Difference between Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6200 and WiFi Link 5100?

I recently ordered a new laptop with the Intel WiFi Link 5100 Series from Xotic. At the time I ordered it the option for the 5100 was the highest available wireless card. I just checked the customize page again to see if anything had changed, and now the upgrade option is for a Centrino Advanced 6200 card.

Is there any difference between these two cards? I tried checking Intel's website but I couldn't make any conclusions just based on what I saw there.

 

Centrino Advanced-N 6200 is a 2x2 spatial streams wireless card, on the other hand WiFi Link 5100 is only capable of 1x2 spatial streams. So in terms of max connection speed, 6200 could have up to 300Mbps at both upstream and downstream, while 5100 could only have up to 150Mbps at upstream although it is capable of up to 300Mbps at downstream.

In practice, 6200 will be beneficial for those who share data using wireless N network than 5100.

 

nice concise answer, +1

 

Still a 5300 is better than 6200 IMO..
if it's me, I'd go with the cheapest option and upgrade to 5300 myself.

 

Thanks very much for the answer aidil. Looks like the 5100 will be just fine for me then, since I don't really do much sharing over my network.

@crayonyes
I would have gotten the 5300, but the laptop I got only has 2 antenna connections, so there would have been no real benefit.

 

You know, aidil did give a good answer to your question, but in retrospect, I would go with the 5300 regardless of # of antenna connections...upgrade aftermarket if need be. I've heard of wayyy too many problems with the 5100.

 

mmm... ok thanks for the advice. if i do end up having problems with my wireless connection i'll know what to do now.

 

Agree, 5300 is better way to go than 5100 if it is within the options. I've changed all my laptops' wireless cards to 5300 and one of them previously had 5100. Better yet, select Intel Centrino Advance-N 6300 if this one is also within the options.

I've experienced unstable connection speed when I was still using 5100 in my Mini 9 (it was also an upgrade from stock Dell Broadcomm wireless B/G card). It hardly stayed at 270Mbps even though the laptop was near the wireless router (I don't think this one is an ES version, at least since it has the same MAC address printed on the label with hardware MAC address). After I swapped it with 5300, I can have stable 270Mbps (@ 2.4GHz band) in the same situation. But then this might be due to I also add the 3rd antenna.

 

5300 with 2 antennas is 2x2 .. add the 3rd antenna yourself like aidil and you'll get 3x3

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=5808235#post5808235

 

I'll be picking up my 6200 card tomorrow and upgrading the Atheros card that will be coming in my new CW!

 

The third antenna does absolutely nothing for you. As of today, no wireless router supports more than 2x2.

 

Actually the 3rd one still has its function.

Even though 5300 is connected to 2x2 spatial streams wireless router, the 3rd antenna is part of antenna diversity which will help picking up wireless signals when the other two cannot. So, the 3rd antenna will improve the quality and reliability of the wireless connections. This is why 5300 is still better than most other wireless N cards which only rely on 2 antennas.

 

^
This and futureproof.
Just because you can't now doesn't mean you can't tomorrow.

And I get perfectly stable 300Mbps with a 5300+router-N combo,
great reception & never drop connection

5300 for best price+performance atm

 

I may get the 6200, thought about the 6300 DIY route but there has been no proof at all so far that the 5300 gets better reception than the 5100 or that the 6300 beats the 6200.

Infact we have several users on this forum that said when they did the upgrade they noticed nothing different.

I do not have a N router so I wont see any difference.

 

we also have lots of users who benefit from 5300 instead of 5100
and lots of users who complain about their 5100.. so figure

You don't have now doesn't mean you don't have it tomorrow.. Cheers!

 

Yup! It's like saying half empty or half full...

I say that several users on this forum, including me (and I know it's not only me), have also said that changing from 5100 to 5300 improves a lot.

Let me enlighten the improvements:
When still using 5100, the connection speed barely stayed at 270Mbps. After changing to 5300, I get 270Mbps (@2.4GHz band) or 300Mbps (@ 5GHz band) most of the time. And not only that;
I often upload large movie files from my laptop to the NAS. The single upstream capability of 5100 resulted slower and longer uploads, while using 5300 is a lot faster due to its 2 (out of 3) upstreams capability.

Those are noticeable improvements.

 

My comment was only for reception not speed, the 5300 is definitely faster if you have the hardware to support it.

 

Most router support 300Mbps though. So 6200 will be twice as fast as 5100.

 

I have also bought ASUS N71JQ which comes with only two Antennas.
I think I will go the route of 6300 card.
I am thinking of adding the extra Antenna myself.

Last year I upgraded my ASUS M50VM from 5100 to 5350. The M50VM had already three antennas.
What I have noticed after the upgrade was that the connection quality has increased in my house. With 5100 I had many dropouts inside my house, but not anymore since I have 5350.
Unfortunately, I cannot use my full size 5350 in N71JQ, as it requires half-size card.
I think there is enough place there, but the screws will not fit.

The 5350 was ordered from eBay and it came along with 3 antennas like these ones.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=5808235&postcount=21

I think I will open the N71JQ myself and add the third antenna inside the LCD back cover. The only concern I have is the warranty.

 

Hi all,


This looks good: GENUINE INTEL Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 633ANHMW Wifi


From Intel: Intel® Centrino® Ultimate-N 6300 and Intel® Centrino® Advanced-N 6200
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<O</O

Not bad for $48.00<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->