Intel 7260 b/g/n Wireless (2x2 BGN) vs. Intel Centrino Wireless N-2230 (Lenovo y510p)

I'm looking at the Lenovo y510p laptops and was wondering what the difference between these two wireless cards were?

The Lenovo rep said that the N-2230 is better than the 7260? Can someone verify that and maybe elaborate?

 

The rep is either ill-informed or a professional liar.

 

If you don't have an AC router you won't gain anything from using the 7260.

 

The AC version of 7260 is not the one that is being discussed here.

I'd take the "standard" 7260 over the N-2230 any day of the week, and any hour of the day.

 

even if both are bgn, the 7260 would have better range/reception.

Though if there is a price difference, then diy upgrade would my choice.

 

How much worse is the N-2230 than the 7260?

Because for the Lenovo y510p, the N-2230 is sold with a nice screen (glossy wedge) than the one sold with the 7260 (glare wedge)
Lenovo Ideapad y510p
I thought it was an easy choice but since the wireless cards are flipped now, I'm not sure which to pick. I'd really like the glossy wedge screen but how badly would my interent suffer?

I didn't know wireless cards were that big of a deal til now. Does it heavily affect my ability to connect, stay connected, and the speeds I can reach?

 

No, but i would recommend you get a dual band one DIY.

 

OKAY. I just talked to another rep and they said the complete opposite of what the first rep said. She said that the glare>wedge and the 7260>n-2230. I might just start asking different lenovo reps and taking a tally of which has the most votes of consent -_____-.

What do you mean by dual band DIY??

 

Get the machine with the cheaper wireless card and swap the dual-band 7260 one yourself.

 

I wouldn't get the cheapest one anyways because the display is glossy. The second cheapest one has both the 'matte' display and the 7260. Does (2x2 BGN) mean dual band?

 

OK, how about this:

Get the machine with the screen that you like.

If you get 7260 in it as well, great.

If not, you can swap the wireless card yourself at a later date.

And no, 2x2BGN does not mean dual band.

 

So even if I get the 7260, should I still DIY the dual band? What are the benefits vs. the original 7260?

 

N-2230 is 2.4GHz only. 7260 is dual band which means 2.4GHz and 5GHz.

I concur that 7260 is the better of the two.

 

When you're talking about a Lenovo - you can't simply swap WiFi cards - you must use the parts whitelisted (and branded by) Lenovo for the notebook to boot up.

If you can forget about N7260 - you want the new standard at this point: Intel AC7260 card.

See:
Intel Wireless-AC 7260 Dual-Band WiFi + Bluetooth Mini PCI-E Adapter at Memory Express


But again; only if Lenovo can ship the system with this card installed.

See:

AnandTech | The Joys of 802.11ac WiFi



The above link shows why you need an AC class WiFi card going forward in 2014.

 

No.

if the machine you end up buying already sports a 7260, leave it alone.

 

Yes my bad, the 7260 (AC or no AC) would be superior to the 2230 due ti the dual band.

 

1. Get the full HD display
2. The 7260 in the Y510p is single band anyway, it's not much of an upgrade

However, if you run Linux on your Y510p, your single band 7260 becomes a dual-band 7260 AC. Gotta love open source drivers!

 

Holy cow, I didn't know 7260 came in a 2.4GHz only version. Talk about going cheap!

 

No, it is not single band: it is dual band N.

See:
Intel Wireless-N 7260 Dual-Band WiFi Mini PCI-E Adapter at Memory Express


No single band 7260 is offered.

 

7260 have 4 type discarding form factor
single band
dual band
dual band +bt
dual band ac +bt

 

baii,

I stand corrected. But are any single band actually for sale?

 

Carful with the idea of swapping hardware. I saw a forum before I came upon this one with someone's N-2230 not working properly and having to get the N-7260 which MUST BE branded Lenova.

 

So do we know which card this comes with yet? I have one on it's way and I am curious which one it is. Is it dual band or not?