Thinkpads Forum

Can I install a mini pci wireless card to 600E as some users did on their 600Xs?

No. The 600X was the only 600 series laptop to feature a MiniPCI slot. You're stuck with the PCMCIA and CardBus wireless cards.

thanks for super quick reply!

No problem.

badmanhk wrote:Can I install a mini pci wireless card to 600E as some users did on their 600Xs?

Hey, I resemble that remark . As you can see from my sig, I've done a couple of my 600X systems with Mini PCI wireless cards. It does take some work to get good range out of them however. Putting the antenna in the LCD frame yields slightly reduced distance than a regular PCMCIA card due to the metal. Finding room inside the case (under keyboard for example) is difficult. I finally installed an external antenna jack which seem to work the best but may be unsightly to some people. I'm still in the process of upgrading all of my other 600Xs with internal wireless cards as I like to have both PCMCIA slots open and I don't ever use the modem. You can sometimes find stripped down (no HDD, minimum memory, etc.) 600X systems on eBay for around $100 US, to well over $300 if they have an operating system and office suite already installed. At that price you may be better off looking at the T2x series, some of which already come with internal antennas.

your better off with a decent pcmcia or usb wifi card for ultimate signal strength because there is less signal reception interference
with emfs and wifi chipsets run a damm lot cooler too
which culminates into more consistent performance overall.
leave the pci slot for modem +or 10/100lan.

serverbook wrote:leave the pci slot for modem +or 10/100lan.

In a 600E (and 600X for that matter) there is no RJ-45 jack built into the chassis so installing a NIC in the Mini PCI slot will do no good. Since I very rarely use dial-up, I don't need the modem in the 600X. The last time I used a modem was 2002 in Australia. That's why I'm replacing them with the WiFi cards. If and when I need dial-up, I can just slap my Xircom card into the PCMCIA slot(s).

serverbook wrote:your better off with a decent pcmcia or usb wifi card for ultimate signal strength...

That's why I'm installing an external antenna jack in my 600Xs (see sig below).

now wer'e talking
better signal,lower mw needed for reception =longer battery life,cooler running chipsets.

then again ,if your not using the modem/lan card pci slot.
this is the way to go (foldable external antenna) nice.
don't mind foldable antennas for power wlan laptop.
which is exactly what you have rk
they are unique.
plenty options for mini pci wlan cards too
its just , i don't take to manufactures way of mounting antennas
looks trick but does not perform as good as decent pcmcia wlan cards or usb type for that matter.(no disrespect to your solution)
conversely the less harder the chipset has to work to utilise the bandwidth the cooler it will run
which is why your setup really is cutting edge development.
sorting out the pros +cons and coming up with a solution compromise exceeding current manufactured pc wlan performance
is a tough call,but if you get it right your on a winner for sure.

rk kawakami
which mini pci wlan cards offer adjustabily in mwatts parameters.