confused about notebook expansion slot adaptors

[kenshindono]

i got a d-link gaming router and its cool, but i seem to get big pl spikes from time to time while gaming, i think the problame might be my wireless card in the notebook so i picked up the wna-2300 expansion slot adaptor for the notebook
http://www.dlink.com/products/?sec=0&pid=472

thing is im a bit confused on how this thing works. Is this supsoed to work in conjuction with my intel wireless card or seperately? should i install the drivers and this thing, or disable my existing card first? theres no manual with it so im not sure exactly what to do

hopefully this helps

 

[blue68f100]

Disable you current driver.

Install the new card and install the drivers.

When it comes up and sees your SSID enter the WPA key when prompted.

 

[kenshindono]

ok so this thing is a whole new wireless card then and NOT meant to work in conjunction with my existing intel wireless card right? just want to be clear on that

 

[blue68f100]

Correct, It is design to replace (add) your existing card.

You can have 2 wireless cards active. But there is no gain unless you are bridging. There is no speed boost like using the bandwidth of both.

You will find that most external cards are better than the built in.

The card you have has the capability of using a Speed boost, with a matching router you can run a higher connection speed.

 

[kenshindono]

thats exactly what i wanted to know, tnx a lot.

kinda funny this would work better, the intel internal one i have is actually more expensive i think


right now im trying to mess with some settings to try to do it without the card, it seems like somethings interfering with it or something because it runs fine with the turbo and all that stuff on but then gets thse huge PL spikes from time to time, flat out disconecting me. When i turn that stuff off and just have it conected it seems to have much less pl spikes and in shorter bursts but the overall ping is higher. I checked the help section and it says to try setting the preamble on all wireless devices to short, but i dont see an option for that in the dlink router settings. is that something i actually set in windows or what?

 

[kenshindono]

ungh well i figured it out but when i went to install it the card doesn't fit in my stupid expresscard slot! wtf?

its a brand new dell xps and it doesn't support this? the box says its a notebook expresscard i dont get it, so i looked at the dell manual this is what it says:

one expresscard slot (54mm)
cards supported
express card/34 (34mm)
express card/54 (54mm)

express card connector size 26 pins

i have no idea how to make sure i get one that fits this criteria i dont see this kinda info on the box anywhere or the website. Hell the box says its for notebooks right on it, and the specs on the data sheet show the width at 54mm.. so wtf? i want to get a d-link card since my routers a dlink i figure that would give better compatibiility.. what shoudl i get? this kinda pisses me off i wanted to set this up tonight.

i dont want a usb adaptor i hear those suck

 

[blue68f100]

Make sure the card is not upside down. You may need to play with the alignment they are very picky on the ones I've used.

AND Don't force it. You do not want to damage the pigs. If you can look into the slot with a flashlight and see what you are trying to hit. Make sure none are bent. Some times they are a little sloppy fit if using the 34 in 54 slot.

 

[kenshindono]

no it just flat out doesn't fit, i looked at it with a flashlight, the card is straight across and the conector on the laptop has a little notch cut out on the far side of it. it looks like it will take a 54 if its L shaped or a 24 regular, this is a 54 straight across. I THINK i need something like this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expresscard

the key seems to be it needs to say expresscard on it, is that right? Ive been looking on newegg and cant find any like that though. Is this some brand new tech or something?

 

[blue68f100]

Looks like the Express and std cardbus are identical except for the pin outs. Must say express card. Otherwise it's the old std PCMCI card.

 

[kenshindono]

im having a very hard time finding a card that'll work, i guess its fairly new. All i can find is one dlink and a belkin and i think a linksys

http://www.dlink.com/products/?sec=0&pid=550

http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satellite?c=L_Product_C2&childpagename=US%2FLayout&cid=1147850020524&pagename=Linksys%2FCommon%2FVisitorWrapper

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16839314007

the problem is they all seem to be form N. i dont really want form N, i dont like messing with beta stuff, i wanted a good G one. Do they even make them in that? Will i have compatibility issues if i use an N on a G network?

between those 3, outa curiosity which one would you get. if i remember righ ive heard a lot of bad things about Belkin so im thinking either the dlink or linksys? Like i said my routers a D-link so maybe just get taht for compatibiliyt?

tnx for all your help btw

 

[blue68f100]

I'm like you on 11n, there is not good news when it comes to playing with other. The bad news is due to there compact size I doubt they will meet the 11n spec. I would go a cheap USB device for now, and avoid 11n all together. If you can not find one that hard to believe. Another option would be to purchase a AP and set it up as a Client device. But not very portable.

 

[kenshindono]

ungh, im definatly not using USB, my crappy intel internal card is better than that.

i found the belkin one at frys and got it not sure if i want to try it though. Isn't belkin a crappy brand? i seem to remember reading a lot of bad reviews of their routers when i was looking for one to get

the dlink one i just cant find anywhere i dont even think its out yet

this sucks. I know the N isn't very good but i have a G router, should it work ok with that? would i still get the 108 speeds? I just really hate paying to beta test their garbage

 

[Iceblue]

ungh, im definatly not using USB, my crappy intel internal card is better than that.

Why do you say this? Since the USB adapter is external, and many of them have a fairly long cable, they can many times be positioned for better reception than any internal card. If you have USB 2.0, it will be as fast, too.

Express card is not compatible with PC Card (PCMCIA), but you have discovered that by now.

The speedboost products are mostly proprietary - you need the same brand on both ends - and many times perform worse than standard 11g in a mixed mode environment. DraftN products are to be avoided, IMO. You are paying extra for draft technology that may not work with the final 11n standard, and to make matters worse, you can't use the technology since your network is standard 11g.

I'm backing up Blue's recommendation - go with an external USB device.

The problem a lot of built-in wireless adapters have is due to their being built in. The signal has to pass through the case, electronics, etc., of your laptop.

As a generality (varies with specific products), external adapters will work the best, adapters with their antenna poking out (such as PCMCIA cards) next best, and internal worst. By "best" I'm speaking about signal sensitivity.

 

[kenshindono]

blea sounds like the n sucks as much as i thought

i got it working pretty well with my internal card, i turned packet bursting on in the configuration screen and that seemed to help a lot. Ive gotten a few lag spikes but they correct themselves fairly quickly. I played WOW all day yesterday without any drops and only like 2 medium spikes (about 5-10 seconds long)

maybe that was the key

i tried the belkin card since i can return it and it was crap my signal strength went from 1 below full with the internal to only 2 bars and i got constant PL with it

im gonna see if this works, if it doesn't i may just drill a hole in the ceiling and run a wire to my room, because it looks like wireless gaming hasn't improved as much as i thought