Wi-Fi signal booster or AP to use with my Alfa?

I just moved in and there's an available network nearby, but man, the signal is absolutely trash. Since I’m running a laptop with Windows 10, I picked up an Alfica to help out—but even that thing is acting up because the drivers are just terrible, so the connection keeps dropping constantly.
Is there actually a decent signal booster out there—maybe something shaped like a modem—that could grab the signal and actually give me some usable speeds?
The whole deal with the Alfa is that I have to keep my laptop powered on all the time just to get internet for the TV and my phone, plus dealing with Windows 10 being a total headache... it's just not working.
So I'm looking for a fix—do you think I could maybe slap a stronger antenna on the Alfa or something?
The model is AWUS036H v5

".....but she’s also struggling because her drivers are trash, so the connection keeps dropping out."
Drivers basically just handle the handshake between the adapter and your PC, so I highly doubt that's where the disconnect is happening—you'd be getting those annoying USB plug/unplug notifications every few seconds if it were a driver issue.

The drops are likely happening because your signal is weak. There are probably stronger signals nearby, coming from routers close to that main unit or right next to your adapter, and they're just drowning out the weaker stuff you're trying to catch.
Honestly, it doesn't matter if you're rocking an Alpha or some other adapter; we're talking about a difference of just a couple of dB here. You can fix interference by getting a cleaner signal—try switching up the router channel or using directional antennas (like an Ayahuasca or a grid dish) that blast signal in one direction while blocking out all that junk coming from everywhere else.

Just a heads-up: when you're hooking up coax, try to keep it as short and thick as possible 🙂 ...length and cable type both cause signal loss (though a USB cable under 5ft won't give you any trouble).

It keeps happening—my Alpha just keeps dropping the connection over and over again. I finally managed to get it to stay stable after a bit of fiddling, but man, it’s frustrating.
Which router channel should I be using here? Does it actually matter which one I pick, or is it all basically the same?
Also, about that antenna—can I plug it directly into the Alpha? And if so, what would you recommend that won't absolutely wreck my bank account? Thanks!

You basically want to hunt down the channel with the least amount of traffic—the one where nobody's hogging the bandwidth and the signals are weak. It’s all about finding that quiet spot. You gotta check the surroundings from both your router's perspective and your own device, then pick the lane with the fewest users and the weakest interference. If you're on your phone, just grab a "WiFi Analyzer" app. If you're at your desk, something like inSSIDer home on your PC works wonders.

I'm hunting for a Yagi antenna—something around the 2.4GHz range hitting roughly 25dBi. I need to keep the coax run pretty short though, maybe 5m max, and it’s gotta have an RP-SMA connector. Any leads?