Killer Wireless-N 1103

Anybody else noticed that this is now an option on the m14x?

Odd that they have the 1103 listed but say it's 2x2, when the 1103 is in fact 3x3.

 

hmm... that sucks. looks like we early adopters need to do it ourselves

 

I suppose in response to the complaints about the 6205 card? Nice to see dell taking feedback into account.

Flybass: I'm sure you could send it back to dell and ask for the upgrade.

 

Anybody have any idea on why it's listed as 2x2 when it is a 3x3 card? Is it just listed wrong or does Dell still only run 2 antennas?

 

Muahaha, procrastination wins again. I'm gonna order it this week.

 

Maybe they mean the 1102 card?

 

Whats wrong with the 6205 card?

I placed my order 3 days before the killer N became available

 

That killer NIC card sounds great, I doubt I would've added it though, but I might want to replace my stock intel wifilink 1000, it's crap.

 

I have a feeling they are saying 2x2 because they are not routing a third antenna in the M14x models.

If you are buying new, I would get the 1103 regardless of the fact that they only connect 2 antennas to it. You will get 300Mbps out of it as is. If you are more frugal, or already got your laptop, go on ebay and buy the Bigfoot 1102 for $45. Or, if you want to avoid all costs just buy an Atheros card (which is the equivalent) for even less ($15-$20).

Anything is better than the Intel stuff.

Here is some links for those looking to get a replacement:

http://cgi.ebay.ca/Bigfoot-networks...593?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a11c44419 This is the person I bought mine from - great seller.

http://cgi.ebay.ca/Half-Mini-PCI-E-...137?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a1112a1a9 Perfectly good card - and will give you the same performance for half the price.

 

did you get a bigfoot networks sticker with it too?

 

will it consume more battery life considering its faster than the stock antenna?

 

Hey, I want to upgrade my wireless card. But the 1102 has 3 connectors, the m14x has 2, it doesn't have another antenna, would that be an issue? Or you just don't use the last antenna connector on the card?

 

no 1102 has 2 connectors, the picture is just wrong. the pic is of a 1103, which has 3.

 

Yeah sorry - the guy that is selling them posted a picture of an 1103, but he is indeed selling an 1102 with only 2 connection points.

You can run it without the third antenna and buy an 1103 though (if you can find them). Won't hurt anything. You just won't get the theoretical maximum 450Mbps out of it. You will get up to 300Mbps (because each antenna can get up to 150Mbps using wireless N).

I investigated whether I could add a third antenna myself, and there is a spot on the motherboard side of the unit to do it, but the antennas route up through the display. There are no instructions at Dell on how to dismantle the display, so I said forget it and just bought an 1102 (which has 2 antenna connection points). Card is great - and lag is no longer an issue (unlike my Intel 6205). The card is plug and play pretty much. Remove the battery, uncrew one screw on the old card, pull it out, pop in the new one and screw it down and put the battery back on. That's it! It's about as easy as you can get.

Here is a picture of what it will look like:



You can see that the location is there for the 3rd connector, it just isn't soldered on. Also, the driver from the Killer Networks website works with the 1102 or the 1103 - validating that they are identical except for the extra connection point.

 

I have never done this procedure:

Do you have to use a new antennae or can you use the one that came with the laptop? Do you have to solder the antennae onto the wireless card or does it have a clip of some sort? Thanks in advance!

 

The original antennae are fine, they snap into place.

 

will this Killer Wireless card reduce/decrease ping, jitter and lag during online gaming??? I know these things depend on our Internet connection too.

 

If you already have a decent connection with your current card I doubt you'll see any difference. I think this helps more with a weak signal and or a over polluted wifi area.

 

Possibly. Enough to notice? Doubtful.

 

I hear there is a difference, especially in bandwidth-heavy games like WoW.

 

Well, the stock card is apparently half the speed of the old upgraded Intel 6205 card that you could order.

The 6205 had serious connection issues.

 

My connection at home is 20 down and 3 up and my 6205 has no problem maxing it out so I really don't see how upgrading to a better card would make anything go faster. And as far as I've seen I've had no connection issues with the 6205 so I'm not really sure why people don't like it? Under what conditions does it have bad performance? I upgraded from the Intel 1000 to the 6205 for like $15 and it's sooo much better IMO.

 

There is definitely a difference. I think you will only notice it if you are playing a game that requires a persistent connection. First Person Shooters are a good example of this.

In quake live, you can open the console and type 'cg_lagometer 1' which shows your connection graphically. Every 20-30 seconds I was getting heavy spikes that lasted 5-8 seconds which ended in me being killed in lots of instances. Got tired of the issues, so I got the Killer 1102.

Been smooth sailing ever since. I think its important to note that nothing else on my laptop was the cause of my problem, nor was my internet responsible for this. I even installed the 6205 card in another laptop, and it came back with the same exact problem too.

I'm staying away from Intel cards from now on.

 

I had the same results when I switched from the intel 6200 card to the bigfoot 1102 card in my m11x.

 

it may the most stupid question ever but i didnt get it . all the benefits that this network card provides is just for wireless connection or for cable normal connection as well?;o ty

 

just wireless

 

Anandtech posted yesterday a comparison of the Killer Wireless and a bunch of wireless cards. Does a pretty good job holding up against them.

AnandTech - Bigfoot?s Killer-N 1102 Wireless Networking vs. the World

It's mentioned on the second to last page of the article that the laptop vendor that sent them systems is also selling the Killer-N 1102 and 1103 cards on their own on Amazon. I just ordered a 1102 to replace the Intel 6205 that I got with my system. Should be a nice upgrade for when I use OnLive.

 

onlive? kinda having a gaming notebook...........defeats the purpose of onlive?

Pretty sure the whole is idea is access to games without buying expensive hardware............... a £1200 m14x.

Great post but did find that closing comment very amusing

 

I know I know. I don't discriminate when it comes to gaming services. I use OnLive for some games, but I also have Steam installed for others. Well I do sort of discriminate... I refuse to buy anything new on Impulse now that GameStop owns them and I loath Direct2Drive. Origin kinda pisses me off too cause I have to use it for the Old Republic, but OnLive I'm cool with cause they sometimes have good sales and you don't have to install. With this M4 SSD I'm a little cautious about going crazy and installing every game I own on Steam even though I have 256GB of breathing room. Anyway, I'm glad you found my comment amusing.

 

Nice to know you can upgrade this... But I'm wired 90% time anyways so not a big deal to me

 

I got the Killer Wireless and can honestly say it is the best card I have ever used. I am picking up signals from three different neighbors (4 bars on two of them). Absolutely no lag at all when gaming. I think next to the HD LED display, the Killer Card is the next best upgrade. Just my opinion of course...

 

Does anyone know if you order the one on amazon do you have to buy a third antenna to plug into it?

 

I pre-ordered the 1103 from fortnax when this upgrade came available for the m18x and just received my card in the mail a few days ago...mine had 3 plug in points and easily installed it myself within 5 minutes. Downloaded the driver from bigfoot networks and everything seems perfect. Hope this helps

 

I just got mine few mins ago from Canada Post , Haven't installed yet , laptop is not with me , will install it tonight , hope its better then my n6300.

 

If you only have two antenna wires... buy the 1102. If you have three antenna wires... buy the 1103.

 

Could I just buy another antenna wire so I can use the 1103?

 

Yes you can. My m11x came with only 2 antenna, I ordered 3 more antenna and installed them so I could use a wwan card and the 1103 card. But one of my 1103 antenna is set up as a external high gain antenna to pick up long range wifi.

 

Great! Do you have a link to the correct antenna?

 

When I got mine I just found a recycler who was taking apart m11x laptops to sell off the good parts. You might have a little harder time finding one for the m14x.... but you can also buy universal ones off ebay too.
You could also buy this and make it simple
Dell Alienware M14X LCD screen P/N F7VG6 | eBay

 

I have the 1102. With the Bigfoot software & driver, the fan came on high a lot. Battery life was about 2 hours. So, I uninstalled the Bigfoot software & driver and installed the driver for the Atheros AR9382 (AR5BHB116). This is just a driver; there is no fancy software tool. Now, the fan is quiet a lot of the time -- much better. Of course, now I do not have the Bigfoot software for controlling bandwidth among applications but I can live with that.

L.

 

since my band width sucks when I plug my rj-45 cable in. I would never buy this, unless your in a college or something... But hey they have a rj-45 cable there as well! Rj-45 still the fastest thing around, and wireless hd still costs a lot of money to be used.

 

So does the killer 1103 in the m14x have 2 or 3 antennas? also some people keep referring to the 1102. M14x is only offered with 1103 and not the 1102.

 

1103 - 3 antenna ports
1102 - 2 antenna ports

I put a 1102 in my m14x, works like a champ. I think to the drivers and the BIOS the 1102 and 1103 look essentially the same.

 

Hi everyone .

I just bought killer wireless n-1103 from Fortnax n i just realized that m14x had 2 antennas so which one do i need to plug in 1 . 2 or 3 ?
there's 2 wire white & black .. plss advice /

 

1 and 2. 10 char