M17x R3 Wireless Card Upgrade - Need suggestions!

Hey guys! I have an alienware M17x R3 with a Killer Wireless-N 1103 card, and I need to upgrade to a new one that supports 802.11ac to get the most out of the new router I just bought. I did a little research and found this one: Killer Wireless-AC 1525 ( Killer Wireless AC 1525 802 11AC w Bluetooth M 2 Form Factor | eBay).

But I'm not a hardware ninja, I have no idea if this one will fit, and I live in a 3rd world country with a very protective economy, so any piece of hardware that I order it takes about 3 months to get here... Pretty sad right? That's why I need your help fellow Notebook Review citizens, it has to be the right fit!

Has anyone here performed such upgrade already? Is there any other options that I should consider instead of the Killer Wireless card that I mentioned?

Any help would be much appreciated!

 

I think you're stuck with either a N-1202, N-1103, or Broadcom 4352.

I use the Broadcom. Great Wifi card.

 

Is it this one? http://www.amazon.com/Azurewave-AW-CE123H-802-11ac-Broadcom-Bluetooth/dp/B00HRFS1GQ
Looks good indeed, it supports 802.11ac which is exactly what I need, and it looks just like the Killer N-1103 as well.
I'll research a bit more about this card, do you have it installed on a R3?

 

That's the one I have, yes. It's a great card. :thumbsup:

 

That one should work flawlessly on your m17x. Let us know how the upgrade goes!

 

No love for the Intel 7260ac card ? I've used it in other laptops and works well

 

I am using Intel 7260AC in my R4 and it is a great card. Killer 1103 worked fine with Windows 7 most of the time, but not so much with Windows 8.1. Intel card works great+can be used to stream the content onto my TV without any cables as an added bonus (works as a laggy second screen). Pretty much constant 866.7Mb/s connection to Asus RT-AC56U with Merlin firmware, no issues what so ever. If anyone wants Killer 1103, I could sell it cheap in UK

 

How hard is it to install the wifi card in the R4? Was looking to upgrade to a Killer card but am using Windows 8.1...

 

It's quite easy: you have to remove the service door, keyboard strip cover and the keyboard. You then gain the access to wifi card slot and 2 more RAM slots.

 

I think I'll go with the Intel 7260AC, I found a local seller who has it.
Is it this one in the picture below? Is it that small or it should be bigger?

 

Yeah, it's really small. It's a great card. I replaced a Dell 1550 with it: that 1550 did some very strange things to my wireless network.

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/802-11ac-...Components_InterfaceCards&hash=item27f21bc06c

Is this one compatible, and is it correct it only has connectors for two wires and not three like my Killer card?

 

It should work, but don't quote me on that.

 

It will work just fine. I got the exact same card to replace Killer N 1103, which also had 3 antennas. You will need to leave the grey wire not connected, while black goes to main and white goes to aux. This is a standard with all wireless cards in all laptops, except some Samsungs, where aux antenna is under the palmrest, while main is in LCD (like the rest of the laptops). Don't forget to get the latest drivers directly from Intel for your new card.

 

I did the replace tonight, took a few pictures while doing it. There's just a little problem, you mentioned the wiring setup... I plugged the white in the main, gray in the aux. Wi-fi is working fine though, I wasn't able to test 802.11ac yet, I'm using 802.11n for now.

But what's the difference in the wiring setup anyway? Am I going to lose anything if I leave the black wire out?
And I might switch them to the order you mentioned since I will need to open the laptop again, the display is acting weird, when I move the screen the colors go crazy, consequence of all the messing around, probably some wire with a bad mood hehe

 

You will not loose anything if you leave the wires the way they are now. There is no difference in which wifi antenna goes where, they will work fine. The only thing to keep in mind is the actual antenna placement in your LCD assembly. In most Dell laptops having 3 antennas main and aux are at the top of the screen, while the 3rd antenna is at the bottom left or right. Main and aux therefore have potential better connectivity. If I were you, I would connect black wire to the main and white to the aux port. Grey wire would stay loose.

 

Opened it up again and switched the wires, screen is also back to normal! It's surprising how delicate everything inside the laptop is, I almost broke the pad around the keyboard when trying to remove it lol
Thank you all for all the help!