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    1330 4965 and 1390 Network Cards

    Discussion in 'Dell XPS and Studio XPS' started by thefunks67, Jul 3, 2008.

  1. thefunks67

    thefunks67 Notebook Consultant

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    My wife's 1330 is equiped with a 1390 card and on some occasions while she is traveling she is unable to connect to the wireless AP while everyone else can. Some locations it works and at some it flat out refuses to connect. We never really knew if the card was an issue or if it was a Vista issue.

    My 1330 has the 4965 card. I haven't had it long but it has worked in all the locations that has wifi.

    Well, it just so happens we are both traveling together with our laptops and today we found a hotspot she could not connect to. So I whip out my laptop and sure enough I had no issue connecting.

    Granted this is only one "test" but I am leaning toward a defective card or a POS Dell card.

    Any thoughts?

    -Funk
     
    thefunks67, Jul 3, 2008
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  2. Bauer418

    Bauer418 Notebook Evangelist

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    You need to be looking up the reviews of Dell cards before buying them =\. Their cards flat out aren't as good. You can try your luck with your warranty and tell them that their card is a piece of junk and you want a free upgrade to an Intel card and see what happens.
     
    Bauer418, Jul 3, 2008
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  3. neilmcl

    neilmcl Notebook Consultant

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    You can't compare the two because they're not like-for-like. The main difference being the Dell 1390 is only a b/g card whereas the intel 4965 is a draft-N card so will give better coverage.
     
    neilmcl, Jul 3, 2008
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  4. Bauer418

    Bauer418 Notebook Evangelist

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    Yes but he's talking about detectable networks being in range and not being able to connect to them (at least that's what I gather). In which case it would seem more like a compatibility issue between the card and router, most of which occur with the dell card. This only holds true, however, if both cards are getting a strong signal from the base that you're trying to connect to. It's common for cards not to be able to connect if there's only 1 bar or so (packets can get dropped).
     
    Bauer418, Jul 3, 2008
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  5. thefunks67

    thefunks67 Notebook Consultant

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    Bauer's description is correct. The Dell card was getting Good strength and the Intel was getting Excellent. Sitting right next to each other. I think will call Dell and let them know this is unacceptable. If they blow me off I guess I will hunt down an Intel card and toss the Dell card.

    Thanks for the heads up guys.

    -Funk
     
    thefunks67, Jul 3, 2008
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