Dell Wireless 1500 Draft 802.11n Wireless Mini-Card

Anyone know if you can buy the Dell Wireless 1500 Draft 802.11n card and replace the Intel minicard in the E1405? And how much does it cost and is it easy to swap out?

 

You will be able to switch any mini-pci card with another one. You can remove the A/B/G card and replace it with the draft-N.

I am not sure as to the cost, you should look at it online, or at Dell.com

 

tried dell chat to find out how to buy the wireless n got all I got was its not available but I can sell you a carrying case. What a waste.


ok
10:50:01 PM CU_Rep_Rajesh thank you for patiently waiting]
10:50:30 PM CU_Rep_Rajesh unfortunately we dont offer that separately it comes standard as an option for the laptop configuration
10:51:28 PM CU_Rep_Rajesh how about purchasing a carrying case for your laptop?
10:51:32 PM You so there is no way to order it?
10:51:50 PM You no thanks I already got a backpack
10:52:28 PM CU_Rep_Rajesh im sorry but none
10:52:51 PM You ok
10:52:55 PM CU_Rep_Rajesh your welcome, but is there anything else that I can assist you with regarding this concern?
10:53:35 PM You nope

 

this is the part number 430-1780.

 

You can upgrade the card yourself - check Dell's Spare Parts Depot and see if you can snag a card there.

 

What router will you be picking up by any chance if you get Dell's n card?

 

Hey all, some great news on this Dell Wireless 1500 card. I have actually been able to secure an order from Dell for this card. Granted, it was not easy (it took 6 calls and about 90 minutes) but I can provide you with information on how to obtain one much less painfully. Since the card is not actually offered yet outside of new systems this is what you have to do. Fire off an e-mail to Cindy Mcdonald ([email protected]) and tell her you are looking for the "Dell Draft N Wireless 1500 Card," which is item #NJ449. Since this woman helped me out she will know exactly what you are talking about; everyone else at Dell is completely clueless. To help her refresh her memory tell her that Matthew Silver told you about this. The cost of the card is $45.95.

 

Hey ... what a gyp!

It cost me $59.00 to "upgrade" to Draft N when I ordered my M1710!

 

That's what I figured it was going to cost too, but when she said $45.95 I wasn't about to tell her it was actually $59. The woman doesn't even work in the Sales Department, she works in Returns. Unlike most of the Dell Customer Support people, she actually took some initiative and did a little research and was able to help me out. Most of those clowns over at Dell simply want to just get rid of the current person on the phone and deal with the next one. If I ever have problems again she said to contact her directly and she will be more than willing to help me out. Dell needs more people like this woman.

 

I picked up the Linksys WRT300N, it hasn't been getting that great of reviews lately, but Linksys seems to get their act together quickly. A few firmware updates it should be good.

 

Thanks, I just sent off an email to Cindy, she was very quick in responding. Said they were going to be available to buy online for probably 6 months but she was able to get one for me and charge it to my Dell Perferred Account. Total including shipping and tax was 48.25. She said its very easy to install and email her if I had any issues, should be here in about a week or two.

Thats a really good price buying any Draft-N (linksys, Belkin, dlink) adapter is at least 99 bucks.

 

Just be careful on what N router you are tyring to connect to. I could not connect to my Belkin Pre-N router. I could see the network, but could not connect. According to Dell Tech Support, the Wireless 1500 is only compatiable with a handful of routers.

 

Just a heads up to everyone, I tested both a 3945ABG and a 1500 pre-N in my E1705, and the 1500-N slashed the battery life by almost 45 minutes. Centrino really does have good power management. I couldn't notice any difference in the connection to my wireless-G network.

 

Can someone point me to the drivers for the Draft N MiniCard please.

Howard

 

Try here!

http://support.dell.com/support/dow...=1&vercnt=2&formatcnt=1&libid=5&fileid=171897

 

Thanks, turned out Vista actually detected it automatically as a Broadcom Wireless-N card.

 

I have a Dell XPS M1710 with the Dell Wirless 1500 Draft 802.11 Mini Card
and the part number from my original order for this card is Item Number
430-1937, this is the number to order with. Although you should also know that Dell is no longer selling this card with their systems, and they now sell the Intel Next Gen-N card. My Dell 1500 had many problems not the least of them being an interference with my sound, it sounded somthing like bad radio reception that only went away after the card was replaced with a Intel Card.

 

Yeah, Belkin kinda made their own spec with that Pre-N... Basically, if you have a Pre-N router and adapter, hold onto it, but dont expect to add any new non-"pre-n" cards, because they are incompatible. There is a slight chance the draft N stuff will ALSO become incompatible with the final version of 802.11n(expected to be finished in early '08) but its doubtful. At worst you'll prob. need to do a firmware update. The Pre-N cards/routers are missing the hardware required to function as draft-n though, so it might be worth looking at replacing it next time you see a good sale on finalized N hardware.

 

does anyone know how many antenna ports the 1500 has? I would upgrade, but i only have the two antenna cables in the laptop currently. i know for some of the newer MiMo cards you need three antennas, but dell's tech support did say this card was compatible with my laptop...

 

Have any of you ran tests on the Draft N cards over the normal A/G cards? I've been under the assumption that currently Draft N routers and cards perform no better than Wireless G and even worse from the results I've seen presented by others but maybe that performance has changed since then. Until Wireless N is ratified then I probably wouldn't invest too awfully much into 802.11n technology, especially when it comes to buying a router.

 

What is so special about the Draft-N wireless card?

Also, is the Intel/Pro Wireless Mini-card an internal device? or does it stick out of the laptop in the PCI card slot?

 

They're both internal; the wireless card enables faster speeds/greater range when used with a Wireless N router

 

That's hilarious that it's cheaper to get from the parts department...

 

I dont see this or the 1505 in the parts...

 

what speeds are you getting with the dell 1500 card in n-draft mode?

my xps1710 came with a intel 4965agn card and i am not able to get any decent speed in n-draft mode. the card is faster in g-mode than in n-mode with my netgear WNR854T router. i am getting max. 8% speed with a 144mbit connection. i don't know if it is a driver-problem or a incompatibility issue with my router. so i wanted to exchange the intel card for a dell 1500 card, but dell support tells me it is not available as spare part.

i could order one from ebay, but i read about increased battery-drain from the dell 1500 card, is this true?

i really want n-draft mode because my network is too slow in 54mbit mode.

any suggestions?