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    802.11n Wireless Cards upgrade

    Discussion in 'Sager and Clevo' started by rubiks24, Jul 17, 2006.

  1. rubiks24

    rubiks24 Notebook Consultant

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    I know that from the home page news that dell is now offering 802.11n Wireless Cards upgrades for their laptops and also can be purchased separately for $59. I was wonder if sager would release one for the 5760. If not, would i be able to buy one from dell and use that on my sager 5760(aka is it compatible hardware pin wise and software wise?)
     
    rubiks24, Jul 17, 2006
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  2. Gophn

    Gophn NBR Resident Assistant

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    Rubiks,

    the wireless module that goes in Sager notebooks are standard miniPCI.

    So you can go get which every one out there that you want to install into your notebook. Its not proprietary.

    Wireless-N cards are still new, they need to get matured before it really becomes standardized. I would wait before getting the first wireless-N modules. Wirless-G 108Mpbs is pretty **** good and stable to date, so it should do.... unless if you're an early adopter. :)

    Here are some of the cards that are usually options for Sager notebooks:

    MSI (MS-6833) Wireless-G Notebook Mini-PCI
    - 64/128-bit WEP, WPA

    MSI (MS-655B) WiFi Card:

    - 64/128-bit WEP, WPA, TKIP, AES, TKIP and 802.1x security enhancement

    GigaByte (GN-WIAG) Super 802.11ABG Wi-Fi
    - 64/128/152 bit WEP, WPA, 802.1x, AES
    _____________________________________________________
    The following cards can be purchased seperately that support WPA2.

    GigaByte (GN-WI01HT) Super 802.11ABG Wi-Fi 108Mbps
    - 64/128/152 bit WEP, WPA/WPA2, 802.1x, AES
    Price: $40-50

    Intel® PRO/Wireless 2915ABG WiFi 54Mbps
    - 64/128/152 bit WEP, WPA/WPA2, 802.1x, AES
    Price: $20-30


    Hope that helps,

    -Gophn
     
    Gophn, Jul 17, 2006
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  3. rubiks24

    rubiks24 Notebook Consultant

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    very nice quite informative thank you!

    Um how good is the Intel 3945ABG 802.11a/b/g Wireless LAN Mini-ePCI card thats in the sager as a default right now? Should I upgrade to a Gigabyte one? If i was to upgrade what would you suggest? um the price isnt that big of a deal right now.
     
    rubiks24, Jul 18, 2006
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  4. Charles P. Jefferies

    Charles P. Jefferies Lead Moderator Super Moderator

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    The Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG module is Mini PCI-e though, so a standard Mini-PCI module will not work. That is, unless there was a mini-PCI 3945 I didn't know about . .
     
    Charles P. Jefferies, Jul 18, 2006
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  5. Gophn

    Gophn NBR Resident Assistant

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    Chaz is correct. The Intel 3945ABG card is actually miniPCIe (express), not miniPCI. I was in haste when writing that reply, I didnt get to note about other wireless modules.

    -Gophn
     
    Gophn, Jul 18, 2006
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  6. rubiks24

    rubiks24 Notebook Consultant

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    I was actually looking at a Atheros card. AR5006EXS, I know that its PCI express, but is it miniPCI express. So many standards, ahhhh, :( Would that work? If not is there an Atheros card that would work thats A/B/G or even N compatible?
     
    rubiks24, Jul 23, 2006
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  7. Charles P. Jefferies

    Charles P. Jefferies Lead Moderator Super Moderator

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    Mini PCI-express would work, yes.

    The 802.11n standard isn't even ready yet; there are problems connecting to a regular 802.11g network. I'd hold off for now. If you really need speed, then I would either experiment with Super G (108Mbps) or use a wired connection.
     
    Charles P. Jefferies, Jul 24, 2006
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  8. rubiks24

    rubiks24 Notebook Consultant

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    just as i was about to shell out 70 bucks for a new wifi card, i came across this

    http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Problem_with_unauthorized_MiniPCI_network_card

    Apparently some systems will not allow you to use "unauthorized" wifi cards. It checks the card against a whitelist in the bios pic-id. I would like to know if sager has this incredibly stupid and monopolic "feature"?
     
    rubiks24, Jul 31, 2006
    #8