Marvell Yukon's website claims the 88E8040 Fast LAN Controller does Gigabit....???

I've tried for two days with countless Cat-6 and Cat-5e cables (brand new) and toyed with every setting and driver I can find on my Dell XPS M1530 and so far I can only get it to run at 100mbps. On the other hand, BOTH my Cat-5e and Cat-6 cables give full 1000mbps to my desktop machine which has an Asus Striker Extreme motherboard. http://www.marvell.com/products/pcc...Express_Fast_Ethernet_Controller/release/794/

Do any of you guys have the proper drivers to get this LAN adapter to work properly as advertised by the manufacturer???

The router I'm currently using is a Linksys WRT350N and has excellent gigabit.


On the other hand, I'm also having one hell of a time getting my Intel 4965AGN WLAN card to hit decent speeds on my Linksys router as well. I cannot even get an option in the WLAN chips properties to add a #7 option which gives wireles-N compatibility.


I'm considering calling Dell in a few moments and demand that they send me not only the Dell 1505 WLAN network card that I had initially ordered, I also want them to solve the problem of why I cannot get gigabit ethernet out of this notebook.

Oh yeah.... and i just noticed that they forgot to install the Bluetooth chip that I had paid for when I ordered the notebook!!!!!


So.... what do you guys suggest? If we can fix a few of these problems, it will save me a lot of time laying down the law with whomever answers the phone over at Dell today!



And if they screw with me.... I'm going to not only send the laptop back.... but the brand new Linksys WRT350N router (another $189).... and buy a Mac Book Pro!

 

I haven't tried a ton of stuff yet, but I noticed last night that I have only been getting "g" speed on with my intel chip and a linksys wrt300n router. As anyone successfully connected at "n" speeds? What drivers are needed?

 

Unless Dell says it has a GigE connection...

 

I've seen a few people already claiming on various notebook websites that they can get this LAN card to run at gigabit.

A few of the people claiming to have made it work were on this forum.

After a quick search.... it seems like they get gigabit in Asia too: http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/notebooks/0,39050490,42299395p,00.htm

This US site says the same: http://www.notebookforums.com/thread209849.html

______________________________________________


Ok.... so I'm screwed on Gigabit..... But how about swapping out my crappy 4965AGN Intel Wireless card for either a Dell 1505 or perhaps something better? I hear those Atheros cards kick butt and are dual band.


Any suggestions???

 

The Intel Card is far better than the Dell N card - it keeps a signal better, and is supposed to be better as far as battery life goes, too. It's the 3rd link required to make a laptop a "Centrino". Also, Dell usually charges $50 to upgrade to that card, so if they threw it in for free, I wouldn't be upset at them for that.

Personally, I get great "N" speeds on my Intel 4965 card when paired with a D-Link N router.

As far as the wired NIC - doesn't Dell advertise it as only 10/100? If so, then it isn't Dell's fault if you can't get it to run at Gigabit speeds when they never said it could, Marvell's claims not withstanding.

I hope that's useful.

 

For some reason the XPS does not appear to have gigabit ethernet. Why a feature common to many inexpensive notebooks is missing from an allegedly "premium" line like XPS is unknown. I nearly passed on the 1530 because of this.

 

Good call. I'm going to hang off on touching my Intel 4965AGN card until things get more standardized with 802.11n networking. I'm seeing a lot of promise in the upcoming dual-band routers but right now many have pretty big problems with signal degradation with even relatively short distances plus they cost an arm and a leg.

I'm going to be returning my Linksys WRT350N and stick with my very reliable, yet old school Netgear wireless-G router until this whole "draft" (aka.... pre-beta) thing gets worked out.

Which D-Link N router do you have? DIR-855, DIR-655, DIR-660, or DGL-4500?

I've read they work quite well with the Intel 4965AGN card in my m1530....

Well, when I ordered my M1530, the only thing it said about a LAN port was that it was the Marvell Yukon FE+ 88E8040 and said NOTHING about speeds. So naturally, I checked out Marvell's website and found that article I posted earlier which stated the LAN adapter would do 10/100/1000. And considering the fact that most high end notebooks now come with gigabit LAN, I consider my conclusion that my new M1530's Yukon FE+ 88E8040 would have the same capabilities.

In my 20 or so years of building, repairing, administering, and keeping a close eye on personal computer technology, this is one of the very first times i've actually seen a major manufacturer take a fully capable network adapter and cripple it's most important feature in the way Dell has done in this situation.

I will admit though that after countless hours of forum hopping, I did eventually find out that Dell did indeed disable the gigabit feature from the M1530.

Considering that Dell didn't even show this adapter in their list of specifications when you finish building your XPS Dell notebook "build and customize" feature, so indeed Dell completely deceived buyers by this practice of downgrading a great LAN adapter to sub-par 10/100 performance.

What makes me even more angry is that nations such as the UK, Australia, Asia, and most of the European Union actually receive this adapter with full 10/100/1000 LAN speeds.

The EXACT SAME network adapter in my M1530 is being used in all these foreign nations except DELL took it upon themselves to remove the capability of gigabit through their special US-Spec Vista 32/64 drivers/firmware.

THIS.... is why I'm upset with Dell/Intel for doing this.

I hope you understand my point of view as well. I have here invoices for my M1530 XPS and nowhere has it stated that this LAN adapter does not function in gigabit mode. It wasn't until after my notebook arrived that after trial and error, I found out that Dell decided to restrict the gigabit feature of the Marvell LAN chipset... from many third party sources, and absolutely NOTHING from Dell.


I hope with a firmware update, this can somehow be fixed so my m1530 can have its LAN adapter running at full potential.

Till that day, i can only wait.

 

What I don't understand is WHY.

Why would they cripple this? I mean, it's not that this is a feature they declined to add because of cost. They actually SPENT MONEY to cripple gigabit on the XPS M1530. I don't understand why. Maybe they were afraid of the XPS pulling sales away from the Latitudes and Precision laptops? Was this some nutty segmentation strategy? Was someone in a bad mood?

 

I believe you're right. They wanted to keep the gigabit functionality in the more high end business type machines.

It's not just Dell BTW.... i've read other companies are doing the same.

 

I think it was the DIR-615 N router, IIRC.

My guess, too, is that Dell took out the GIG-E so as not to take away sales from the Latitudes. The Latitudes still have an edge for docking/D-series peripheral compatibility, but I still do see the logic.

I agree, though, that it would upset me, too, if I expected gig-E based on the specs and got only 10/100. Out of curiosity, did Dell's M153O Tech Specs page say anything about the ethernet, or did it just mention the chipset and leave it at that? IF so, complain and ask tech support to give you a link to the "real firmware".

I'm sure there's got to be a firmware/driver combo out there that can change your card back to its full Gig-E. Please let us know when you find it (and I wish we could do the same for the M133O, too, BTW, because the driver , at least, says Gig-E, but, of course, it's only 10/100).

 

The Gbit part irritated me years ago actually.. regarding the old Latitude D600 models.
The one I had with motherboard rev.A01 would run Gbit just fine, bought another a year later with A03 motherboard and it would only run <100Mbit.
Same driver & bios on both, same chip w/a little different fw.
Marvell diagnostics/software reported both as Gbit adapters -strange indeed, and could be from the MB manufacturer not running all 8 wires from the chip to the connector to save print realestate or some other funny reason? o)

 

^^^ Well.... lets just leave it at the fact that the lack of gigabit is WACK.

Well I just sent back my WRT350N router and traded it in for a brand new D-Link DGL-4500!

Every site i've visited in, it seems everyone is happy with the D-Links.

 

Hello everybody,

Well, damn! It seems that I'm not the only one to be VERY VERY dissapointed with the lack of the GbE on my M1530, and of course to realize it only when it arrived. I couldn't belive that a year 2008 laptop could be bought without gigabit ethernet! I copy a lot of LARGE files over the network, and I already used up my express card slot for the e-sata adapter ((((

- I'm confused, Marvell Yukon 88E8040 is advertized as a Fast (10/100), not GbE (10/100/1000) adapter. Has anyone verified that it can run on gigabit speed, not just some probable typo from the Asian review site? (Anyway, what does "Fast+" mean? "Gigabit If You're Lucky"?)

- I've heard that some people from UK claim their M1530 runs gigabit, as well as some others from EU. Can anybody verify that they have the same 88E8040 chip? (I bought mine in France) Maybe there is still hope with some firmware update....

This is a great dissapiontment for me. I'm thinking of re-selling my M1530 and never to by Dell again

 

Yup, indeed the lack of GbE is very disappointing (especially since the adapter supports it) but lets hope some firmware or driver revision could fix it (altrough i doubt it).

I got my m1530 from factory in Polland, bought it in Italy (EU).

"Marvell Yukon 88E8040 PCI-E Fast Ethernet Controller"

This is what i see in adapter properties (nothing about Gigabit).....

 

W/ ye old D600's the gbit capability was reported just by the Marvell utility (Like Intel's ProSet) - giving link states and adapter info + some testfeatures.
I actually seem to recall both these laptops had Gbit connection when docked btw.. guess it could be power concern -were someone had found the adapter used a watt or two less in 10/100-mode and enabled this for 'out of office' use.

I've seen sites advertising both the m1330/m1530 as having a Gbit ethernet port, or "10/100/1000", but this is just ad typo's.

Actually.. I think the most valid guess for the 10/100-route we see on quite a few consumer laptops(and eqiupment) today is to save the pc's from the users, and Dell + other manufacturers from costly motherboard replacements.
A 10/100-connection requires just two pairs for a good link, while gbit requires 4 - and the extra pairs required for Gbit includes pin 4+5 (the two in the middle), which are a worldwide telecom standard for phonelines delivering their voltage/signal to.
This voltage varies from 40 to 110v. (analog/digital) and easily fries a NIC caught offguard when the user plugs the phoneline in the wrong port - resulting in a MB replacement arguable 'under warranty' to get the system working again

 

I just discovered my M1530 does not have gigabit speeds during a large data transfer. To be honest, I never even bothered to verify that it would be gigabit when I purchased it a few months ago. I mean, I'm purchasing from the XPS high end gaming line. Every other laptop I've purchased in the last 5 years has had gigabit speeds, including other Dell XPS models (M170, M1710, etc).

I am trying to locate a firmware fix, but this is absolutely unacceptable. Dell has screwed around one too many times. I will not be purchasing a notebook from them during my next upgrade cycle. They have lost a long time customer due to repeated customer service problems and poor design/technical decisions. What genius came up with crippling a perfectly good gigabit nic to make it 10/100? In 2008?? I feel like they shipped my system with a floppy drive instead of a DVDROM. I mean are we back in 1996? FU Dell. Seriously.

 

Agreed, this is mind-numbingly stupid move on the part of Dell. These are sold as business laptops where this feature is almost mandatory.

This is yet another blunder, and coupled with all the other issues associated (faulty chips, overheating etc.) with this laptop. This seriously calls into question Dell's competency as a manufacturer.

I only regret that I did not properly research the ins and outs of this laptop previous to purchasing. With what I know now I certainly would have taken my business elsewhere.

 

Has anyone got any kind of official response from Dell on this? I'd like to see what BS story they come up with to try and explain crippling a perfectly good NIC.

 

This is still a sore spot for me.

 

I never even looked at the specs when I bought mine. I assumed it would be GBit. This is annoying as hell since my plan was to throw my 500GB External HD onto the network instead of one of my comps...

 

It seems the Marvell 88E8040 was meant to be a gigabit card. I'm not sure if this was discussed before, but under the networking tab in Task Manager Windows reports a maximum speed of 1 Gbps when disconnected (shown in pic). I've come to realize gigabit isn't possible on the M1530 but I'm curious if anyone else with the card gets this in Task Manager.

Also, Windows Update has a newer driver for the card dated 1/19/09 and Marvell's site shows one from 12/9/08. Has anyone had luck with either one?

 

Everywhere I see the 88E8040 mentioned on the Marvell site, they call it a FE+ (fast ethernet) rather than a gigabit ethernet (see also http://www.marvell.com/products/pcconn/yukon/index.jsp).

James Hartman
Pflugerville, TX

Insert standard disclaimer here (I don't speak for my employer, etc.).