Wireless cards....

I was wondering if someone could help me with choosing a wireless card. I don´t see what the difference is. Does one have more range? Will one have faster internet speeds (depending on connection obviously). Is it worth upgrading?

Intel Centrino Wireless-N 1000
Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6200 (2x2 AGN)
Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 (3x3 AGN)
Intel Centrino Advanced-N + WiMAX 6250

Thank-you.

 

To answer your "is it worth upgrading" are you noticing slower internet speeds on your computer than with another? If your internet is slow you should probably either talk to your ISP about an upgrade or get a new router.

But yeah I suck with wifi cards so someone else will have to help witht hat =p

 

It all really depends. You could get the lowest end card and never have any problems. It might also be that in your circumstance a lower end card might have connection and speed issues. You can knock the last card off your list because that is just a 6200 with the added capability of wimax mobile internet. Most often the lowest card will be good enough for you. Also upgraded cards can be very expensive with a new laptop; more so than buying the card separately and installing it yourself. If you feel comfortable popping in a new wireless card (it is usually very simple and straight forward) I don't really see the reason to buy a more expensive one right away when the standard one will likely suffice. The Intel 6300 is the best out of the three varieties there, and it can be had for under $40 shipped to your house from somewhere like Newegg.

 

If you're not buying the card pre-installed, it's also worth noting that the 6200 has 2 antennas, while the 6300 has 3. I believe the 6300 will work just fine with only 2 antennas, but it won't be operating at full speed.

 

300mbps is fast enough. I run a 6300 in my desktop with 2 antennas. It is fine. But also laptops that have the option to come with wireless cards with 3 antennas usually come installed with 3 antennas regardless of which wireless card it comes with.

 

Is the number of Wifi connectors to the wifi card directly related to the # of antennae? Cause my Intel 4965 AGN has 3 connectors and my Vostro 1500 has 3 color connectors, black, white, and grey

 

Yes. Each connector corresponds to (actually is) a single antenna.