Intel Centrino 6300 vs Generic wireless

I am shopping around for a laptop, and I am trying to ascertain whether the $35 would be worth the upgrade to the intel 6300. My concern is not so much the throughput of the card, but more the range. At my university, I will be staying at a university residence that has opted to cover the rooms using MANY routers spammed all over the show. This results in excessive interference and sometimes one cannot even establish a connection. Would the 6300M assist in this situation?

 

What do you mean? Does each room have its own router, are there many separate networks, or are there a couple of networks but many routers for them to cover a broad area?

With my living situation I have many networks visible (5-60+ depending on the time and/or how many people are living here). No, the 6300 can't help you there. I really haven't noticed any improved anything versus the old generic wireless N card that was in there. Waste of money unless you have a fancy router to connect to and a need for high wireless data transfer rates.

 

I disagree. I upgraded my wifi card from a 1x1 Atheros AR5B195 (AR9285 1x1 + BT) to a 2x2 Intel 6230. While it is only a 2x2, the signal strength has increased a lot as compared to when I had the Atheros card. a 3x3 card will provide larger range and throughput as compared to a generic 1x1, so if you feel the price is okay then go for it. No harm done if you get it.

 

I will probably end up buying this if the generic card is not adequate after testing:

Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 wireless card A/B/G/N | eBay

That should fit into a Sager NP8180, right?

 

Yes it will fit fine although 6300 makes more sense than 6200 only if you install the third antenna.
If you don't plan on doing so go straight for 6200.

 

I have the Intel 6300 in my current notebook; previously I had always gone with the generic wireless cards. The 6300 has far better signal strength through walls and over distance. The $35 is well worth it, IMO.

It's equally important to make sure your router is positioned correctly - not under a desk and so on.

 

How would I go about installing that third antenna?

Their are several routers dispersed in the corridors, all of them collectively showing up as the same network.