Wi-Fi Query

[Googer]

My new PC shipped today and it has a wi-fi connection provided by the on-board Asus motherboard. An accompanying PCS email surprised me by giving details on how to connect the wi-fi antenna to the PC. I have been using PCS equipment, both gaming PC and Laptop, with Asus motherboards containing on-board wi-fi but never had to use an antenna. This seems such a huge backward step. Why do new Asus motherboards require such old technology?
The full PC spec is shown below:

Product Category Product Description

Case CORSAIR iCUE 5000X RGB MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU ) AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D Eight Core CPU (4.2GHz-5.0GHz/104MB w/3D V-CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard ASUS® ROG STRIX X670E-A GAMING WIFI (AM5, DDR5, PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 6E)
Memory (RAM) 32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 5600MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card 16GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 4080 - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st M.2 SSD Drive 2TB CORSAIR CORE XT MP600 NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD (up to 5000 MB/R, 4400 MB/W)
2nd M.2 SSD Drive 2TB CORSAIR CORE XT MP600 NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD (up to 5000 MB/R,4400 MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIESTM MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable 1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead, 1.0mm Core)
Processor Cooling CORSAIR iCUE H100i ELITE CAPELLIX XT RGB High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Extra Case Fans 1 x 120mm Thermaltake TOUGHFAN 12 Case Fan
Sound Card ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card ONBOARD 2.5Gbe LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card NOT REQUIRED
USB/Thunderbolt MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00003]
Browser Google ChromeTM
Warranty 3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)

 

[davhun]

My new PC shipped today and it has a wi-fi connection provided by the on-board Asus motherboard. An accompanying PCS email surprised me by giving details on how to connect the wi-fi antenna to the PC. I have been using PCS equipment, both gaming PC and Laptop, with Asus motherboards containing on-board wi-fi but never had to use an antenna. This seems such a huge backward step. Why do new Asus motherboards require such old technology?
The full PC spec is shown below:

Product Category Product Description

Case CORSAIR iCUE 5000X RGB MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU ) AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D Eight Core CPU (4.2GHz-5.0GHz/104MB w/3D V-CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard ASUS® ROG STRIX X670E-A GAMING WIFI (AM5, DDR5, PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 6E)
Memory (RAM) 32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 5600MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card 16GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 4080 - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st M.2 SSD Drive 2TB CORSAIR CORE XT MP600 NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD (up to 5000 MB/R, 4400 MB/W)
2nd M.2 SSD Drive 2TB CORSAIR CORE XT MP600 NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD (up to 5000 MB/R,4400 MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIESTM MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable 1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead, 1.0mm Core)
Processor Cooling CORSAIR iCUE H100i ELITE CAPELLIX XT RGB High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Extra Case Fans 1 x 120mm Thermaltake TOUGHFAN 12 Case Fan
Sound Card ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card ONBOARD 2.5Gbe LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card NOT REQUIRED
USB/Thunderbolt MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00003]
Browser Google ChromeTM
Warranty 3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)

Since you do not have a wireless network card but wire your router directly to the computer via the LAN port, I assume you may not need the wi-fi antenna installed.
However, others (like myself) do need the wireless network enabled, not only for the router, but also for printers etc. A decent antenna just ensures you get a better signal.

 

[ubuysa]

External antennas are far from being an ancient technology, in fact for some people they are essential.

Basically, and you can Google this for yourself, an external antenna has a higher gain than an internal antenna, and so enables the signals to penetrate walls more effectively. In addition, an internal antenna spreads the transmit power in all directions equally - it's omnidirectional. This means that some power is going into sending signals in directions which you don't need - straight up and straight down for example. External antennas transmit power in more of a doughnut shape, so that more power is directed outwards and much less straight up and down. They can also be physically adjusted to skew the doughnut in whatever direction is required.

Additionally, a PC, encased in a metal box operating like a Faraday cage, generally needs external antennas to propagate a signal of sufficient strength. Plastic bodied laptops don't have that problem.

The bottom line is that for some, external antennas are not needed, and you may be one of those fortunate people, but for others they are essential. Think of them as optional rather than redundant.