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    Wireless Card Choices

    Discussion in 'Alienware 17 and M17x' started by SwingOp3, Jun 3, 2012.

  1. SwingOp3

    SwingOp3 Newbie

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    Greetings everybody,
    I've purchased an M17x R4 a few hours ago and was looking through the forums because I was second guessing my choosing the Intel 2230 as opposed to the Intel 6250 wireless card. I don't feel I need a Killer card and felt the 6250 for $50 was a lot of money for not much benefit. I did find, though, a couple of comments about the range of the 2230 not being very good. Do you think it is worth it going for the 6250 over the 2230? For that matter is the Killer card worth it?

    Thank you
     
    SwingOp3, Jun 3, 2012
    #1
  2. radji

    radji Farewell, Solenya...

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    It depends on the circumstance. I can pick up a weak signal from the community college almost 1/2 a mile away with my Intel 6300
     
    radji, Jun 3, 2012
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  3. The Revelator

    The Revelator Notebook Prophet

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    Go with the Killer 1103 if you still have the option.

    Killer Wireless-N 1103 Review: Can Qualcomm Take On Centrino? : Killer Wireless: Is It Able To Usurp Intel's Centrino?.

    Excerpt: "Between Intel and Qualcomm, we expected a much closer race. Unfortunately, the Intel 6300 underperformed the AR9380-based option in many instances, often by a significant margin. We confess: we went into this story thinking that Qualcomm was blustering a bit. We’ve had too many years of vendors saying, “The secret sauce is there. It works. We’re better. Trust us.” This time, it was finally true. The Killer 1103 was stunning. It's just too bad you can't buy the card on its own."
     
    The Revelator, Jun 3, 2012
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  4. SwingOp3

    SwingOp3 Newbie

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    Thanks for the interesting read Revelator. Looks like at a minimum I'll be getting the 6250. From there its a small step to the Killer 1103 so I'll likely go the full distance and get it. I can't imagine living with the frustration of subpar wireless on a notebook.

    Thanks
     
    SwingOp3, Jun 3, 2012
    #4
  5. axedatta

    axedatta Notebook Enthusiast

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    Yea i have the 2230 and its CRAP. Whenever I plug in my Ethernet cable i get 22/6 down/up. Soon as i switch to wifi its 10/3 download/upload.
     
    axedatta, Jun 4, 2012
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  6. xXxPykexXx

    xXxPykexXx Notebook Consultant

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    I'd go with the Killer as well. The reviews show it's not just hype.
     
    xXxPykexXx, Jun 4, 2012
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  7. [Cyanide]

    [Cyanide] Notebook Consultant

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    If you get the Killer, be sure to use the Atheros reference drivers and not Bigfoot's own driver package with Killer Network Manager if you encounter any latency problems or signal dropping.

    I was having those problems before I switched to the Atheros drivers, was driving me insane.
     
    [Cyanide], Jun 4, 2012
    #7