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    M14 - Wireless Card Upgrade Option ...Worth It?

    Discussion in 'Alienware 14 and M14x' started by Voodooi, Apr 21, 2011.

  1. Voodooi

    Voodooi AFK for a while...

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    Intel® Ultimate N WiFi Link 1000 a/g/n 1x2

    ...which is stock.

    VS

    Intel® Ultimate N WiFi Link 6205 a/g/n 2x2 MIMO Technology

    ...which is 30$.

    Would the upgrade increase my download/upload speeds or is it just a signal range increase?

    Thoughts?
     
    Voodooi, Apr 21, 2011
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  2. chqshaitan

    chqshaitan Notebook Enthusiast

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    the x2 in theory should help with range and quality of the signal, but it would require an appropriate access point with the same technology, but dont quote me on that :)
     
    chqshaitan, Apr 21, 2011
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  3. chqshaitan

    chqshaitan Notebook Enthusiast

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    chqshaitan, Apr 21, 2011
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  4. Voodooi

    Voodooi AFK for a while...

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    Voodooi, Apr 21, 2011
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  5. chqshaitan

    chqshaitan Notebook Enthusiast

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    no worries bud, but bare in mind that it depends on your access point. if it doesnt support mimo you may not notice any difference, but for 30 dollars, you have nothing to loose.
     
    chqshaitan, Apr 21, 2011
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  6. Serephucus

    Serephucus Notebook Deity

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    Anyone have any idea what the upgraded WiFi would do for battery? It's a main source of battery drain as-is. Is the upgrade any more... efficient, or does it just suck more power?
     
    Serephucus, Apr 21, 2011
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  7. Voodooi

    Voodooi AFK for a while...

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    Apparently it's more efficient from what I read and uses less juice, potentially increasing battery life when surfing.
     
    Voodooi, Apr 21, 2011
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  8. sk3tch

    sk3tch Notebook Deity

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    Why not spend the extra few bucks and get the WiMax version (6250)?
     
    sk3tch, Apr 21, 2011
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  9. HisSvt2

    HisSvt2 Notebook Consultant

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    always worth it to upgrade when its Intel wireless.
     
    HisSvt2, Apr 21, 2011
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  10. carnid

    carnid Newbie

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    I've already ordered my M14x and didn't upgrade the wireless. Does anyone know if it is possible later on to upgrade from the stock 1000 to the 6205 or are these soldered / part of the motherboard?
     
    carnid, May 8, 2011
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  11. Lunatics

    Lunatics Notebook Evangelist

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    I wanted to ask this same thing. I know in most laptops you can open them up and replace the wireless cards so is it the same in the m14x? I'd prefer to buy it with the cheap stock one and upgrade later if I needed/have more money or would the part be like >50 dollars and just not worth it to upgrade after as opposed to the ram for instance.
     
    Lunatics, May 8, 2011
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  12. Serephucus

    Serephucus Notebook Deity

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    If the M14x has the same philosophy as the M17x, then yes, you can. You can swap out the cards, and all the necessary antennae will be taped down to the chassis already; all you'll have to do is connect them to the new card.
     
    Serephucus, May 8, 2011
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  13. c1ro

    c1ro Notebook Consultant

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    This is my UK spec 6205 fitted in factory. If you want to get Wimax you may need a third antenna. Not sure on this as Wimax is not available in EU anyway.

    About the other slot next to it, no idea if I can put a Runcore SSD from my mini9 in there. Any suggestion?
    [​IMG]
     
    c1ro, May 8, 2011
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  14. carnid

    carnid Newbie

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    Cool, so the stock version will have both antennas if you were to fit a 6205 card later then? I understand a separate antenna would be required for WiMax.
     
    carnid, May 8, 2011
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  15. PhillyWonka

    PhillyWonka Notebook Enthusiast

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    I dont see a need for the upgrade. Passed on it with mine
     
    PhillyWonka, May 9, 2011
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  16. Serephucus

    Serephucus Notebook Deity

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    Oh wow! I didn't realise there was a full height PCIe slot available! Hmmm.... now that's tempting... Throw one of these in there, and I could still keep the 750GB HDD, and the optical drive...
     
    Serephucus, May 9, 2011
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  17. Paddon

    Paddon Notebook Evangelist

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    hmm PCIe slot.. does that mean we can put a tv tuner inside ?
     
    Paddon, May 9, 2011
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  18. justinmpierson

    justinmpierson Notebook Enthusiast

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    I though the exact same thing... tried the runcore from my old mini9, fit like it was made for it, but the system didn't detect anything. I think I read elsewhere in this forum (the search doesn't seem to be working right) that something is missing to make this work... anyone know if Dell is planning on adding this? (would be nice to have an extra 32gb ssd with out scrapping the dvd)
     
    justinmpierson, Sep 28, 2011
    #18