School me on wireless cards

So I just ordered my new laptop, and there were three options for wireless card. Your basic g/n wireless card, an Intel® Advanced N + WiMAX 6250 a/g/n 2x2 MIMO Technology, and an Intel® Ultimate N WiFi Link 6300 a/g/n 3x3 MIMO Technology.

Now, I don't know much about wireless or the cards. I have a basic home setup with a 2wire wireless gateway. What are the pro's of upgrading the card? What more can I do/configure? Sometimes I will be hooked up via the actually cord, but part of getting a laptop is so I can drag it around with me lol.

I have no clue what any of that stuff is, so just give me the run down on all of it and how it would help/affect me, if at all. 2x2, 3x3, MIMO, etc. Thanks guys!

 

Only thing I noticed between the first 2 is transfer speed.

 

Well ive heard that the basic g/n card isnt great with signal. the difference is the Antennas, the basic has 1, the 6250 has two (also enables wiMax if you want it though AT&T/Verizon) & the 6300 has 3. Depending on where you are going to be, the more Antennas the better signal you can get. best transfer speed is in the 6300. I just ordered my m17x with the 6300, since i am not going to use the Wimax and i will need the best signal if i am at like a college where everyone is using the network. i recommend droping the $70 for it it may help in the long run. unless you want the WiMax for 3G/4G Hoped this helped!

 

If your are not going to use wimax then you don't need the 6250, a 6200 will do. The difference between the 6200 and 6300 is that the 6300 has 3 antennas (as said before) and supports 450mbps, while the 6200 has 2 antennas and supports 300mbps. The difference between the 6200/300 and the stock card is they also support 5ghz and the stock card does not I think (someone correct me if wrong). 5ghz is important for some people but not all, it has less interference. Also the stock card is 150mbps max.

Now on speeds, the difference between a 150 or 450mbps card is really zero for most people. Unless you are transferring files on a home network, you are limited to your Internet speed, probably no more than 10mbps, so having a 450mbps connection is of little value. I am able to stream HD movies over 54mbps Wireless G connection all day long, so 450mbps is overkill (so is 300 for that matter). Since you are using a 2wire router, that has few bells and whistles, I'd get the cheap stock card. If you need to upgrade get the 6200 from provantage.com for $28.

 

The multiple antenna cards should help you with signal strength because EMF signals get attenuated by all kinds of metal obstacles, including parts of the machine itself, which is why very slightly re-orienting a computer on a table can often significantly change your reception. The multiple antennas of the better cards enable many more signal pathways and angles, so you generally have at least one antenna with signal at all times. So goes the theory of multiple antennas. I think they are worth it.

I think the electronics of most modern wireless cards are roughly equivalent since the speed bottleneck is never really the card, but the network delivering your service itself. When you run a speed test online you will always see far lower speeds than your card and machine could support. G & N are both very fast, and most wireless equipment will support all bands and standards prior to whatever is its best.

 

Just dropping in to say that dropping $70 on the wifi card is a bit of a rip off; if you aren't afraid of installing it yourself, you can get it for $35 or so on Newegg or Amazon.

 

Awesome guys, THANKS FOR THE HELP! Cleared it up for me. Still new to the whole wireless game. Rep to you all!

Also, down the line I will just get the 6300 card. Yes, it is a bit overkill, but 3 antennas will help in the long run. Plus, maybe in the next few years we will have 1 Gbps speeds? Doubtful, but one can hope. Cheers guys!

 

the 6300 will give you better range for picking up wifi and the transfer rate is faster.

 

with 1Gbps speeds coming its probably going to be in the life time of your alienware

 

are the 3 antennae already run through the laptop?

 

I would also like to know this. If you only have 2 antennas why get a card that supports more?

 

The M17x r3 does have three antennas; the third one antenna is hidden under the keyboard I think?

What I'm curious about is just how do you install the card?

 

Simple, disconnect the wires and pop out the old one from the Mini-PCI-E slot and install the new one. Reconnect the wires to the new wireless card and boot up the system and install the drivers. Reboot if need be and reconnect to your wireless network.

 

Awesome, thank you!

However, would I have to go through the keyboard or is it under the laptop, the wireless card port I mean?

 

I haven't found out where the location of the card is, but you will probably want to look at the service manual.

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/Alw_M17xR3/en/index.html

 

For most, the basic is just fine. If you use your laptop outside a lot then grab one with more signal strength, but basic will should work just as well. I know most would want the best even if they're not making use, less full use, of its potential. No one is going to be at a great distance for long, no one downloads at full speed all the time, no one transfer files all day long at full speed, not all has adopted Gbps speeds yet.

Pick one that suits your use in most cases. Oh and Gbps isn't gaining much ground yet so I wouldn't worry too much about having support for it.

 

YouTube - ‪Alienware M17X R3 Unboxing‬‏

Start at 10:00

 

Also, quick question. What about the Bigfoot Network cards? Supposedly they are compatible with the m18x and we use almost the exact same card..?