Not always, it can depend on the hardware installed. I had this old laptop from like '02 i think and had a little Belkin wireless USB stick and it only had about 3/4 of the range the laptop had, also having used alot of various wireless usb devices (my dad ALWAYS plugged directly into the router) I have found major discrepancies between alot of them like the range they have, reliability, network speed, driver complications. So far I have always had best result with Linksys and high end Belkin products.
I did look up the model your using and stick devices like that can fall host to it's own sort of problems. I've had cases where the actual usb plug had bent n that messed up the wifi, or had ones that had gotten hit while plugged in and either bent it or would cause driver issues. The best solution i have found is to get a USB extender cable and run it up a wall and fasten it somehow and put your wireless stick on that. Generally you want to have it as high off the ground and away from obstructions as possible.
