Dell 1703 (Atheros AR5B225) can't connect faster than 72Mbps...

I initially bought one of these (wifi/BT) combo cards for my Dell Latitude E6410 in order to get Bluetooth on the laptop, as changing the mini-pcie is easier than installing the BT module. The BT didn't work on the E6410 (although the devices appear to install OK), so I wound up installing the card in an Acer Aspire 5251. While both wifi and BT now work, the card is unable to connect faster than 72Mbps. In fact the card connects to my Actiontec Fios router at 65Mbps, while most of my other 802.11n capable devices (including an Atheros AR5B93 that was originally in the Acer that I'm now using in a Dell D630) are able to connect to this router at it's max supported speed of 130Mbps. Is this a limitation of the card? Is there some setting which will allow the card to connect at a faster speed? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

It's a bit complicated but overall it's correct.

130mbps is achievable only with 20MHz channel width and 2 spatial streams and 64-QAM modulation (and one of two coding rates).
Since Atheros AR5B225 is based on a AR9004WB wireless chip which can only use 1 spatial stream it would be possible for this card to achieve speeds that are adequate at 20MHz channel with 1 spatial stream and 64-QAM modulation- which would be 65mbps.

Max speed Atheros would be able to achieve in your setup would be 72 mbps with 400ns guard interval - with the same guard interval your other devices should be able to achieve 144mbps but seeing as Atheros manages this speed only for brief moments I assume other devices would only jump to 144mbps for a moment too(if even that).

You could get higher speeds from all devices by setting 40MHz channels on router but that might not be possible since according to 802.11n specs routers should revert to 20MHz channels when there are neighboring networks running (and I'm pretty sure that are other 2.4GHz networks where you are).

So to cut a long story short- the card is crap and in your setup as it is, it's working at it max speed - nothing you can do other than forcing 40MHz channels which would make it run at roughly 150mbps and your other devices at roughly 300mbps.

 

Thanks for the detailed explanation, So are there another relatively cheap cards you could recommend? I'll need wifi/BT combo cards for both my Dell Latitude E6410 & Acer Aspire 5251. I was looking at the Intel 6235 for the E6410... I don't think I need anything really fancy as both my router (130Mbps) and AP (72Mbps) max out well under 300Mbps.

Thanks!

 

Intel 6230/6235 is a decent card but for some reason does work wither great or almost not at all.
Intel blames it on manufacturers but it seems to be something with Intel's own drivers.

In most cases or works fine so you may as well buy it but preferably from a place where return would be easy and cost free (just in case you are the unlucky one)

 

Can you recommend another card that will have a higher chance of working?

Thanks!

 

Not really. 6230/6235 is really a good card (apart form those cases where it isn't )
Chances that it will ork fine are really good but I had to mention the issue to be fair.

 

Here's a highly recommended WiFi card with the same features as the Intel 6205 without the drops and driver issues for only 1/2 of the 6205's price:

Broadcom BCM94322HM8L

http://wikidevi.com/wiki/Broadcom_BCM94322HM8L

Amazon.com : Broadcom Wireless 802 11/a/g/n Internet WLAN Adapter Card for Laptops & Netbooks : Computer Internal Network Cards : Computers & Accessories

On Amazon, it says it's a Dell version of the card, but if your BIOS doesn't have a whitelist, it doesn't matter if you get the generic version or the Dell version. A plus is that OS X natively supports the card. You can see the reviews there.

 

I should have been a little more specific. My Latitude E6410 already has a Dell 1520 (Broadcom) card, and it connects at the max (802.11n) speeds without issue. I need recommendations for wifi/bluetooth combo cards that will do the same. I'd like to get one for my E6410 (Intel) as well as my Acer Aspire 5251 (AMD). Does Qualcomm or Broadcom make combo cards better than the one that I bought?

Thanks in advance!

 

I can't recommend Intel cards right now as they have driver issues that results to sporadic slow throughput. Even my Intel Dual Band Wireless-N 7260 sometimes have ping spikes that results to lag while playing online games.

I've had laptops with Broadcom 802.11g chips on them and so far they have performed excellent with no ping spikes. If you want the card that has the same features as the Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 without the driver issues, I suggest this Broadcom card:

Broadcom BCM94352HMB

http://wikidevi.com/wiki/Broadcom_BCM94352HMB

Here's where you can buy it: Azurewave AW-CE123H 802.11ac/nbg WiFi+BT PCI Express Module
Broadcom BCM4352 / Bluetooth 4.0+3.0 HS Class II

Azurewave is just a rebranded Broadcom WiFi card for retail purposes.

Hope this helps with your purchase. I actually wanted that Broadcom card too but I don't want to throw away the $25 dollars I spent on my Intel Dual Band Wireless-N 7260. The Intel is still reliable for me, but it's more prone to WiFi interference and has more latency than Broadcom and Qualcomm Killer chips on average.

 

cbautis2, thanks for the info. I haven't pulled the trigger on a new card for my Dell, but I did wind up picking up a AR5B22 for my Acer. I also wound up upgrading my home network with a D-Link AC1200 router over xmas and the card seems to work great at 5GHz (802.11n). And since I now have AC, I can justify getting an AC card for my Dell

 

hi f2racer

did you get one for 6410 ?