Buying a wireless card
 

OK, Robespierre and other experts. I have a headache from reading through all the stuff posted about doing WiFi or wireless connections with my laptop in Europe. I know I need to go buy a wireless card/adapter. I have poured through the Sunday ads and also studied links provided here for online purchase. I went to a couple stores and the information I got was bleak at best.

Here's the bottom line.

I can buy a LinksysSRX400 MIMO card which also says WPC54GX4 for $79.99 several places.

I can buy an AirPlusG one for $29.99 after rebates at OfficeMax. It says Model DWLG630.

I found an AirPlus DWLG-650 for $79.99. It says it is faster and better than the previous model above which is $50 less. It is 108mbps, while all the others I've seen seem to be 54mbps. Does that make a big difference?

I'm not talking about a ton of usage here, and one of my main goals if the card makes a difference is greater range in picking up a signal in Europe. Which should I buy? Or another recommendation?

There is ABSOLUTELY no point in buying anything faster than 11mbps (802.11b), because the fastest internet connection your are likely to encounter won't be any faster than 1/5 of that speed.

LANs (wired <u>or</u> wireless) only need to be fast if a requirement exists to move lots of data between local computers.

I'd suggest you get an 11b card from the &quot;overs&quot; counter for $5, and go on your way rejoicing. All of the later WiFi technologies are backward compatible (so an old card will work with a new WAP), and none has significantly better range than the plain vanilla flavor.

(<i>p.s.</i> Many computer salesmen are paid on a commission basis.)

Now first give us some info on which notebook you own. Virtually all newer models have a mini-pci slot which can be accessed from the bottom of the notebook. If you have such a notebook, all the cards you just referred to may not be what you want.

&gt;no point in buying anything faster than 11mbps (802.11b)
Compatibility mode is OFF and at least the 4 networks I can &quot;see&quot; form my PC operate on g only. I wouldn't invest in an 11b only card. Plus there are 2 additional channels used in Europe...

Ah, that is technically correct - but I've <u>never</u> failed to connect with <i>some</i>thing at 11b speed.

So as a practical matter, any old card is plenty fast enough for the time being.

&gt;never failed to connect
It's because the other networks simply don't show up in your list. You can't fail to connect with anything you're not aware it exists ;-)

Gee - ya think?

OK, as usual I'm overwhelmed.

First of all my notebook is a Gateway, 450 X, Pentium 4 Processor, 1.7 GHz, 512 MB memory. Windows XP Home edition operating system. I have never done any networking with it. Enough info?

It does have a place on the side to insert a wireless card. The only time I've done wireless was in Oakwood Apts in Chicago where they loaned a wireless card to me for the stay and it went right into the computer.

The comments about range and speed didn't come from commissioned salespeople, mostly who didn't even know if there was wireless in Europe, so forget the idea that someone was &quot;selling me&quot;. Instead I got them from buyer comments online about several of the wireless cards people commented on, including one who was complaining because the Linksys WPC11 (b) wouldn't get him a signal when friends with &quot;more expensive&quot; and newer cards sitting next to him were. Not true?

So bottom line, is there any reason not to spend $29 for that AirPlus DWL-G630 which supposedly normally sells for $79, which is what the newer G650 sells for?

hi, I'm no expert like the other posters, but since you're 'lay' like me, my two cents might help...

If the wireless card you are thinking of buying goes into a slot and STICKS OUT (isn't flush) when it is inserted, it may be a pain in the neck for you as it can easily get damaged because isn't smooth/level with the rest of your notebook and will get snagged on everything.

I went for a USB device so I just pop it into one slot when I need it. Much more compact (size of my thumb) and portable (i.e., less fragile) than the card.

Word of caution with it (and all USB devices) tho...if you want to remove it while your system is on, ensure your system says 'USB hardware safe to remove' (or something similar on the bottom right handside of the task bar, where the volume, etc. is typically located). This only takes a second.

If you just yank it out, you may blow your USB device (a la my partner did with mine...arrrgghhh =( because of course, there is a live wire in it.

Enjoy-la!

I bought a US Robotics 802.11g. I think I paid around 35 &euro; through the internet, in France.

I gave a bit more money since my current dongle wouldn't pick up some of the local sites.

I find that US Robotics gave a better menu choice when I scanned for other sites.

I bought the same for my desktop machine. Even I'm just next to the ADSL modem, there's a router built inside too. Using the Wi-Fi makes more seamless connections, whereas my Wanadoo ADSL kept crashing. It's the Wanadoo front page is slow and stops my machines. I can run three computers Wi-Fi on the same ADSL, so a bit more buying a good card seemed ressonable.

Blackduff

There is NO reason to buy any of those cards. You don't need those. First check if you don't have WiFi already built in. I'm rather sure it is :-). There is a slot named mini-pci bay on the botton of your laptop. (See manual Page 8 I believe) If you unscrew the one screw which secures it and open it, you will or will not see a card. If there's no card, you can buy something like in the link. You can insert the card yourself and attach the antennae, or have some skilled person do it.

http://www.litec-computer.de/Noteboo...t-s::5558.html
Those 32&euro; for the Intel card include taxes.

Spend the $30 and go in peace. It sounds like your mind is made up.

Uh, USB adapters are susceptible to breakage even more than PCMCIA cards. The USB socket is just inside the case, so very little torque on the adapter can damage the mother board. At least the PC card plugs way into the machine, so the leverage against the socket from the outside edge of the card is much less.

OK, now I'm getting nervous. You mean I can't just push the card into the slot when I want and pull it out when I'm done? Once &quot;installed&quot; I have to carry my notebook around Europe with the thing sticking out?

Neopolitan, make sure to check my advice, BEFORE you buy anything the other posters just recommended. ;-) It's the way it done... (by the pro's!), can't give you any better advice.

It's not sticking out, it is build in and can be activated/deactivated by pressing some buttons.

Check out logo's suggestion. First look in your &quot;Device Manager&quot; to see if you already have the internal card onboard. If not, then buy one and install it. Nothing sticking out.

I just looked on eBay for <b>2200BG</b>. There are several going for less than $20.

Wow. The responses come quicker than I can handle here. Logos, I can assure you my laptop does NOT have wireless installed. And I have no idea what bay you're talking about on the bottom of my laptop, none are labeled as you mention. I called Gateway support and when they looked up my laptop by serial number they said I should buy a wireless card from any source and put it into the slot on the side of the laptop. They offered no advice on what kind to buy.

Robespierre, what do you mean &quot;my mind is made up&quot;. Are you saying I should ignore those who say to get a g rather than a b for Europe? Should I assume the people who said the b didn't have the range was making that up? I'm not trying to be smart here, I'm really serious. I guess the bottom line question is why did they change all of the new ones to g if there is no difference from a b?

look here :-)
http://media-server.amazon.com/exec/...E4ODk2LnBkZg==
It's on page 8.

The b/g question doesn't arise ;-), buy it it's only $20 on ebay and be happy ;-) You've got all you need when travelling anywhere (I should have made a shorter link, sorry...)