Replacement for dead 802.11b/g/n network adapter mini pcie

[BIG_W]

I've performed troubleshooting on pc & concluded that WiFi adapter is bad . Please advise if possible to replace with one achieving more Mbps?

[erico]

What steps did you follow in your troubleshooting that led you to that belief?

Which adapter is installed?

I would recommend installing one of the wifi adapter in the following list: drivers are available for these at Intel

Intel(R) Centrino(R) Wireless-N 1000 
Intel(R) Centrino(R) Wireless-N 1030 
Intel(R) Centrino(R) Advanced-N 6230 
Intel(R) Centrino(R) Advanced-N 6200 AGN

The Intel(R) Centrino(R) Advanced-N 6200 AGN is the best and fastest of the adapters in the list.

[BIG_W]

I followed the list of troubleshooting steps detailed on 

support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/10741/fix-network-connection-issues :

a) Network troubleshooter on PC (Windows Network Diagnostics)showed the offending device to be the Ethernet adapter, Realtek PCIe FE Family Controller, PNP Device ID:
PCI\VEN_10EC&DEV_8136&SUBSYS_1671103C&REV_05\4&33DE31BF&0&00E1

b) the driver of which I rolled back from device mgr

c) shut down, remove battery, reboot
STILL NO NETWORK CONNECTION,
ETHERNET ICON ON PC TASKBAR CONTAINS RED "X",
NO WIFI ICON DISPLAYED ON TASKBAR
WIFI LIGHT ON FUNCTION KEY (F12) REMAINS ORANGE WHEN PRESSED

d) attempted to update network adapter driver from HP Recovery Manager. I selected both the Ethernet adapter (Realtek) and the Ralink RT5390 802.11b/g/n WiFi Adapter.
The Ethernet adapter updated, but received the following RE the WiFi Adapter (Ralink):
"One or more of the selected drivers and/or applications may not have properly installed and have been marked with "Exclamation mark". Please uninstall these from the computer before attempting to install them again from HP Recovery Manager.(error code=-2147213312)"

e) I could not locate the WiFi adapter via device mgr. (Later research on a different website revealed I needed to check VIEW > SHOW HIDDEN DEVICES in order for the WiFi adapter to display, which I uninstalled.)

f) I turned off firewall

g) I turned off antivirus

h) Restart PC; no change

i) Performed network reset to reinstall network devices

j) Restart PC; no change.

Which adapter?

a) The formerly installed adapter is the Ralink RT5390 802.11b/g/n WiFi Adapter, which I have since uninstalled via device mgr.

b) The former info from System Info shows "Installed_Yes; PNP_Device ID Not Available;
Service Name_netr28x

c) Research on a different website suggested to open the PC and remove and reseat the Network Adapter PCIe card, which I did.

d) Restart PC; no change

All of which leads me to conclude that the hardware, specifically the WiFi adapter is what is bad and needs replacement.
Upon searching for a replacement, I see USB external WiFi adapters, some of which have 1200 Mbps compared to 150 Mbps in the original internal Ralink b/g/n. The reviews almost all mention a noticeable improvement in speed of network communication. This is why I asked my original question regarding feasibility of replacing the internal WiFi adapter.
Of the drivers you supplied, are they compatible with my HP laptop g7-1338dx, or with the Ralink RT5390, or are you suggesting I replace the card with the hardware corresponding to the drivers you listed?
It's a little unclear to me.

[erico]

The adapters that I suggested were optionally installed by HP in your notebook. They all are supported by the notebook's BIOS.

You will only be able to get Gigabyte bandwidth from a USB adapter because of the antenna configuration in your notebook.

I suggest using a button sized 802.11ac USB wifi adapter. YOu can leave it plugged in and you will hardly notice its physical presence.