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    Is Intel 5350 a lot better then 4965AGN card?

    Discussion in 'Lenovo' started by BNHabs, Apr 9, 2009.

  1. BNHabs

    BNHabs Notebook Deity

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    Is Intel 5350 a lot better then 4965AGN card? What are the differences. If I can upgrade to the Intel 5350 from the 4965AGN and money and compatibility did not matter, would it be worth spending 10 minutes to do the upgrade or opening the laptop? Is the difference better signal, battery life ext?
     
    BNHabs, Apr 9, 2009
    #1
  2. jonlumpkin

    jonlumpkin NBR Transmogrifier

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    The 5350 supports Wi-Max (AKA 4G). If you have Wi-Max in your area (e.g. Baltimore, Portland, more cities coming), then yes it is worth the upgrade.

    If you are only concerned with 802.11 ABG I would say it's not worth it.

    The one thing that might sway you towards installing a 5300/5350 (identical except the 5350 supports WiMax) is if you have a 2.4GHz 802.11N router. The 4965 does not support 40MHz channel width (AKA fat channel) on a 2.4GHz connection, the 5100/5300/5350 does support this but it's not default behavior. 40MHz width is the only way to achieve >65 mbps on 802.11N.

    On the whole, I'd say unless you are having trouble with your 4965 or you want Wi-Max, it is NOT worth the hassle of upgrading.
     
    jonlumpkin, Apr 9, 2009
    #2
  3. clk500stock

    clk500stock Notebook Enthusiast

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    only if u have a WIRELESS N router
    also, the wi fi strenth will be much better
    and, the transporting speed will boot up if the other one support N 2
    the intel 5 series have less heat
    if ur laptop is t61, there would be a warn msg, you should flash ur bios to a solve that
    in addition, i think u would put another attena in, which will be located under the frame of ur lcd
     
    clk500stock, Apr 10, 2009
    #3
  4. zephir

    zephir Notebook Deity

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    The problem runs even deeper than that. Lenovo locks BIOS to only allow official Lenovo Wifi cards. Even if he buys a 4965AGN card for other laptop brands, he can't use it. What he needs is Zender's BIOS hack, which will void his warranty.
     
    zephir, Apr 10, 2009
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  5. BNHabs

    BNHabs Notebook Deity

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    Don't worry about that. As described in my first post, I customized (hacked) my BIOS to allow any type of upgrade without giving me an error such as a motherboard upgrade or wireless chip..

    Also, this does not void your warranty. If you upgrade back to Lenovo's BIOS, it won't make a difference.
     
    BNHabs, Apr 10, 2009
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  6. zephir

    zephir Notebook Deity

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    Yes, I know that if you use back Lenovo BIOS, then you won't void your warranty. However, then your wireless card won't work, so you'll need to change back the original card. Quite a bit of hassle, don't you think? ;)
    But you'll get better battery life and possibly stronger signal (I'm not sure about this one since both use 3 antennae) so I recommend that you go for it.
     
    zephir, Apr 11, 2009
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