Intel 7260: Replacement solution reasonable?

I'm a relative idiot when it comes to this so apologies if I get something wrong.

I have a Dell M3800 which came with the Intel 7260. It has horrible connection speed when not connected to an 802.11ac network; usually >50% slower than an older laptop I have sitting right next to it. I know this problem has been described. Because my workplace has mostly a/b/g/n routers this is a big problem for me. On the older machine I get speeds of ~100-300 Mbps and on the newer machine closer to 50-70. I work on ~400 MB files stored on remote servers so the decrease in connection speed is a major limiting factor.

I asked about downgrading to a non-ac WiFi card but was told that there are none with the same form-factor (mini PCIe?---this part might be wrong) and that there are no other WiFi cards which would work.

They suggested using a USB adapter: P-LINK TL-WN823N 300Mbps Wireless Mini USB Adapter. Does this seem like a reasonable solution? My main goal is to get higher WiFi speed on most networks.

Thanks for your thoughts.

 

Intel Ultimate N 633ANHMW Mini PCI Express Ultimate N 633ANHMW Wireless Adapter - Newegg.com

 

Wrong size, I think?
The M3800 takes a smaller card, I am told.

 

I've not seen any smaller than that in the mpcie form factor.

See the dimensions listed (both are ~1.1" x ~1.2"): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833106190&cm_re=7260-_-33-106-190-_-Product


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Yes, both are half-height mPCI-E adapters. Full height wi-fi adapters are an almost extinct breed nowadays. I don't think the 6300 even came in full height unlike it's predecessor, the 5300 that came in both form factors.

 

I am told the M3800 does not take half-height mPCI-E card but rather a M.2 (NGFF) card.

 

The Dell M3800 has an M.2 form factor AC-7260NGW wireless card and not a mini pcie.

The only other wireless card I know of in the M.2 form factor is the new Killer N1525 Wireless-AC(2x2)

Right now the N1525 cards are only available as stock in some recently introduced notebook models like the MSI GT72 with GTX980M and the MSI GS60 with GTX970M.

Contact dell or notebook resellers that customized for availability.

There is no place I know of selling just the N1525 wireless card.

I recently replaced an Intel AC-7260NGW that had disconnect issues when waking from sleep mode with an N1525 wireless card in my MSI GS60

Here's a photo of the 2 cards side by side

Open the link below to see photos of the card.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/networking-wireless/762767-killer-n1525-wireless-ac.html#post9805097

 

Thanks. Sounds like the Killer N1525 is the answer but bummer that it's not available for purchase. I got the TP-link 300 Mbps Mini Wireless N USB adapter. Download speed on the USB adapter was 55 Mbps compared with 25 Mbps on the Intel N7260. My iphone gets a download speed of 100 though... still not perfect but an improvement, I suppose. Hard to believe that Intel would have made a card that cut Wifi speed by 75% compared to a phone and 50% compared to a dongle. Maybe I'm just naive on the nuances. Seems lousy though.

 

If you don;t mind me asking... can I ask what people mean by "This wifi chip needs 3 antennas instead of 2" i've seen that mentioned several times about it and was interested in purchasing... you seem knowledgeable...

 

It doesn't "need" three antennas as such as it will work fine with two but there is no point buying an Intel 6300 and attaching two antennas to it as it will effectively turn it into an Intel 6200. It would make more sense to buy a 6200 (which is cheaper) in the first place.

Technical (although oversimplified) explanation is - each antenna is responsible for one spatial stream which on 802.11n network is wort up to 150mbps od theoretical transfer.
Therefore Intel 6300 with three antennas can connect @ 450mbps while Intel 6200 with two antennas will connect @300mbps. That said Intel 6300 with only two antennas will also connect at 300mbps.

 

A mini pci-e wireless card can have 1,2 or 3 antennas depending on the card.

Nearly all notebooks have only 2 antennas internally installed at the factory.A 3rd needs to be added.

The Killer 1103 and Intel 6300 both have connectors for 3 antenna wires to be attached.

With 3 antennas attached and paired with a dual band router able to provide 450 Mbps the theoretical link speed of the wireless card can reach 450 Mbps on the 5ghz band.With only 2 antennas attached to these cards they will have a max theoretical link speed of 300 Mbps on both the 5ghz and 2.4ghz bands

In the linked address to the 6300 in your post above observe the 3 antenna connectors between the 2 screw holes at the top of the card.

Most cards have only 2 antenna connectors and are limited to 300 Mbps with the exception of 2 antenna AC wireless cards that can reach link speeds of 866.7 Mbps on the 5ghz band when paired with a 1300 or higher AC router..On the 2.4ghz band they also are limited to 300 Mbps

EDIT: my slow typing brought my post a full 2 minutes after downloads post

 

Well. May be early to be overly optimistic. However.... I downloaded Driver 17.13.11 from the Intel site. Download speeds before: ~35 Mbps. Immediately after 158 Mbps. Is it possible Intel finally came out with a driver solution that fixed this problem?