bluetooth included
Best budget WiFi card for gaming
In all seriousness, a budget gaming PC doesn’t really warrant a high-end WiFi card for gaming. Why? Because, if you were on a budget when you bought your PC it stands to reason that spending over £100 pounds on one high-end card is a little bit like overkill.
The brilliant thing about this budget 1200Mbps PCIE Bluetooth WiFi Card from Ubit is that it really does tick the major boxes for every gamer when it comes to a decent connection to a 5Ghz or 2.4Ghz band router. While you won’t find a large card here with lots of extras on the board like a giant heat sink or Bluetooth (or even a wired network port) what you will find is two decent antennas and a small board that will fit into almost anything.
Users love the practicality of this card, and we agree. It's fast and easy to install. But those antennas are standard fare - they’re not massive either, so anyone with signal strength issues in their house might need to look at our recommendation for the best gaming WiFi card for range, below.
Pros
- One of the most compact and compatible small wifi cards on the market - will fit anywhere
- Bluetooth included for even more connection flexibility
- Dual bands mean easy and reliable connectivity with most routers
Cons
- The Bluetooth 4.2 standard is slightly old
- No heat sink
Best high-speed WiFi card for gaming
Right now, nothing beats the Wi-Fi 6E connection standard (although Wi-Fi 7 is widely rumoured to be due sometime in 2024). This WiFi card from Ziyituod will connect to more common router bands, but it’s the 6E here that will deliver an astonishing 2402 Mbps
It is, though, a Tri-Band router - so on top of that 6GHz frequency there’s also 5GHz and 2.4GHz. Plus it also has extras like Bluetooth 5.2, large and powerful antennas and a massive heatsink to keep it cool. All in all, that makes this WiFi card the one to beat when it comes to next-gen wireless networking speed and performance.
Pros
- Uses the latest Si-Fo 6E chipset for the fastest low-latency gaming connections over 6Ghz band
- Three frequency bands in total widen your connectivity options
- Bluetooth 5.2 is included for fast connections to gaming peripherals and speakers
- The well-designed heat sink will suit any gamer-build PC
Cons
- Bright red board and heat sink may not be to everyone’s taste
Best gaming WiFi card for range
Let’s face it - we don’t all have the luxury of gaming right next to the router, or even on the same floor of the house as the router for that matter. Some houses are also natural WiFi-blockers thanks to thick walls or metal construction materials. Others are plagued with interference from stronger neighbouring signals or equipment like air con and microwave cookers. In this scenario there’s only really one line of attack - improve your range. And that’s really all about the power of the card and, crucially, the number, quality and placement of the antennas on the wifi card.
This AXE5400 from TP-Link has its antennas on a magnetised base - giving you loads of flexibility to maximise your connection strength. It’ll farm out that monster Wi-Fi 6E connection, alongside 5Ghz and 2.4Ghz via those two multi-directional antennas. They’ve even thrown Bluetooth into the package.
You will still need to make sure that this card can be fully utilised by your home router. So, if range or signal strength is your priority, a router upgrade may also be in order. Generally, the
more antennas a router has the better. You could also look into a wi-fi extender (sometimes called a repeater) to boost your range.
Pros
- Delivers connections over three bands, including 6Ghz 6E
- A magnetized antenna base means easy placement of the multi-directional antennas
- The specialized heatsink is gold plated for even cooler running temps
Cons
- If you don’t like desktop clutter you may need to consider moving your router close to your system instead
- Again, the bright red board and heat sink may not suit all systems
Best dual-band WiFi card for gaming
redirect.viglink.com
Sometimes good old dual band is more than enough. For anyone who is satisfied with the speeds they’re getting from their 5Ghz router (and why wouldn’t you be - that’s super fast for any game you can mention) this is going to give you enough flexibility with your connections. So, if you want to connect via the 5Ghz WiFi connection, leaving all of your other traditional 2.4Ghz devices to their own devices, you absolutely can. Separating your gaming bandwidth from the 2.4 GHz one will not only remove you from the same interference and clogged frequencies as items like microwaves, but it’ll also ringfence your bandwidth.
One nice addition at this price point is a sizable heat sink to keep temperatures under control. Bear in mind though, if you’re planning on squeezing this into a crowded case, just make your your free PCI-E slot has enough room next to it for that heat sink to both fit and function well.
Pros
- Reliable and solid dual-band ac connections for maximum router compatibility
- The well-designed heatsink is ideal for blending into any system while keeping cool
- Excellent value - but the money has clearly gone into delivering a solid dual-band card
Cons
- Quite a large card despite only needing a small PCI-E slot
- No Bluetooth included
Best gaming WiFi card with Bluetooth
So, with all this talk of WiFi-this and gigabit-that, why does the humble Bluetooth connection keep making an appearance here? Well, for anyone who hasn’t already got a PC with Bluetooth, or who is running low on spare motherboard slots, this is a godsend.
With this WiFi card, you can not only connect to a 2.4 or 5Ghz network, but you can also hook up your Bluetooth peripherals. Although Bluetooth isn’t known for its low latency for gaming peripherals, the ability to add Bluetooth for headsets and other devices while not adding too much cost is brilliant. All in all, this is a great one-stop-shop for anyone looking to instantly up the connectivity spec of their rig.
But why is this one better than the others in our list that are also sporting Bluetooth? Well, it’s also packing a super low-latency technology that reduces gaming lag by up to 75%. Plus the WiFi 6 chipset is there for the fastest possible 5Ghz data throughput. So, if it’s a gaming card you’re after that will excel in dual bands as well as Bluetooth for your headphones and controllers, this is it. It is more expensive than our top pick here, however, but considering it has a heat sink and hugely high-quality antennas, we think it’s worth every penny.
Pros
- One of the most well-rounded high-end specifications of any WiFi card here
- High-gain antennas for excellent range and signal strength
- A specialised heat sink will keep all that power and speed running smoothly
- Ultra low-latency tech will keep your gaming responsive and lightning-fast
Cons
- Only dual-band (but then again, it’s a beast in terms of build quality and features)
Best WiFi card for gaming: Buyer’s guide
All WiFi cards set out to achieve the same thing. But, for gamers, there are a few things that you should look for. Even a gaming PC that costs less than £1000 might have a fast card, but only one or two small antennas. So, let’s narrow down your choices for the best WiFi card for gaming with these pointers.
Go for WiFi 6 or 6E
We’ll look at what WiFi card bands and radio frequencies do later, but the 6E standard actually introduces the 6Ghz radio band - that means you’ll be gaming on a monstrously fast 2.4Gbps connection (as long as your router can handle it).
Pay attention to the number of antennas
In general, the more antennas you have available on both your card and your router is going to make for a more solid, faster connection - crucial for gaming. Generally, going for a high-speed WiFi card for gaming will ensure you have at least two good-quality antennas. Therefore, a cheap one-antenna model is probably a poor choice. That said, if your PC is close to your router, you may not notice any benefits from having 2 or more.
Choose a card with a heat sink
Keeping any PC component cool is key to speedy performance. So, as long as you don’t have other large components like your graphics card slammed right up against the PCI-E slot you’ll be using, you should be good to go. Having one of the best WiFi cards for gaming with a heatsink to channel heat away from the core components will ensure top speed and reliability.
About the bands on your WiFi card
Connection speeds can vary depending on things like signal strength, as well as the limitations of the actual hardware on the WiFi card. However, the main thing that will ultimately govern how fast your connection can be is the band the card operates on.
2.4Ghz
In the late 1990s (at the dawn of WiFi as we know it) cards using the WiFi standard 11b would top out at a meagre 2Mbps of throughput. A few years later the more familiar 11g standard pushed that up to 54Mbps. Both of those would use the 2.4 GHz radio frequency - leading to speeds of 450 Mbps or 600 Mbps.
5Ghz and above
Over the last decade or so, we’ve seen the inclusion of the 5Ghz radio band which can handle faster speeds and more data throughput. With the 11n and 11ac standards (known as Wi-Fi 4 and 5 respectively) eventually pushing speeds out of the Mbps range and well into the realm of 3.8 gigabits per second and above.
Right now, the leading standard for WiFi connections is Wi-Fi 6 and 6E. In a nutshell, these combined the latest hardware and 2.5/5/6 Ghz radio bands to push data throughput almost as high as 10Gbps. 2024 should see the arrival of WiFi7 which is expected to leap connection speeds right up into the 40+ Gbps range.
Match the card with your router
Any card will be designed with certain radio bands and connection types in mind. So, before you buy a new card, take a moment to look at the band(s) provided by your router. Some routers, like dual-band and even quad-band, will obviously support more than one frequency. So, make sure the one your new card uses is fully supported, and you’ll be enjoying high-speed reliable gaming in no time.
Card types to avoid
Whilst not technically a ‘card’ - we recommend avoiding the USB dongle type WiFi device.
Although they can perform very well indeed for non-gaming purposes, this is a simple case of ‘more is more’. The reason a proper internal WiFi card can deliver both speed and a consistently strong wireless connection is down to being built on a full-sized board. That can include extras like error handling, firmware updates and even heat sinks to keep the card cool and therefore able to operate at full speed.
That said if you’ve ended up here because you have an older PC without any free internal slots - or if you’ve got a mini PC or laptop that can’t be upgraded internally - a USB dongle could be your only option. And you could do far worse than the AC1300 Mini Wireless USB Adapter from TP-Link. It’s one of the few that can reliably handle both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands and pipes all of this through your spare USB 3.0 port.
Best WiFi card for gaming: Jargon buster
We’ve covered radio bands and WiFi standards above, but here’s a quick guide to some of the other terms you’ll come across when looking for the best WiFi card for gaming.
Mbps / Gbps
Signifying Megabits and Gigabits per second, this the key measurement of your connection to the WiFi network and also your router’s connection to the internet. One Gbps is equal to 1,000Mbps. Remember, Gigabits are not the same Gigabytes - the latter being the most common way of gauging the size of a file.
So, if you were downloading a file that’s 1 gigabyte in size (that’s 1000 Megabytes for those who still remember floppy discs..) it would take around 9-10 seconds to download over a 1-gigabit per second connection to the internet.
In terms of WiFi cards for gaming, Mbps and Gbps only relates to the speed of your connection to your router - not the internet itself. So, as long as your router is connected (preferably over a fibre optic connection to your service provider) the faster your WiFi card connection the better the gaming experience. And that goes for those all-important game downloads and updates too.
MU-MIMO
This rather unwieldy acronym is plastered all over the packaging for the best WiFi cards for gaming. It stands for:
Multi-User, Multiple-input, Multiple-Output
Why is this technology important? Well, you won’t find it in cards too old to support the 11ac connection standard, and that’s because it goes hand in hand with managing a much wider bandwidth for data. In short, if you’re in a household with several people using quite a lot of data for gaming, movies and more, MU-MIMO will ensure that every user gets their fair share of the bandwidth and no more - keeping you gaming on a reliable high-speed connection.
PCI and PCI-E
These are two of the most common card types you’ll find on the market. Both terms stand for Peripheral Component Interconnect - a fancy term for a slot in your PC motherboard that can accommodate a separate expansion card. This could be a sound card, USB controller card, or any number of cards for various add-on functionality. You’ll find them in all modern PCs, including popular gaming PCs such as ones with 16GB of RAM - they have plenty of room inside their tower cases for upgrades, from extra RAM to WiFi cards and chunky GPU cards.
The difference between PCI and PCI-E (the E standing for ‘Express’) is that the latter is capable of higher speeds in terms of its data throughput to the motherboard. Most modern PCs will have this type. Somewhat confusingly, PCI-E cards and slots can have varying numbers of pins - which also means the card is longer or shorter in length to suit from the x16 down to the x1 size.
The good news is that it’s backwards-compatible. So, if your PC has a PCI-E x16 slot inside, but your WiFi card is only a much shorter x1 or x4 type, it’ll still work. An x16 card is unlikely to work in a shorter slot, however - but this isn’t something you’ll need to worry about in terms of buying and installing a WiFi card for gaming.
Best WiFi card for gaming: FAQs
What WiFi card is good for gaming?
As we mentioned in our roundup of the best WiFi cards for gaming above, the TP-Link AC1200 Archer T4E Dual Band Wireless PCI Express Adapter is our pick of the best. We think it offers enough choice when it comes to radio bands, uses the latest WiFi connection standards and all without breaking the bank. It will suit all but the most bleeding-edge network geeks.
Can a Wi-Fi card go in any slot?
No. If you’ve got your hands on an older PCI WiFi card, it won’t fit or work with a PCI-E slot. And if you’re not the techie type, don’t be tempted to try to make a card fit into any slot that looks large enough. Always look at the manual for your PC motherboard before plugging anything new into it. All that mentioned, installing a WiFi card is one of the easier modifications anyone can make to their PC and shouldn’t take more than a few minutes.
What speed Wi-Fi card do I need for gaming?
Again, this is all down to what you need to achieve. If you have a router and broadband connection all to yourself, you’ll be less affected by other internet users when it comes to bandwidth. In terms of pure speed though, as long as your router can support the card’s radio band, we recommend at least 5Ghz as that will support up to up to 1300 Mbps - more than enough for your gaming needs.
Chris Duffill is a Tech Product Writer for What's The Best and Yours. His background includes writing, editorial, marketing, design, video production and photography.
He specialises in home entertainment and audiovisual tech, including speakers, amplifiers, turntables, streaming media players, and TVs. He is also one of our resident experts in computing (PCs, tablets, smartphones, smartwatches), DSLR photography and all kinds of digital cameras. He also writes about retro gaming, game consoles and various electronic gadgets. If it plugs in, lights up or makes a noise, he’ll write about it.
Subscribe to the What’s The Best Newsletter to keep up to date with more of the latest reviews and recommendations from the rest of the What’s The Best team.