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I have a Nighthawk AC1900 Smart WiFi Router (Model R7000), and it's excellent. I've got it connected to my sister's desktop computer (Dell Optiplex) via an ethernet connection, and we both use our laptops to connect via WiFi whenever we need to.
I also have a Dell XPS Studio 9100 desktop that I want to get a USB WiFi adapter for, and wondered if anyone could recommend a good one? I want to use the 5GHz band to connect, and I understand some WiFi adapters don't support that.
Correct. Some Wi-Fi adapters only support 2.4 GHz. What you want is a dual-band adapter.
Since you have a R7000, a dual-band USB Wi-Fi adapter that supports 802.11ac would be ideal. Netgear's A6XX series of adapters support 802.11ac (link). The A6100 is slower than either the A6200 or A6210 but any of them can offer real-world speeds in excess of 200 Mbps up to 400 Mbps or so.
If your Internet service is slower than that or budget is a concern that you can consider a dual-band 802.11n adapter.
If budget is not a concern and speed is paramount, then cross-shop other brands because Netgear's USB Wi-Fi adapters can't leverage the R7000's speed to its fullest. To do that, will want an AC1900 class USB Wi-Fi adapter. A Google search for ac1900 usb adapter is a good place to start.
Finally, read the reviews. Some may work better than others.
I am using a Edimax EW-7822UAC and it is working OK on 5GHz with a R7900. I am getting about 205 Mbs wireless but can get 350 Mbs wired. Not sure what is limiting the wireless speeds but it is plenty fast for what I normally do.
Correct. Some Wi-Fi adapters only support 2.4 GHz. What you want is a dual-band adapter.
Since you have a R7000, a dual-band USB Wi-Fi adapter that supports 802.11ac would be ideal. Netgear's A6XX series of adapters support 802.11ac (link). The A6100 is slower than either the A6200 or A6210 but any of them can offer real-world speeds in excess of 200 Mbps up to 400 Mbps or so.
If your Internet service is slower than that or budget is a concern that you can consider a dual-band 802.11n adapter.
If budget is not a concern and speed is paramount, then cross-shop other brands because Netgear's USB Wi-Fi adapters can't leverage the R7000's speed to its fullest. To do that, will want an AC1900 class USB Wi-Fi adapter. A Google search for ac1900 usb adapter is a good place to start.
Finally, read the reviews. Some may work better than others.
The Edimax EW-7822UAC driver is included with Windows 10, just plug it in, and the drivers for other versions of WIndows come on a CD or download for the latest drivers. It also supports OSX and LINUX.
