The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    Replacing M17x R3 wireless card

    Discussion in 'Alienware 17 and M17x' started by ikant, May 5, 2011.

  1. ikant

    ikant Notebook Guru

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    58
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    I was gonna buy an R3 from Dell but a friend of mine whose EDD is 7 May was going to return his to get the M18x. I convinced him to sell his laptop to me(at the exact price he bought it for of course cause the laptops is not used). I am really psyched about getting the laptop so soon but the only problem is he bought his with the default wireless card(wireless 802.11b/g/n) and I wanted the Intel 6300 Ultimate. my question is that can the wireless card be replaced easily. I understand that the 6300 has 3 antennas. Do all the 3 antennas come installed even with the default card? I am thinking of getting this off Newegg. Will it work? Or should i contact Dell and get the card from them. Also how hard is it to access the card and replace it. I have no experience with dismantling laptops and replacing their parts but i've messed around a lot with desktops. Do you think i'd be able to replace it?
     
    ikant, May 5, 2011
    #1
  2. LVNeptune

    LVNeptune Notebook Virtuoso

    Reputations:
    648
    Messages:
    2,195
    Likes Received:
    140
    Trophy Points:
    81
    From what everyone has said it does in fact have all antennas so you can upgrade it later.
     
    LVNeptune, May 5, 2011
    #2
  3. Jestare

    Jestare Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    34
    Messages:
    165
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Same as LVNeptune said, and the wireless slot is found underneath the keyboard, so there is quite a bit of dismantling required. If you are planning to upgrade the RAM anytime soon, you may want to do them at the same time (and pray that neither are faulty).
     
    Jestare, May 5, 2011
    #3
  4. LVNeptune

    LVNeptune Notebook Virtuoso

    Reputations:
    648
    Messages:
    2,195
    Likes Received:
    140
    Trophy Points:
    81
    It's not THAT difficult, probably 10 or so screws total and most are the same length...if not all...

    Pretty easy to figure out IMO :)
     
    LVNeptune, May 5, 2011
    #4
  5. ikant

    ikant Notebook Guru

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    58
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Yeah i feared that it might be under the keyboard. Just saw joebarchuck's video on youtube that showed how to upgrade the ram. He also removed the KB to access the remaining ram slots. Seems doable. Could someone point out where is the wireless card in the video. Also how exactly am i supposed to upgrade the wireless card, I mean how is the existing one attached? Just replacing it and installing drivers for new one should do the job right?
    YouTube - Alienware M17X R3 Swapping RAM - Easy guide on changing RAM on the M17X R3
     
    ikant, May 5, 2011
    #5
  6. Tapakidney

    Tapakidney Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    176
    Messages:
    648
    Likes Received:
    19
    Trophy Points:
    31
    The wireless card is pretty much right at the center. You undo a screw, pop old out, attach antennae to new, pop new in, replace screw. All the screws you remove ARE different sizes, so be careful. Also watch for sharp edges!

    You install the proper drivers for it just like you would any device, so nothing weird there.
     
    Tapakidney, May 5, 2011
    #6