Dell Wireless 1500 Draft 802.11n Dual-band Internal Wireless

Do you think guys it is worth the upgrade?

 

Even if you're not going to use it right away, it's a nice way to future-proof because 3-years from now 802.11n will be the standard (although all the other 802.11s will work, the 802.11n greater wireless range is the real selling point IMHO). So I'm going to say if you can afford it, it's worth it.

 

last I checked, these "drafts" actually wont work with the finalized version of n. Not only that, they screw over any b/g networks in the area.

 

wait...so jeffmd is saying not to get it? I heard its backward compatable.

 

i still wanna get the intel pro wireless 3495 card for my e1505, perhaps i should hold off and buy the intel equivilent that has wireless-n

 

Will this be available with the latitude range?

 

I'd be careful with the draft N -- unless they can verify a flash or software uprade will truly future proof it, I'd be wary. Plus, its very likely if you need it in the future you could upgrade for not much more than you'll pay now. And that way, you won't be spending the money unless you need to.

Also, note there are many places that are still on *B* and haven't even upgraded to A or G! My view is it isn't worth it, yet.

 

Will it be difficult to phyiscally upgrade the this card in the future?

 

Not it is not difficult depending on your laptop model. For the bigger models (E1705/E1505/etc), the wireless card slot is located on the bottom. I'm not sure about the smaller models, but it should not be very difficult.

Yes this should be available for all laptops offered by dell.

 

Purchasing a D620 today so wondering if i should hold off or not for the card to be given as an option or add it myself in the future. Decisions decisions.....

 

The E1505 wireless card is located under the keyboard

 

well I would wait for the Intel version because its going to be better than the dell version, and I would wait untill the final release of N so its the best it can be

 

You can also upgrade later with a different mini-pci card or an expresscard

 

I would suggest to update laterby your own/

 

Thanks for the correction. For some reason, I thought it was on the bottom side like the E1705.

 

Those with a E1405 and considering this, the panel for the wifi card is also on the bottom of the notebook.

 

Check this out from anandtech:

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=3345

 

I wouldn't say that the intel card is better. It depends on the application. For some folks who use linux it's hard to get the intel adapters to work properly. I would go ahead and hold off on the purchase, when it becomes a more mainstream feature you can pretty easily upgrade. Even if the adapter is under the keyboard it's not a big deal to take things apart as long as you are careful.

 

I was going to install this, but it looks like I am going to install Intel 3295 on my M90 after all.

 

If you have forty bucks to spare, and a Belkin pre-N or N1 router, then go ahead and get the draft-n card. Otherwise, don't bother. The likelihood it will cooperate with ratified 802.11n hardware is iffy.

Other people have incorrectly told you that it can "give you more range." This is mostly not possible (unless we are comparing 'future' firmware updates) since the radius of your connection is completely contingent on your distance from the router, the router's ability to effectively transmit info, and wave interference (chairs, wind, walls)

 

After all this replies i think i'll stay with intel b/g option!
Thanks a lot guys!