Upgrading WI-FI Card

Hey, I just wanted to post asking if upgrading to a Killer N1103 would be hard? I have upgraded GPU, CPU, and RAM in the m15x, so I know the system, but I have no idea how to upgrade the wi-fi card. And also, which of these would work? Thanks
killer n1103 | eBay

 

As far as I know the 1103 fits fine. The WI-FI module is located beneath the keyboard, so I think you need to take the system apart quite extensively to get to it.

I'm not sure if it's accessible by the removing the media buttons and then they keyboard.

 

not too hard to do, any half size mini pci wi fi card should work I guess..

Simply remove battery then remove the screws where the battery was. Should be 4. Not sure if all are needed but I just took em all out.

Then flip it over and open the screen and gently prise up the piece of plastic above the keyboard. No need to totally remove it as I found I could insert screwdriver to remove the 3 screws holding the keyboard in without doing so. Flip keyboard towards you without unplugging it and rest it on the palmrest upside down. Voila you have access to wi-fi

Reverse process to re-assemble which should be a piece of cake if you did it the shortcut way like me

 

I'm 99% certain that only the two screws furthest apart need to be removed. There are only two nobs in the media control board thingy, so I assume that the other two screws secure something else. I removed all four as well, but made this observation when I put it back together.

 

Is there a video I could refer to? I couldn't really find it on the M15x Disassembly.

 

Alienware M15x Teardown 1 of 3 **READ SAFETY PRECAUTIONS PRIOR TO REPLACING PARTS** (Official Video) - YouTube

M15x teardown part 1. Truly useful considering this machine has to be the most user unfriendly machine I have owned concerning the wifi and dvd drive. One has to think what were they thinking burying these two essential components so deep into the chassis.

Fersknen I think the inner most two screws are for the screen?

 

Either way, it's only two of them... Plastic roulette!

 

Yeah but before i do the hardware i remove the software, and its the screws marked with an "I", the other 2 are marked "H" for the lcd hinge

 

So I'm confused, is the WLAN different from wifi? What's the WPAN? It looks easy if the killer n1103 replaces the card that is attached by the 3 connectors. But if it's different, where exactly is it? And do you have to take out the plastic piece above the keyboard or touch any of that stuff?

 

WLAN = wifi (mini pci chip under ur keyboard on the right side)
WPAN = bluetooth (mini pci also but on the left side)

watch the teardown videos how to get there easy

 

Other than drivers and the card, do I need anything? Should I install drivers prior to installing the card? Use the drivers off of Killer's website?

 

You probably won't even need drivers in the end. Just plug it in and make sure you connect the three wires back up to it correctly and you are done. Since windows 7 I have never had to install drivers to have the wi fi work fine.

 

Awesome thanks

 

You may want to download the utility from bigfoot, given that that's one of it's big selling points as well. (From what I understand) you can limit bandwidth at a per-program level, making one more important (or limited) than others.

 

crap I might of screwed up, what order do the attenas go in from left to right? There's a black, white, and grey one.

 

i dont think it matters, but my 6300 from left to right is black, grey, white

 

To the best of my knowledge it doesn't matter at all. But on all the cards I've seen, there has been little stickers on the card next to the connector, that shows which color goes where. Of course I have no idea if that is the case with the Killer-N card.

But really... it's just 3 wires and I can't see why order of them would matter

 

Thanks guys, got it to work, now just working on boosting BF3 FPS

 

Hey all, I just got my Killer N1103 in the mail and I've got myself a static discharge bracelet and pad/working mat, but I've changed my setup since I last did any sensitive electronic work. I forgot where I can ground myself so I make sure not to screw up my computer. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

On your water faucet or radiator pipe (unpainted) are popular choices

 

Thanks! Is there anywhere else I can ground? I'm in a relatively small apartment lol keep that in mind

 

If your building is properly wired, the ground terminal of a three prong outlet should also be grounded. You could pull the cover off an outlet or switch - if the box is metal, and connected to the ground (usually uninsulated, copper) wire, it is likely to be grounded. If this is so, you could ground to the metal box containing the outlet or switch. Be very careful to avoid the AC leads on the body of the switch or outlet. If the box is metal, and grounded, you could put the plate back on and connect to the screw that holds the plate on.

Alternatively, many devices (CD/DVD players, desktop computers, etc) that have three prong plugs have the chassis connected to the ground terminal. You could ground to the chassis of such an appliance, if you are clear that the outlet is properly grounded.

Be careful, though. Many older buildings are not wired according to Code - in that case, the outlet ground may be simply floating.

Good luck,

Joe