Knowing the Right Connection For Your Computer

You should understand what kind of Wi-Fi card (or expansion device) you can use with what kind of computer. This will help you to specify the device you need when you are buying it from an online source, and make sure you get what you need the first time.

PCI cards are internal cards for Windows desktop computers only.

PCMCIA cards (also called PC Cards) and mini-PCI cards are for Windows laptops only.

USB devices will plug into any computer with USB connectors, and will work with Windows desktop and Windows laptop computers (and also with Apple computers in many cases).