Best Wi-Fi Card?

[atct86]

What is the best internal Wi-Fi card with regards to gaining 802.11g capability for my T40.

Will any work at 108mbps with my Linksys router?

[Champ]

afaik the ibm one.. or cisco if you hack

[AtmosMan]

Many people here love the IBM a/b/g card. I don't own a machine with one but my aunt has one and I've used it. Very good card. I believe if you want 108 Mbs you need the IBM card (Atheros chipset.) To make the IBM card work at 108 Mbs you need to do a few technical things. See the first sticky thread at the top of the T series forum for more info.

I hope this helps you get started.

-Brian

[MadeInJapan]

What's the point of getting a 108MB connection when the internet is a fraction of that speed? IMHO, unless you're networking to other computers, you only need a 11MB (or less) connection. That's why I'm not very concerned of upping my card to a "G" card and only have a "B" card. If there needs to be some rebuttal to what I'm saying, someone please post and educate me.

[rocky01]

after enabling 108 mbps through super g / dynamic turbo (and having ext splitter installed), both thinkpad and desktop pc EACH connect wirelessly at the maximum bandwidth -- connection speed actually exceeds 1500/384 the adsl line is rated for. downloads exceed 198 kbs when both the router's lla and llg channels are used. while i wouldn't expect this with additional access points, the additional bandwidth makes hoggish file transfers e.g. streaming video attainable throughout network with comfortable cushion.

http://www.super-ag.com/faqs.html

[bevross]

after enabling 108 mbps through super g / dynamic turbo ... connection speed actually exceeds 1500/384 the adsl line is rated for.

Well, quoting the manufacturer doesn't always provide an unbiased view! If used in a mixed environment (e.g., neighbors nearby) "The presence of Atheros Super G technology ... severely degrades the performance of adjacent networks based upon Wi-Fi 802.11g standards. ... When a [g] AP/router (based on Broadcom technology) operated 30’ away from a [Super G], system throughput dropped over 90% from 23 Mbps to just 1.3 Mbps.
http://www.tolly.com/DocDetail.aspx?DocNumber=204120
Hope none of my close neighbors gets this!

[atct86]

I have a 802.11b Cisco mini pci card right now. I need a new card with 802.11g capability. 802.11a would be nice but is not necessary.

I am looking for the best b/g card with the strongest signal and best battery life.

[ThinkPad]

I have the intel 2200 B/G on my T-30. I had to do the CMOS hack, but works like a charm now.

[ThinkPad]

and the intel is know for using less battery power.

[atct86]

What is a CMOS hack, and why did it need to be done?

[sktn77a]

I saw a review of the early 802.11b mini PCI cards and the Intel card power consumption wasn't any better than the competition. Are there any newer comparison reviews that support Intel's hype?

[ThinkPad]

What is a CMOS hack, and why did it need to be done?

When you start up the computer, the bios looks for a specific wireless card. Which in most cases has to be an ibm branded one. with the cmos hack you can install any brand chip and you have more options, such as the a/b/g card

[atct86]

I thought that the new a/b/g cards were just plug and play.

[ThinkPad]

if you get the IBM one then maybe, but im not sure about your T40. Any non-ibm branded card wont work without the hack.

[atct86]

http://www-132.ibm.com/webapp/wcs/store ... lCurrId=73

That would work with my T40 correct?

I will buy it at www.shopperwiz.com oif it works

[daeojkim]

What's the point of getting a 108MB connection when the internet is a fraction of that speed? IMHO, unless you're networking to other computers, you only need a 11MB (or less) connection. That's why I'm not very concerned of upping my card to a "G" card and only have a "B" card. If there needs to be some rebuttal to what I'm saying, someone please post and educate me.

It is useful when you have to transfer large files between computers I suppose.

[Leon]

also, depends on your Internet provider..... nominal throughput of a B environment is only 4.5-5Mb in spite of the advertised 11Mb. So, if your Internet connection is more than 5Mb, (mine is 7Mb, soon to be 10Mb), then G is a good investment. Anyway, you can get a good G wireless router on sale with rebate for $35. Many already have the G card in their laptop, so it is a small investment.

Range of a G signal is also significantly greater.

(corrected Mb for MB, good catch sugo!)

[sugo]

... nominal throughput of a B environment is only 4.5-5MB in spite of the advertised 11MB

It's Mb not MB lol

[LumberJack]

hehe....

Does he loose any feathers for that!

Are you really downloading large files over wireless anyway? wouldn't you just plug in to your nice gigabit to get max speed?

LJ

[darrenf]

I'll stand up for the Intel card (or at least my Intel card).

The drivers are crap and it's been a rocky road getting the 2200BG to work with WPA without crashing in varied and interesting ways. I'm using a Dell driver now because the Intel and IBM ones all had problems.

BUT the range on this thing is unbelievable!!!!!! I've sold about a dozen ThinkPads since buying this 2378FVU for myself 6 months ago and none of them have anything approaching the range of my machine. Most of the other ThinkPads used IBM cards but I wouldn't swear that there were no Intel cards in the bunch. I also had an IBM a/b/g card in my last laptop (T41) and the difference was eyepopping.

I don't have a good way to quantify the range difference, but as an example, sitting at the desk in my office I get an "excellent" (100% bars) 54Mbps signal off my AP. Other laptops on the same desk get 25-50% bars and always have to step down the speed (34Mbps to 11Mbps).

In my neighborhood (lots about .3-.6 acres) I pick up 6 distinct APs that are not mine. I can't tell you where they are located, but there aren't 6 houses adjacent to mine and I'm not on top of a hill. Some of them must be 100 yards away or more. For the signal to go that distance, propagating through structures, is pretty impressive!

-darren

[sugo]

I always tell people 2200BG has better sensitivity than Atheros AR5001X (ibm abg), no one listens

Which driver version are you using? I am using intel 8.1.0.28 driver with WPA. It's fairly solid here with XP SP2 WZC. I tried 9.0 driver and it was very unstable.

[fbrdphreak]

I also hear the Intel card (at least when included in a "Centrino" package) has five automatic power states based on usage. Supposedly contributes to the better battery life

[sugo]

I also hear the Intel card (at least when included in a "Centrino" package) has five automatic power states based on usage. Supposedly contributes to the better battery life

Yup, it runs much cooler than AR5001X in 802.11g mode.

[darrenf]

Yup - 8.1.0.28 with PROset (I couldn't get it working without PROset) and it seems to work well with WPA. Of course, every time I think it's working well I find data corruption or shakey signal. The most recent drivers from Intel worked well (it seemed) but then I did some online gaming and kept loosing my signal, so I stepped back to 8.1.0.28. As soon as I get an hour or so of gaming in, I'll know whether things are fixed. I haven't seen any data corruption in a couple weeks of usage and power usage seems great.

-darren