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    Dell XPS M1530....Upgrading to best possible wireless card

    Discussion in 'Dell XPS and Studio XPS' started by mr.rhtuner, Jul 16, 2012.

  1. mr.rhtuner

    mr.rhtuner Notebook Consultant

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    Hey guys/gals...whoever is left of the M1530 crowd. I am still rocking my dell and it's been holding up good. I am thinking of getting the best possible wireless card for this laptop, which I believe is the Intel 6300 card?

    Would there be a significant increase compared to my current Intel 4965 AGN card?

    I have found a thread before of somebody installing the 6300 wireless card into their m1530 and they had to run longer wires for the antenna? is that true?


    Anybody have some feedback?
     
    mr.rhtuner, Jul 16, 2012
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  2. Lethdorr

    Lethdorr Notebook Enthusiast

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    Aah, I used to have an XPS M1530. What a workhorse!

    From what I remember, the 4965AGN is a standard form factor (size) MiniPCI Express card; from what I've seen of the 6300, it's in a PCIe Half Mini Card form factor (half the size of the standard MiniPCI Express), so I don't know if it would even fit/remain properly seated in the slot.

    From a more practical standpoint, however, you need to consider if you currently have a router that can take advantage of the 6300's 3x3:3 Dual Band (2.4 & 5.0 GHz) streaming (not all do).

    In addition, the successor to 802.11n (Wireless N, the current standard, and what's what's on the 6300) the "draft" standard of 802.11ac is just starting to emerge, featuring bandwidth up to 1300 Mbps (compared to the up to 450 Mbps of Wireless N).

    Since there's a few of those routers and cards already on the market, if you're going to end up buying a brand new router and wireless card, you might as well get yourself the latest technology... :D
     
    Lethdorr, Jul 16, 2012
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  3. mr.rhtuner

    mr.rhtuner Notebook Consultant

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    I just purchased the e4200v1 dual band router :)
     
    mr.rhtuner, Jul 16, 2012
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  4. Lethdorr

    Lethdorr Notebook Enthusiast

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    Ahh...ok.

    Now what you need to do is one of two things:

    (1) Find a standard size 450 Mpbs MiniPCI Express wireless card. I don't know if one actually exists, though. Or,

    (2) Find a half-size card that will stay seated in the internal wireless card slot. However, there aren't that many 450 Mpbs half size MiniPCI Express cards to begin with.

    The Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 is one, and the Sparklan WPEA-128N is another one out there.
     
    Lethdorr, Jul 16, 2012
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  5. AMurderOfCrows

    AMurderOfCrows Notebook Geek

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    AMurderOfCrows, Jul 18, 2012
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  6. Lethdorr

    Lethdorr Notebook Enthusiast

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    Lethdorr, Jul 31, 2012
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