Asus W3J and Atheros card replacement questions

Hi there,

Really considering switching my intel 3945 wireless card to an atheros replacement, however I am totally unfamiliar with switching wireless cards in laptops and have a series of questions.

1.) What card does the W3J use? From what I've read/googled its the intel 3945 miniPCI wireless ? Is this miniPCI-e or miniPCI ?? (not sure if theres a difference.. guessing there is though?)

2.) For anyone who has switched cards, what atheros card/model# would they recommend for the W3J? I'm not too sure how to go about finding a vendor etc

3.)Most importantly, how hard is it to swap network cards for someone who's never taken apart their laptop before? I read a thread on another asus laptop, and it sounded pretty complicated (disassembling the keyboard etc). I noticed a rectangular panel on the bottom of my laptop.. was wondering if it was located in there.

Appreciate any input from the guru's here.. thanks so much!!

 

The 3945 is actually miniPCI express... not to be confused with the 3x larger miniPCI that has been used on every other centrino system prior.

It's fairly simple to swap, you just remove the access panel from the bottom of the system, unplug the antenna cables and slide it out from it's slot.

 

Thanks Justin,

That clarifies a lot! Reassuring to also know that it doesn't sound impossible.
I do not need any special tools to unplug the antenna cables right?

Also, do you have any recommendations for a minipci-e atheros card?

I guess the next step for me is to find a vendor within the area (nyc)

edit: I took a look at the "GIGABYTE GN-WI01GT AirCruiser G" card which i believe uses the Atheros AR5006EGS chipset.. probably going to pick that up unless its incompatible (dont see any reason for it to be)

Are there any instructions on switching the w3j card? Im guessing its the silver panel to the right of the big area that houses the cpu/ram?

 

No... unless you think your fingers and a philips screw driver are special... and in that case, yes you need special tools

I'd honestly hold out for the new Intel N card... I hear they're going back to Asus to make the card (which they did for the old 2200, which was the best of the cards Intel offered over the years) and it should be available within the next couple months.

Pull panels off and you won't be able to miss it.. it's larger than the bluetooth card and it has two antenna, not one.

 

Ah yeah, I was thinking about holding out for the N card, but I saw a nice deal for an atheros card for around 25-30 bucks, figure I'll switch to that for now as the 3945 doesnt seem to cut it for me atm.

Great, I'll give it a try once I receive my card, hopefully it'll go smoothly.. will definately post if I run into any troubles (hope not! haha)

Thanks again for the help!