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    What's this about the wifi card?

    Discussion in 'Dell XPS and Studio XPS' started by Kalookakoo, Jul 11, 2011.

  1. Kalookakoo

    Kalookakoo Notebook Evangelist

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    I plan on buying a refurbished XPS 17. Is it fine if I go for the 1000 card? I think someone posted about only getting the 6230 card but I don't quite remember why...
     
    Kalookakoo, Jul 11, 2011
    #1
  2. grimreefer1967

    grimreefer1967 Notebook Evangelist

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    The main differences are the 6230 is dual band (2.4 and 5.0 GHz) with built in bluetooth. The 1000 is entry level single band with no bluetooth.

    If you don't find one with the 6230 at the Outlet then you can always swap out later if you want. The 6230 can be found cheap online and it's a very simple swap.

    Intel® Centrino® Advanced-N 6230

    Intel® Centrino® Wireless-N 1000
     
    grimreefer1967, Jul 11, 2011
    #2
  3. Falco152

    Falco152 Notebook Demon

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    I found the 6230 is pretty much cost the same as the Dell upgrade cost from authorized intel resellers.

    Hard to get genuine cards on sites like ebay but they are much cheaper.
     
    Falco152, Jul 11, 2011
    #3
  4. kizh

    kizh Notebook Consultant

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    macmall.com had them for around $20, but the shipping was like $8. I wish they just stuck it in a padded envelope and sent it usps or something. The box was huge for a small card that seemed well protected in its plastic packaging.
     
    kizh, Jul 11, 2011
    #4
  5. 4thehorde4

    4thehorde4 Notebook Consultant

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    Surreptitiously, part of their profits is in the form of inflated shipping fees.
     
    4thehorde4, Jul 11, 2011
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  6. otacon

    otacon Notebook Evangelist

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    Won't the BIOS be locked to the installed card?
     
    otacon, Jul 11, 2011
    #6
  7. Falco152

    Falco152 Notebook Demon

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    Dell doesn't whitelist wlan cards unlike HP or Lenovo.
     
    Falco152, Jul 11, 2011
    #7
  8. madmattd

    madmattd Notebook Deity

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    A couple people on here have self-upgraded to the 6230 on other systems, and I think one did it on the XPS 17 702x as well.
     
    madmattd, Jul 12, 2011
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  9. grimreefer1967

    grimreefer1967 Notebook Evangelist

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    I upgraded mine from the 1000 to the 6230. Swapped the card, installed the drivers and hopped online. Easy.
     
    grimreefer1967, Jul 12, 2011
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  10. madmattd

    madmattd Notebook Deity

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    You must be the one I was thinking of then...I knew I saw someone posting about doing it...
     
    madmattd, Jul 12, 2011
    #10