Help on wireless cards!!

Hey guys, does anyone know how good the Dell Wireless 1520 card is?

Its the only option available to Aus Alienware systems.. Is it better than the mini or mimo cards offered in the USA?

 

personally i guess intel 6300 is better then 1520. Since we do not have choice, i think 1520 will work fine as a Wireless card itself.
ps i am in au and wondering the answer too

 

Dell Wireless 1520 is an good card as far as i know. It supports Wireless N signals up to 150mbps.
The only reason to get the Intel 6300 is if you have a Wireless-N network and you want speeds of up to 300mbps (and 450 in the future).
The difference is that the Intel 6300 card has 3 wireless antennae which allows far faster N speeds.

 

I made a quick call to a techie I know he did a rough comparison.

So far the 6300 Ultimate is a 'Decently' better card, but he said its of much more benefit to the Yanks as they utilise a different broadband system to us, which is essentially double the speed over our ADSL. Also, it gives them the ability to hook up to internet wirelessly like a phone can, depending on their carrier + plan.

Wish we had that service =[

 

I don't know about the Dell Wireless 1520 card, but the Dell Wireless 1510 card which also uses a broadcom chipset is nothing but trouble in the M17X R-1 (piece of garbage - it's well documented on this board). I'd go with a card that has an Intel-based chipset any day (no matter if 6300 or 5300). They are more reliable and have higher throughput.
The Intel chipset is of a much better quality.
By the way, even if a configuration option isn't available on the website, it doesn't necessarily mean it's not available in your region. You can ask for it when ordering via phone and it may very well be available.

 

I know this could sound like a moronic question, but is it possible to replace the card? I would assume so, but I dont know how easily accessible the M17x is =/

 

I can only speak for the M17x-R1 (I've replaced the horrible Dell Wireless 1510 broadcom card with an Intel 5300 card recently), in which case it's rather easy to do (if the chassis is the same on the R2 it'll be the same). Just take out the battery, unscrew the three screws that hold the palmrest, slide the palmrest off, disconnect the antenna cables, pop the old card out, pop the new one in, reconnect the antenna cables (you may have to add another cable or use the bluetooth cable as the third antenna cable for the intel cards if the third cable isn't included), slide the palmrest back on, screw the three screws back in, pop the battery back in and start the system.
Just make sure you get a half-mini card (not full mini), which should be available from Dell spare parts.

 

i think i'd better check with my rep about this when i place the order

 

having three antenna instead of two will increase the speed, reliability and lower the latency of AGB and N in most cases, not just N...

 

Sounds a little fiddly, but nothing too difficult.

Why only a half mini? Will the full not fit, or just useless/overkill anyway?


@ ZenithNoesis, I noticed you've got a SSD in your PS3... does it help it much with the heat?

 

I work in a metal booth have to work around the use of wireless. The onboard wireless was not enough that is built in my M17. Instead I have had to go with a USB external device. Reason I went this way was because I could put it outside the metal booth with the help of an USB Extention cord.
Also the external device is not limited to 100milliwatts TX/RX power. It uses the full power of your USB which is 500. This allowed me better connections and better speeds. Also if there is solid walls it has better chance to make it thru them.
I have been able to hit some of my unsecured neighbors that are more then a block away.
I would type which one I use but its not an alienware device, but can say its shaped like a dish and works simular to a cantana. If you want to know the device message me and I will give you the name of it.

 

May sound like a dumb question, but I've got the 1510 in an M17x-R1 and would like to switch it out as well. The Intel 5300 Half-Height Mini-Card appears to have three antenna connections while the Broadcom 1510 has two. Is this a problem? When you installed your 5300 did you just connect terminals 1 and 2?

 

I have the Intell 5300 card myself, you can use 2 of the 3 Antenna connections with with no problems, and it performs better IMO.

 

Gizmo - read your guide and saw that you can use the Bluetooth antenna for the 3rd terminal on the 5300 or add an antenna. Question answered. Thanks much.

 

Thanks as well!

 

Just to add my recent experience, I too replaced the 1510 with a 5300 I got from Dell. Didn't come with an extra antenna so I used the BT one for the WLAN and installed a small spare I had from another laptop upgrade for the BT card as I'm less worried about range with that than WiFi.

Just be careful to route the antenna cables neatly so they don't cause the palm rest to bulge and be gentle with it when removing/replacing.

Well worth the effort though - much better and more stable signal than before.

 

Got my Intel 5300 today and put it in. Big improvement, and not just in bandwidth. My biggest irritation with the 1510 was that every time I unplugged the ethernet cable in my office I'd have to rest the adapter to get wireless to work. The Intel utilities are much better too.

 

Good to know man, thanks for letting me know =] I havent got mine yet, but will see how the stock 1520 card goes, otherwise I'll update too.

 

If you do it, the install is straightforward. Just three screws and slide the palm rest off. You might need a thin knife of something similar (inserted between keyboard cover and palm rest) to get the palm rest moving. Easy does it. Some care required getting the palm rest back on right. Also, I couldn't find the Windows 7 64 drivers on the Dell site but found them here http://downloadmirror.intel.com/18240/eng/ICS_s64.exe

You may not have the problems I had. Don't know if 1520 will be better than 1510, but think that in my R1 the 1510 was my biggest problem.