Best Upgrade Replacement for Internal WiFi Card (Dell Studio XPS 1647)?

My XPS 1647 laptop (Studio XPS 16) still works great but I'd like to get faster speeds on Wi-Fi by upgrading to a "newer" internal AC card ("newer" being a relative term here ).

The original internal card is an Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6200, so it's limited to N speeds on my AC router.

Basically looking for confirmation and/or suggestions for a compatible card for the internal slot?

Context:

• Prefer the internal card vs. USB dongle to utilize the laptop's antenna wires for better range/stability.
• Internally, it's a two antenna wire setup (original card is 2x2) -- it's an easy card swap thanks to the easy access from the bottom panel.
• Prefer Intel Wi-Fi cards if possible -- have had really great luck/performance with them on my laptops over the years.

After doing some research online, I'm wondering if the Intel AC 7260 might be a good upgrade? (It's also a 2x2 card per specs at https://www.intel.com/content/www/u...less-products/dual-band-wireless-ac-7260.html)

If not, or if something better comes to mind, any suggestions? Appreciate all suggestions/comments, and especially if you've already upgraded it on this laptop. I know it's an older laptop, but it's built like a tank and still going strong -- very serviceable.

Thanks!

PS -- is this a good forum for this topic, or is it better posted in the Networking and Wireless forum instead?

 

@Deckard2019 there basically ain't no reasonable alternatives to 7260 AC in mini pcie form-factor. Buy from a reputable seller - some card revisions have faulty Bluetooth, also some try to sell 7260 N as 7260 AC.

 

Many thanks Starlight5, I did not know that about the 7260. Interestingly, this laptop came with a Dell BT chip separate from the Wi-Fi card. Is it possible to have both BT chips enabled or am I just looking for trouble? (For security, I leave the BT disabled until I need it, but just curious about having two BT devices available on the same laptop in Win7-64.)

Would you happen to know which 7260 revisions were faulty, or conversely, which ones were good? And how to identify them on the card?

Since it seems these cards are being sold second-hand (being an older card these days), any particular sellers you'd recommend or had good luck with?

Thanks again -- appreciated the validation on the card selection before diving in.

 

@Deckard2019 two Bluetooth chips won't work simultaneously, at least in Windows; you better physically remove the old Bluetooth while installing 7260, or at least block it in BIOS if there's such an option.

Here's the seller I bought my 7260 AC with working Bluetooth (as well as many other WLAN & WWAN cards). His 7260 AC are on the expensive side, moreover that items are priced in AUD - so make sure to utilize Make offer option; bought a few cheaper 7260 AC from another seller - Bluetooth never worked on all the machines I put them in - wasted a lot of time, got partial refund and sold them eventually. This problem is quite common with 7260 AC. Alternatively, if you use Bluetooth once in a thousand years, just get the cheapest mini pcie 7260 AC you can find, and keep the separate old adapter.

There's a very slight possibility Bluetooth won't work at all - if the USB part of the WLAN minipcie slot isn't soldered - but it is very rare, and you'll able to tell it from bad batch card right away - Intel's Bluetooth won't be detected at all in this case*, while faulty Bluetooth is detected but never works. You can check schematics for your machine if they are available, to be on the safe side - but again, it's pretty rare, so Bluetooth will most likely work. * - Covering pin 51 of the WLAN card with electric tape helps if the slot is good yet Bluetooth part of the WLAN card isn't detected - which is the case with most machines where it doesn't immediately fire up.