Intel Wireless Cards

Hey guys, I was just wondering the advantages of having a wireless card. First of all, is it really worth it, if you plan on traveling a bit maybe and depending on wifi. Also in the intel 6250+wimax, what is wimax? Also,which is the better card, intel 6250+wimax or intel 6300?

Thanks

 

Ha? I'm not sure I understand the above question...!? Is there a laptop without WLAN!? To me that would be like a car without a second and third gear!

I depend on WLAN, I rarely ever use Ethernet. Even at home have WLAN router.

 

All new laptops come with wireless cards.

WiMAX - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Intel 6300 is a higher end card having 3 antenna, dual band capabilities and up to 450 Mbps while the 6250 has only 2 antenna, dual band and 300 Mbps max speed (all really dependent on what router you have really).

 

All new? Actually All laptops in the past 5-6 years

Btw I never knew what the idea behind the 2 Antennas is? Which one is in use, when does it switch from A to B, what's the deal?

 

Usually 2 antenna is 1T2R or better 2T2R and 3 is 2T3R or better 3T3R, this is why with 3 you can get the dual band and up to 450 Mbs with 3T3R.......

Edit; as mentioned you need a compatible router...........

 

If you don't plan on moving your computer around much, wireless just lets you have one less wire. In a stationary situation, I always prefer a cabled connection over wireless since it gives a much more stable connection (esp. if you consistently download or upload, even in programs such as Skype).

 

Ha? Based on what??

My WLAN is just as stable as when using LAN - even more stable as no cable pulls itself out

 

Really depends on the wifi card you have. My D-Link Xtreme N cards are fantastic, as well as the Intel wifi cards. Also depends on the router...the FiOS G router is actually pretty good, never had a dropped connection..

 

This is valid both for WLAN and LAN - some Ethernet cards are crappy and some LAN-routers are no good either.

But to say LAN is more "stable" than WLAN... I personally can't confirm that. Been using Internet over WLAN past 7 years...

 

While YOU can't personally confirm, it doesn't mean that it is untrue and/or that others cannot confirm this. Most likely you just do not notice this based on your network/internet usage. So just because you've used wireless for 7 years doesn't really mean much.

Wired connections have been used for decades and are shown to be more reliable (there will always be some sort of signal interference and signal power which rapidly degrade with distance), less costly, better performers (less overhead, faster practical network transfers), and much more secure than any wireless connection (though the tradeoff is that wireless has more mobility obviously).

Yes, there are variances among quality of wired and wireless, but comparing similar quality connections between wired and wireless, unless you require portability (which the OP doesn't seem to stress about) - wired wins hands down.

 

Thanks guy for the feedback. Ya sorry I forgot to clarify about all laptops having wireless cards, I really just meant is it worth it to upgrade to a better one (like the Intel series). What's wimax btw?

 

Depends what you have, which you are upgrading to, and the cost. WiMAX is using wireless internet directly to your ISP basically (instead of say a home router, which gets a direct cable/DSL line).

 

This is exactly why I asked what you base your theory on!! Just because you feel it this way does not mean it is true

It might have been true 10 years ago, but certainly not today, unless you link to someone who has proven that. I have my 90 MBit/sec over WLAN without interruptions. Don't know what more to ask for.

 

Nice speed, what router/wireless card are you using ?

I think we he meant is that wireless is bound to be easier for interference to kick in. I had a router which is in a very crowded area(2.5Ghz band) that by simply switching the channel number(rather than letting it choose automatically), I get the speed effectively doubled.

Such thing would not happen in a wired case as so long my Cat-5 is good, it is just the device at both end that decide the speed, someone using a microwave oven next to me.

 

Of course! And it might be that his WLAN is crappy and many other factors! But that does not mean it is IN GENERAL more unreliable. LAN also has factors that can make it unstable.

I have a Belkin Router and Intel 6200 WLAN card.

 

@Gracy123 SNB ( Real Help For Your Small Network - SmallNetBuilder) which can be considered more or less an authority in networks field of expertise, confirm in almost every review of their wireless routers, that at this moment in time, NO Wireless router can provide a better connection than a cable based connection. (better = anyway you can think of, downlink, uplink, latency, etc.) Feel free to browse their reviews of highend routers (e3000, e4200, wndr3700).

 

I have the reason to believe that a 300N in 5Ghz band would beat a 100Mbps wired if I am inside my living room where both the router and notebook are seated.

Though I agree that in general wired is much better than wireless as there is only that much you can stuff inside a specific band whereas for wired case, it is exclusively used between the router and the device.

Same reason why the early day coax/token ring has been replaced by TP.

 

I do believe that. But how much difference does it make in real life situations? As you see from the screenshot I do get my over 90 Mbit/sec both ways. No latency either. And no high-end Router - just a 70€ Router and an Intel 6200.

So if what you mean is 300 bytes per second drop in average - ok, I agree. If they make a difference to you - use a cable.

 

for home use, you are absolutely correct as there may be at most 3-4 connections and not usually at the same time.

I am assuming your's is a 5Ghz band one 300N ?

 

I have no debate over this as I am not against wireless networks, I was just stating that wired is better than wireless. Did not argue about the fact that wireless networks can be reliable.

 

Nope - I'm using 2.4 GHz. Here's the Router:

Belkin Share N300 Wireless N+ Router F7D7302

 

Stay on topic, thank you. Thread moved to relevant section.

So, back on topic here. What wireless card is in your laptop right now? More importantly, which laptop is it? Some laptop brands have restrictions on which wireless cards the laptop can accept (controlled by BIOs, called white listing). Also what router you use?

Wimax is a wireless internet technology much like your cell phone 3G signal.

 

My current router is NETGEAR - N600 Dual Band Wireless-N Router with USB i believe, could be wrong but I know its Netgear for sure. I'm planning on getting a new laptop soon once sandy bridge mess gets cleared up, so a sager/clevo, asus sw or m17x r3(most likely). I believe they are all compatible

 

whether or not wireless router is the way to go depends on the speed of the connections you need, data/network security, how far away are you from the wireless router, etc.

 

I use a DraftN router 2 laptops as DraftN, 2 more as G connections, PS3 as a G, HP L6170 printer as a G and then a Samsung 60" as wired. Also the kids have people over all the time connecting in too.

Everything so far as I an tell works flawlessly. My pipe to the NET though is only 15/2 Mbps............

 

One question nobody really answered was what is WiMAX. Someone kinda did but figured i'd add on that too.

As for WiMax, it's basically those 3G cards you see from your wireless providers (Sprint, Verizon, etc.) WiMAX is a feature of Sprint/Clear that offers "4G" speeds for internet. They have a specific coverage area for that too just like you do for your cell phone. So you can connect in lots of places, not just where there is a wirless router or something like that. On a moving train for example. WiMax isn't everywhere yet and ofcourse that's not free, it's another $40-X/month plus what you are paying now for cell phone service.

OffTopic -

LAN is better in lots of situtions where it's needed but for average use for normal internet browsing it makes no difference to most people. LAN actually becomes more of a problem in normal situations on a laptop ofcourse because of it's nature - cables. For high bandwidth, everyone knows LAN is where it's at and nobody is saying otherwise. Whenever i want to copy tons of data to my NAS i plug in the cable and send them flying over 1Gbps LAN

 

15/2 is your bottleneck so whether it is wired/wireless doesn't matter much. As technically, each of your internal link only needs 2-3Mbps(when they are all connected but use the internet). However, between these machines, the speed difference can be huge(like copying video from one to another).

Which is why I said if it is for home use, wireless make perfect sense(convenience) even it is slower. But for business which is what the SBN mainly for, wired beats wireless easily, due to usage pattern.

 

I use WLAN everyday, and it is a must. BUT, I prefer for some reason, cable for my laptop which is basicly always connected to my TV. I have even removed all the parts I do not use
Like, it has no screen, CD-ROM (I actually broke that down :/), modem, WIFI card, soundcard (using external dobly card insted), palmrest and touchpad, Fingerpring reader and yeah, that's it

But back to topic, I can't imagine laptop without WIFI, it would be useless.

My download and upload speed is the same with cable and WIFI. But that laptop does a lot of up/down-loading. And I feel like it is more stable, for some reason..

 

Some interesting info for anyone who would like to know how wireless performance changes with distance, interference, and security:

Draft 11n Does Not Equal 100 Mbps Ethernet - SmallNetBuilder

 

Very interesting info, this article answers many questions about WiFi vs Ethernet. +rep added