Thinkpads Forum

Hey Guys,

I'm thinking of upgrading the wireless card on my x61s. I've already replaced it once to an ABG compatible card but I'd like to get it N/AC compatible. I've already done the middleton bios too.

Are there any recommendations? All the threads i'm reading are like 2 years old, recommending intel 6xxx series cards. Anyone have any newer recommendations?

Thanks,

mr_yellow wrote: Are there any recommendations? All the threads i'm reading are like 2 years old, recommending intel 6xxx series cards. Anyone have any newer recommendations?

Atheros 9380 would be my recommendation. It's not AC capable, but is - in my experience - the best abgn card in existence.

IIRC, the x61s only has 2 antennas. Should I be getting the 9280 instead?

Thanks,

mr_yellow wrote:IIRC, the x61s only has 2 antennas. Should I be getting the 9280 instead?

If you can find 9280 *significantly* cheaper than 9380, then yes.

I use an AzureWave AW-CE123H. Half size, Wifi a/b/g/n/ac + BT 4.0. No issues so far, I'd recommend it.

R

Does BT actually work? I recall reading how the BT in one of the intel cards doesn't work...

Thanks,

Finding the driver package for both the BT and the Wifi is not completely obvious, but once you have it the thing works great. I used the ones at the very bottom of this page.
Bonus: It's supported under OSX if you're into Hackintoshes, which is not the case for any of the Intel cards

flyingfishfinger wrote:I use an AzureWave AW-CE123H. Half size, Wifi a/b/g/n/ac + BT 4.0. No issues so far, I'd recommend it.

R

Mine refuses to boot with it. Either a planar beep code or just pure black screen

I went with an intel 6300, then i akso ordered that magic dell card that overclocks. We'll see about the latter.

DaKKS wrote:Mine refuses to boot with it.

Middleton BIOS? I have it in the right slot.

flyingfishfinger wrote:

DaKKS wrote:Mine refuses to boot with it.

Middleton BIOS? I have it in the right slot.

Middleton yes. I put it in the left. The right one is where i keep my useless wwan card.

I use the Intel 4965AGN wifi cards myself. I have one T61 with the Intel AC-3160 which is a half speed AC card. When you get in the wireless AC card world there are more exotic cards and solutions that go up to $50 for a full speed PCI-e card.

https://wikidevi.com/ is an authoritative source for information about wifi cards.

With it you can see the AzureWave AW-CE123H is available under several brand names, useful if you're shopping for one.
See https://wikidevi.com/wiki/AzureWave_AW-CE123H

I took ajkula66's advice and put an Atheros card (AR5B91) into my x61s in place of a full-size Intel 5100.
It's producing much less heat than the 5100 on a Linux OS.

Am looking for a AR9380. Also am wondering if newer 3x3 Atheros models (AR9590, AR9580, AR9390) have any advantages over the AR9380.

edit: just tried an Intel Advanced-N 6205 and it's even cooler than the AR5B91.

flyingfishfinger wrote:Finding the driver package for both the BT and the Wifi is not completely obvious, but once you have it the thing works great. I used the ones at the very bottom of this page.
Bonus: It's supported under OSX if you're into Hackintoshes, which is not the case for any of the Intel cards

I bought the card but that link doesn't work for me, any suggestions?

You're right, link is dead. Luckily Wayback Machine seems to have scraped it:

https://web.archive.org/web/20150328054 ... 123_W7.zip

Otherwise here's another link but I haven't tried the software it provides:

http://www.bplus.com.tw/Accessory/AW-CE123H.html

They seem to be mislabeled (reverse order, Win 7 = Win 8.1, Win 8 = Win 8 and Win 8.1 = Win 7)

The dated pages you're finding suggesting Intel 62xxN are still valid.
The card is fast and cool.
The speed of 'N' Wifi cards isn't a bottleneck for most internet users. For example the fastest download rates, taking the top 10% of performances from a given ISP, in NYC in 2015 was 140 Mbit/s
http://www.speedtest.net/awards/us/new-york-ny

If you're at a university or have blistering internet speeds, and a very capable router, you could try the AC 3x3 card, QCA9880: http://www.ebay.com/itm/-/191834474682

flyingfishfinger wrote:

DaKKS wrote:Mine refuses to boot with it.

Middleton BIOS? I have it in the right slot.

Which is the right slot, tried it in the slot for the old WiFi card and it will not boot.
I'll try it in the wwan slot next time I open it but thought I'd ask first.

Pete B wrote: Which is the right slot, tried it in the slot for the old WiFi card and it will not boot.

That would make me believe that the card is defective.

Makes sense George, but I tried it in a Dell and it works fine, so I'll have to
try it again in the Thinkpad.
In fact, it wasn't even connected to the internet and it found a driver and
even the Blue Tooth worked. It has Win 10 so perhaps there are more
built in drivers.