M17x R2 Wireless

What is the major difference between the Intel® Ultimate N WiFi Link 6300 a/g/n 3x3 MIMO and the regular wireless card? I understand that the MIMO allows for more I/O signals on wireless but is it really worth it? I'm asking because when I ordered my Alienware I added the MIMO, only to find out during a call that it is delaying my laptop by almost 3 weeks, without it they can deliver Monday.

 

If you have a wireless N router that is able to transmit 300 or 450 mbps you need the intel centrino 6300 card to utilize those speeds. Otherwise the Dell card is fine. Also, you can get the cheap card from Dell and buy the 6300 aftermarket. Babyhemi here sells them.

 

I'll just leave it alone, Dell was fighting me on it and I have a nice router that is perfectly capable of the bandwidth (and my internet isn't a slouch either). Thanks

 

The stock card connects at 300mbps but never reaches 11mb/s like the intel 6300 can do. Stock does only around 7-8mb/s.

 

What I like about it is that I can effectively use my m17x to setup a wireless router...

 

Being as it is coming with the SSD already built-in, Win7 automatically disables defrag and enables TRIM (if the SSD supports it, which I'm not sure on this model).

Is there anything I'm going to have to work on it to get the SSD set up properly or should they have it set properly to begin with? I've been reading the SSD setup threads but those mostly seem dedicated to those who are installing aftermarket SSDs.

 

Wrong thread...this one is about the Wireless N adapter.

 

6300 is a very good card, with a better chipset (Intel) compared to Dell's wireless card (Broadcom).

However, it is very easy to change and cheap to get on Ebay whenever you feel inclined to change it.

 

One feature I LOVE about the Dell wireless card is the ability to automatically disable the wireless card when plugged into a wired LAN connection. That is the singlemost important feature for me. I hate having two simultaneous network connections when at home!!

You can't do that with the Intel cards.

 

I would rather have the better Intel card & if I feel the need to turn it off, I'll press the wireless button.

 

Which also turns off bluetooth (not configurable as I understand), therefore no mouse. Kinda hard to use the PC with no mouse!

 

The number of times you press the button determines if wireless &/or bluetooth is on or off. The OSD will show which is on or off with each button press.

 

Care to elaborate on this?

 

I'm guessing he was refering to Intel® My WiFi Technology.

Transforms your laptop into a Wi-Fi Personal Area Network
What it is:

• A driver and application that doubles the capability of the laptop's WiFi adapter
• An industry first—creating a new, full Intel® My WiFi Personal Area Network inside a laptop—like your own portable Wi-Fi router
• Eight personal Wi-Fi Certified* devices can be directly connected to your laptop, while the laptop is simultaneously connected to the Internet

 

Yep most probably, thanks. That does sound pretty cool. I haven't popped my M17 open yet, but is the wifi card hard to access?

 

From what I've seen of the disassembly process, it involves taking the battery and service cover off, then removing all the screws necessary to take off the palm rest in front of the keyboard off. The wifi card is just under there.

 

Get the official service manual here

A must read when disassembling your baby (unless you've done it 100s of times before)

 

Thanks man.