Thinkpad 11a/b/g vs Intel 4965AGN

The only difference is better encryption support?

Is it worth the $45 to upgrade? "Lenovo Recommended" is the intel, not the thinkpad one.


Thoughts?

 

There's better encryption support? Says who? The only difference I know of is that one supports 802.11n and the other doesn't.

 

I would suggest saving 45 bucks and sticking with the Atheros based Thinkpad 11a/b/g

 

Is there a difference between the atheros card and intel card in performance?

 

Ok, so not worth the $45, but does winking mean if they were the same price you would still choose the thinkpad wireless?

Just wondering why the intel is "lenovo recommended"... just for the profits prolly.

 

I have found that the Intel cards dont really have the same level of reception that the Atheros cards have. My T60 was a topseller model and since it couldnt be configured I went out and purchased the Thinkpad 11a/b/g card on my own.

Having the intel card does nothing more than complete the "Centrino" package of Intel Centrino CPU, Intel Centrino Chipset, and Intel Centrino Wifi card. Supposedly offers the best battery life and mobility, but my the Atheros card has been drawing less power than the Intel card did. Not much, but its still less.

 

Awesome, thank you very much.

 

Also, if you choose the Atheros one, you'll get the cool Core 2 Duo sticker instead of the ugly Centrino one.

 

I think the real question is whether you want 802.11n or not. That should make it drastically easier.

 

I went with ThinkPad A/B/G/N.

 

They don't offer that as an option anymore. At least not on the T61 15".

 

Oh yeah. Well, I hope it's just due to them selling out.

 

If you're planning on using Linux, the intel wireless works great now that they have a driver out.

 

Went with thinkpad 11a/b/g. Thanks all.

 

I regret that I placed my X61s order for the Intel 3945 rather than the Lenovo a/b/g...I did not know at the time that the Lenovo card was an Atheros.

 

Typically Intel WiFi is inferior to all the three other major WiFi players: Atheros, Broadcom and Marvell. This is true especially in early stages of a standard. The early Centrinos are totally crap, giving blue screens all the time. Though I haven't tried the Intel a/b/g/n card, I would still guess the same.

Go with Thinkpad a/b/g!

 

Sad that they no longer have the ThinkPad AGN as an option.
Here's hoping they bring it back soon!

My experience with Intel's wireless cards has been generally good, although I don't really like their ProSet applet as it just seems a bit "thrown together" interface-wise. Then again, if you're getting a ThinkPad, you don't have to use the ProSet app if you don't want to (Access Connections).

 

I do not think it makes much of a difference.

 

I have a 2915ABG and it's nice. I think that could be considered an early centrino card since I have a dothan. I like it. It beat my friends powerbook at signal strength and it has never given me a BSOD. I would still go with the atheros cards though. I also never use anything but windows built in wifi handler.

 

Is the Thinkpad a/b/g in the x61 also the atheros one?

 

Yup, all the thinkpads share the same cards

 

If you look at the pictures of the 4965AGN and Atheros ABG card, the 4965 has three terminals for antennas. Does anyone know if this makes a difference? I need to decide between 4965AGN and Thinkpad ABG now. Does anyone have experience with the 4965 vs. the atheros card?

 

Well, the Thinkpad N card is the newer Atheros chipset model with N capabilities.

Also, depending on the card, some N models use 2 antennas and some use 3. Havent noticed any difference in range between them

 

Shame the Atheros N card is still unavailable.

Anyone know why?

 

"N" cards support MIMO, though, while most "G" cards do not.

This is enough of a benefit to make me choose the N. Plus, there's a chance it could be made compatible with the final standard through a driver update.

 

Which do you think gets better reception?

 

I know for certain the the Thinkpad 11a/b/g gets much better reception than the Intel 3945abg.

I have an X60s with the Intel 3945abg and a Z60t with the Thinkpad 11a/b/g. I placed them side by side and I get 100% strength for my own network signal with the Thinkpad (atheros) card and ~75% with the Intel 3945abg card.

I also see nearly twice as many network access points with the Atheros card vs. the Intel card.

 

I wont ask you to compare heat/battery draining diffs b/t the two, considering the inherent diffs b/t z and x - but is there a pretty significant leap in those regards when your x60s' wireless switch is on?

 

Yes you get better reception. I've been using 802.11n for the last 2 years so what I'm talking about is from experience. The range comparison of MIMO and 802.11n isn't remotely comparable to what you'll get with the best g cards. I'll give you an example. My house is approx. 400 yards from the community swimming pool. There is one set of houses between my house and the swimming pool. Yet I can sit there on a lawn chair locked in at 108mb and surf, stream, and download with no issues. It literally has *never* dropped out on me like 802.11b/g can/does. I'm currently using an older Belkin pre-n card. I can only imagine that the technology has gotten better in the last 2 years. I'm not sure why so many on here are against getting an n card in their notebook. It still supports 802.11 b/g. All of them support WPA2 which isn't something that you can say for some 802.11 b/g cards. 802.11n is better technology overall even if it is still a "draft" card. I got the 4965 in my T61 that's on it's way here. Once you use "n" you'll wonder why anyone would run anything else. just my 10 cents...

 

^^

Couldn't agree more. Can't figure out for the life of me why people aren't going for MIMO N.

 

ThinkPad 11a/b/g/n Wireless LAN Mini-PCI Express Adapter
Is giving an expected ship date of 8/31--this is my second order-canceling the first after awful service.
Choosing either the Thinkpad 11a/b/g or Intel 4965AGN would give me a ship date of 7/13 which is manageable. I see in this thread the Thinkpad option has better reception, but is the Intel option worth it at all with the N?

 

'N' means >100Mbps speed, maybe higher depending on the vendor and model. Current 'N' wireless adapters are still not fine-tuned to their maxim efficiency yet. So it's not much higher speed (3x/4x) anyway. Besides, I don't trust Intel wireless as much as Atheros/Broadcom/Marvell due to my bad experience with early centrino on my T42.

Personally I opted for the Thinkpad/Atheros a/b/g card on my T61, which should work for me most of the time. If I really need super-fast LAN access, I would connect the Gigabit Ethernet. Remember, that is 1000Mbps, still way faster than 11n.

 

So the extra N antenna doesn't enhance the reception?

 

Just received my Intel AGN T61n today. I had to download all kinds of updates from multiple web sites. Using a Netgear 802.11N router and comast I was seeing 100 - 120 kbps/sec.

Sitting three rooms away from the router, I'm Ok with that performance. $45 bucks is ok with me.

Now that "Robson" Card 1GB turbo memory is another story. My thoughts would be to apply that towards a memory upgrade and drop the "Turbo" memory at $50.

 

Being that I'm ordering now, it's probably better to get the newest technology anyway. It just appears that people are unhappy with Intel.

 

Does anyone know the model number of the Atheros chip in the Thinkpad a/b/g card?