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    Gigabyte GN-WI01GT and E1705

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by shinji257, Jan 4, 2007.

  1. shinji257

    shinji257 Notebook Deity

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    This is more of an informational message than anything. I recently got this Mini-PCIe card to replace the Dell 1500 Wireless card already in there. Don't ask why. I think it is because the Dell one isn't really linux friendly being it has a Broadcom chipset whereas the Gigabyte one did since it used an Atheros chipset.

    Comparison.
    Dell 1500 Wireless Card
    a/b/g/draft-n capable
    up to 54mbps
    Broadcom chipset

    Gigabyte GN-WI01GT
    b/g capable
    up to 108mbps
    Atheros chipset

    How many a and draft-n networks are there anyways? All the ones I connect to are either b or g and most allow either.

    Anyways here is the results.

    The installation was a breeze. Disconnected the antenna, popped out the card by releasing the snap hold and removing the card. It popped up to the proper angle. Then I inserted the new card and gently pressed down until it clicked. The hardest part was probably getting the antenna back on. They go on exactly how the Dell card was. The computer was in hibernation so when I booted up the computer I actually had to reboot so it could startup without coming out of hibernation. This way it picked up the card. The place where I got mine didn't supply any drivers so I went to the gigabyte site and downloaded theirs.

    First I installed the drivers. Then I installed the utility. Was surprised when it installed the drivers during the utility setup but that was fine. The utility is nice allowing a fairly straight forward setup of the network. One thing to note is that there is NO manual for this.

    After installation I noted the following with the WiFi light.

    Off = Radio off or no network detected
    Flashing = Network detected but not associated
    On = Network detected and associated

    I am not aware of any other status indicators. The flashing one is new and didn't occur with the Dell 1500 wireless card. The light was either on or off. You can turn off the radio via the utility.
     
    shinji257, Jan 4, 2007
    #1