best performing wireless card for T4x??

Message

Ninjak · #1 Post by **Ninjak** » Sat Dec 24, 2005 1:56 am

Hello all,

I have a T42 with a 2200BG and it's just not getting the job done. The range on my laptop is the worst I have ever seen in my life, my friend with a crappy $400 Compaq maintains a solid connection while I can barely load google after two minutes.

I want to replace the 2200BG with another MiniPCI card preferably, or even a PCMCIA card if there's no other good option. What MiniPCI cards have the longest range? I don't care if I lose 10 minutes of battery life or whatever, I just need a solid signal.

Thanks.

#2 Post by **bill bolton** » Sat Dec 24, 2005 2:54 am

Ninjak wrote:Hello all,

The range on my laptop is the worst I have ever seen in my life.

Have you checked the antenna connections on the mini-PCI card? The 2200BG is a reliable wirless card with good sensitivity, when properly installed.

Cheers,

Bill

firestarter · #3 Post by **firestarter** » Sat Dec 24, 2005 5:55 am

I've heard a lot of good things about the Atheros wi-fi card. Haven't used it personally but a lot of users recommend it, especially on high performance laptop forums.

#4 Post by **GomJabbar** » Sat Dec 24, 2005 7:50 am

If you use Access Connections, check this before you give up. Open Access Connections, choose Locations > Manage Profiles... > highlight your wireless adapter > Profile Action > Edit... > Wireless Settings > under 5. Advanced Configuration: Settings... > under Power save mode: choose "Low (best network performance)" from the drop-down menu.

I have the Intel 2200 bg card, and I have good performance with it. My power save mode is set to Medium, the default. I am connecting to a SMC router/AP.

EDIT: I am using the latest version of Access Connections, version 4.01. If you are using Access Connections 3.xx, the menu structure is different, but I believe the setting is there somewhere.

stangri · #5 Post by **stangri** » Wed Dec 28, 2005 8:37 am

I've had pretty much all WiFi cards avaialble for ThinkPads: 2100, 2200, 2914, IBM a/b/g -- I'd second that the 2200BG is a great card in terms of signal acquisition/strength.

I believe it's more likely to be the problem with your OS or could be even antennae than the card.

jongordo8 · #6 Post by **jongordo8** » Wed Dec 28, 2005 9:55 am

I have heard that the IBM wireless cards with the atheros chipset are superior to the intel wireless cards. I was searching for this very same answer and after searching through the board I decided to go with the IBM a/b/g II card.

Reasoning for this:

Consensus of people on this board found:

1) Connections were rock solid
2) Signal strength was higher with this card than intel based cards
3) Price from IBM was 58.00 shipped free via UPS express (although it has been stuck in customs for 4 days).

#7 Post by **bill bolton** » Wed Dec 28, 2005 11:30 pm

jongordo8 wrote:I have heard that the IBM wireless cards with the atheros chipset are superior to the intel wireless cards.

In other places you would have heard exactly the opposite. As far as I can tell there isn't any real difference.

Cheers,

Bill

Lostoutlaw · #8 Post by **Lostoutlaw** » Thu Dec 29, 2005 5:54 am

I've had the 2200bg for almost a year now and had some trouble with it recently. Apparently, it was the new driver update that screwed things up as I had a botchy and an inconsistent connection with various routers (linksys and dlinks).

So while troubleshooting, i basically rolled back the driver (didn't help) and then uninstalled everything and reinstalled with the new driver... works like a charm now and almost never drops the connection or has trouble finding a network.

I'd say that if you are having problems with it, try to troubleshoot and fix the problem with software adjustments before making a buy on new hardware... seems to work things out that way more often than not.

**I also want to add that reinstalling the drivers is a bit complicated since simply using the software installer to do the job doesn't work. You need to manually install the new intel driver in the "driver" folder on your HD and then install again with the software installer update. I believe there's another thread that talks about this issue.

tripper · #9 Post by **tripper** » Thu Dec 29, 2005 9:45 pm

2200BG is a disaster. Stay away from Netgear or Linksys with it.

They need to print a chart somewhere which shows you which router/card has which chip in it - never seen such a thing. It would be so much easier to choose your card based on your existing router then.

NeoteriX · #10 Post by **NeoteriX** » Thu Dec 29, 2005 11:01 pm

how do you determine which mini PCI card you have? Are there any ways to configure the card for increased performance?

best performing wireless card for T4x??

best performing wireless card for T4x??

Re: best performing wireless card for T4x??

Who is online