Few questions regarding the Intel 5300 wifi card

So, I have just ordered the M1330, and it comes with the 1505. When I asked the dell rep about the 5300, he said it was not compatible with the M1330 due to the motherboard or something? However, I've read that some people have made the switch, my questions are as follows:

How hard is it to change wifi cards for a noob?
Will this void my warranty?
What are specific gains?
My brother has an M1330, and the internet speeds never bothered me on that one, however it seems to not want to connect to the internet some times.


Thanks in advance.

 

Changing the wifi card is usually very easy in itself, just a couple of screws and it comes out of a socket. Its similar to changing ram or putting a pci device in your desktop, the hard part is getting to it depending on your laptop.

Im assuming that your laptop uses a mini pci card like all mine have.

Voiding the warranty and stuff i dont know for your laptop model, if you dont have to break any warranty seals to get to it your ok, just replace it with the old card if you have to send it back for a warranty issue.

Chances are you wont really see gains with the 5300 you maybe just have a bad connection with your current card, also its uniqe in that it needs 3 antenna, chances are you only have 2 on your current card, so if you insist on and upgrade the 5100 may be better.

You can always buy and install an extra antenna if you do need one, some of the EEE owners have done it and these are little 10" netbooks, so you should have room in your 13" laptop.

 

Well I've heard a lot of people having problems with the dell 1505 wifi card on the M1330. I myself have had problems with it not being able to connect to the internet sometimes. Is there a guide/walkthrough on how to do the swap, and is the 5100 significantly better than the 1505 to not jump to the 5300?

 

i just WON my 5300 on ebay. already posted. will keep u guys updated. upgrading from 4965 to this.

 

The 5300 is fully compatible with your motherboard. You may only have two antenna cables, but as Vicious pointed out, you can easily buy and install a third. In fact, you can still use the 5300 with two cables, although with somewhat limited performance.

Here's the official guide to removing the wireless cards in the M1330:

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/xpsM1330/en/sm/minicard.htm#wp1180188

This will not void your warranty.

 

Thank you! is the third antenna hard to install? Is it necessary? I have read the only downside of installing this card is the wifi icon on the computer will blink is that correct? Also, can you tell me or provide me with a link with the item I need? I don't wanna end up buying the wrong product, as I am not a computer guru.

Thanks!

 

Id look first, if you only have two and will not invest in buying and installing the 3rd one, then get the 5100 as it will be cheaper and perform the same or maybe better.

There is not a very large difference between the 5100 and 5300 and you need specific hardware to take full advantage off ether of them (a good N network, but the full speed of the 5300 requires a specific expensive kind of N network and all 3 antennas)

Not sure what the ebay prices are like but when I was going to toss the 5300 in my EEE I was going to get it from Provantage as they had great prices and are very reliable.

$23 for 5100 - http://www.provantage.com/intel-512an-mmww2~7ITE90CY.htm

$37 for 5300 - http://www.provantage.com/intel-533an-mmww2~7ITE90E0.htm

 

^ Thank you. Well I am just replacing the wifi to get rid of the main problems other people are having, so 5100 or 5300 doesnt matter to me. I have an N network, or it is N compatible I do not know if it is actually N. It is the Apple timecapsule I am using.

 

hmm does anyone know how to install the 3rd antenna? any links to guides?