building a budget HGL-30... using a T2050 and Atheros nic

I am using this cpu:

|Core Duo T2050 || 1600 MHz || 2048 KiB || 533 MT/s || 12x || 0.762/1.3 V || 13.1-31 W || [[Socket M]] || [[May]] [[2006]] || LF80539GE0252M || $140 USD

I am also wanting to use a Atheros 108Mbps mini pci nic.

Will all this work?

I do not know if it is Intel only cards.

The usual Samsung sata drive and two DDR2 modules.

 

I haven't heard of anybody putting the Atheros card in a Compal. That sounds like a good question to ask your reseller. They should be able to answer that for you if not find the answer for you.

 

I used an atheros based gigabyte card in my hgl-30 build. It's been working flawlessly for about a month now. In fact, I doubt I'll be going back to intel any time soon. The utility that came with the card is also very good. My advice to you would be to make sure it is mini-PCIe and not mini-PCI as I've noticed many vendors don't specify. Other than that, I wouldn't expect any problems.

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Communication/Products_Spec.aspx?ProductID=2215


BTW, Hello Compal Forum! yet another lurker has made the transition to registered member...looks like I can finally be of some use

Matt

 

Welcome to the forums, both of you! It's always great to have more Compal owners in here to share their experiences and knowledge.

 

Hey i have that same card! It works super nicely.

 

You have to get your own wireless network card? I thought it came with integrated wifi. And it has to be PCIe?

 

Most notebooks (including the current compal models) use standardized expansion cards for their wireless communications. People ordering notebooks that dont specify at the time of purchase that a wireless card is wanted, have the option later to add a card.

hope that helps your understanding.

 

Ya theres a difference between mini pci and mini pci e. make sure its pci e.

atheros is way better than intel, you have that part right.

Im not sure that part of your project is going to work out. This is because Im not sure the antenae is built into the hgl that doesnt have a wireless card....

 

All the machines I've seen over the years since internal wireless was an option have come pre-wired for internal wireless nic use. Not saying it isn't possible, just unlikely.

 

I bought mine without a wireless card and the antennas were inside already. The two ends were right where they needed to be to plug into the wireless card.

 

This gigabyte card really interests me.

I found it for $30. Before I saw it I only thought there were intel and atheros mini pci e cards.
the atheros one goes for about $60. I cant find any information on this gigabyte card other than you said it was like the atheros one.
Meaning its exactly like it?
Do you know anything more about this card? does it have improved range over the intel one? There are also 2 kinds they sell, one is 25 one is 30, any idea what the difference is?

 

Keep in mind the only real way to improve range is to draw more power, meaning less battery life and possibly not conforming to Centrino... (no big deal unless you live on battery power)

 

The gigabyte card I'm using is based on the atheros AR5005GS chipset. Check out this page and search for Gigabyte.

http://customerproducts.atheros.com/customerproducts/ResultsPageBasic.asp

Its basically an atheros chip sitting on a gigabyte pcb. Even the drivers are atheros. As far as range goes, I did see a definite improvement over my old intel pro/wireless (Asus Z71). Its also compatible with super G, which has better range and bandwidth provided you have a compatible router. Battery life has been awesome as well. I don't have any conclusive tests, but when browsing the web I average 3.5 - 4.5 hours depending on LCD brightness, cpu utilization, etc... To be honest, I'm glad to see more competition thrown at intel. "Competition drives innovation" The bottom line is atheros chipsets are far better than intel, they're just not advertised as heavily in the consumer market.

If you need a good place to buy from, check these guys out.

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=GN-WI01GT

 

yes thanks a lot

I also found it here

http://www.allstarshop.com/shop/pro...id=16765&sid=T2SRD14FHLAC9JPL2GJ4S6NDV6GL9ES4

they have a gt version and a gs version. The difference seems to be this super g youre talking about.

Well I was penciling in buying the actual atheros card for 60$+ so as long as this is the same thing Im getting it.

The only reason Im not putting in the order right now because its so cheap is atheros has a pre n card and will have an n card too. So gigabyte might have a version of those at a discount too.

 

Just remember that the only reason Intel does wireless is for centrino power conservation technology (They limit the power of the antennae to stick within certain power draw guidelines), all the competition in the world won't push them to take a side profit more seriously. On the other hand, Atheros lives and breaths network gear, and by not being the best, they lose money...