DeskMini 110: M.2 WiFi + antennas - what to buy?

The Intel WiFi card supplied with the DeskMini 110W, is the Dual Band Wireless AC 3160:

http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/wireless-products/dual-band-wireless-ac-3160-bluetooth-brief.html

It is important to know there are multiple form factor models of this WiFi card, and the DeskMini 110's mother board is designed to work with only one of them.

That is the M.2 2226 version, the smaller one whose picture is on the right in the document above.

Any WiFi card that is purchased separately must be the same form factor as the M.2 2226 version of the 3160, or it will not fit correctly in the M.2 slot provided for the WiFi module.

The antenna connections on other WiFi cards may be different as well, and matching the cables and antennas to those cards, if none are supplied with the cards, must be done carefully. The antenna mounts themselves may not fit in the holes provided on the DeskMini 110 case, as their are multiple antenna connection types.

I'm still trying to figure this out myself.  Apparently some Intel M.2 WiFi/BT adapters use a smaller connector than other PCIe WiFi/BT adapters.  So while the antennas that stick out of your case are interchangeable (as long as they support both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHZ, that is) the leads that connect them need to have the smaller connector to properly snap onto some Intel cards.  Other adapters (like Broadcom chipsets) use the standard snap connectors, larger than the Intel ones.

Hi guys,

I am building a deskmini with a i7 6700 (hope it won't run too hot) and I need advices.

For the wifi card, is the "INTEL Dual Band Wireless AC 7265 2x2 AC + BT M.2", compatible ?

https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B00U8IUTNM/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3JWKAKR8XB7XF

or is it simpler to go with a USB wifi card ?

Thanks for your help

Edited by raphael - 14 Dec 2016 at 7:24am

bogon wrote: parsec wrote: Another antenna kit, that I stole from a page in your first link above, looks perfect and seems to include both parts: https://www.amazon.com/Wi-fi-Antenna-RP-SMA-Antennas-Cables/dp/B00A4I3AGE/ref=pd_sim_147_2%3F_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=RFB8406YAA759V2JTJT6 The specs don't actually mention which frequencies those antennas are designed for. It only says "works with Wi-fi and Bluetooth signals", which could mean it's only designed for 2.4GHz and not 5GHz. In fact, it doesn't even say dual-band anywhere in the description.

Good catch, the description farther down on the page mentions use with, "... Intel Centrino Wireless N series cards". Those are only single band, 2.4GHz WiFi cards. So not for use with dual band WiFi adapters, unless they failed to include that in the specs. Normally that means the support is NOT there.

Care also must be taken with the connectors on the cables, there are different types depending upon the WiFi adapter being used.

Sorry, not really a WiFi person. My home is wired with Cat 6 cable, so I'm spoiled, no WiFi for me. I tried it on the DeskMini 110W, and it works, but WiFi can't be matched with wired connections. Even in the USA, where are Internet connections are not the best in the world.

bogon wrote: The antennas themselves are pretty much standard. It's the pigtail cables that you have to worry about. These are the 2 I'm considering: https://www.amazon.com/PORJET-RP-SMA-Antenna-Soldering-Wireless/dp/B01E29566W https://www.amazon.com/RP-SMA-Pigtail-compatiable-7260NGW-wireless/dp/B017ATIQ68 I'm not sure what the cable length is that comes with the 110W, but I saw somebody mention that he had a hard time getting the included cables to reach the connectors when the cpu cooler was in place. So I'm guessing a foot in length should provide enough leeway.

Thanks for posting this, I have a DeskMini 110W, and I can tell you the parts you linked to are correct. I meant to reply to that post, but it got lost in the forest.

Another antenna kit, that I stole from a page in your first link above, looks perfect and seems to include both parts:

https://www.amazon.com/Wi-fi-Antenna-RP-SMA-Antennas-Cables/dp/B00A4I3AGE/ref=pd_sim_147_2%3F_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=RFB8406YAA759V2JTJT6

Regarding the length of the cables from the antenna mounts provided with the DeskMini 110W, they are about eight inches in length. Same as the kit in the link above.

Routing the cables is not that difficult, just route the cable between the CPU cooler and the board's IO ports. I don't use an Intel stock cooler with my DeskMini, and I was able to connect the cables fine. Not much slack but it was a perfect length IMO. I even have an M.2 SSD in the M.2 slot, right above the WiFi module.

12 inch cables would make it easier for anyone to connect the cables, but then some users would complain about the cables being too long. Cable length is subjective, everyone has a different "perfect" length.