Intel WirelessPRO 4965AGN (draft)

I have ordered a new laptop with the Intel WirelessPRO 4965AGN (draft). I'm not so good at this things, but I just read a bit so can someone read this and tell me if I am thinking correctly?

O.k. the card is the laptop, I get that part. Now that I want to connect to a wireless to internet from my existing LAN I need to buy a Wireless Acess Point (I already have a gigabit switch and I have one port unused), connect it to my switch and configure the settings of my wireless connection so it works smooth. (I read the guide here so I know the security things too). All I need to get started, hardware wise, is a wireless access point which connects to my switch?

Anyway, I am aware that the Intel WirelessPRO 4965AGN (draft) works with 802.11a/g/n. I want a greenfield 802.11n connection which features the 5GHz frequency band and all I can find are WAP's that have a 2.4GHz frequency band (I live in a family environment, so there is a lot of other electronics running around, and I think the 11g will be pretty poor if I want a really strong signal from everywhere in the house).

As I understand it the 802.11n is still in draft and isn't going to be finalized sometime late 2008, so does this mean that my Intel WirelessPRO 4965AGN (draft) cannot use the 5GHz frequency? Will I get to use the 802.11n frequency when it is finalized and amended or will I have to buy an entirely new network card for the laptop so I can enjoy the full benefits? I know 802.11a uses the 5GHz frequency too, but from reading the 11n seems much faster and has better range.

Please tell me I'm making some sense... I just had to digest all this information about the and read through about the 802.11x TG's versions. Aparantly greenfielding 802.11n with all the candy can give up to a 300Mbps connection, so I assume the typical capacity is much higher tha 11a and 11g.

 

You card must have the 5ghz radio to support it. It all depends on the hardware. There is a concensus if the HW supports the v2 specs it will meet the final spec. But only time will tell. And yes worst case you may need to replace the wireless card. But since you purchased it with 11n you should have 3 antenna.

 

You need to make sure the AP is 802.11n in order to take advantage of all of it's features. While 802.11n is not complete, as you noted, the hardware portion is completed and all you will need to do is upgrade your firmware to give it the exact 802.11n specifications...but even that is not necessary. Yes it will use the 5Ghz frequency, as long as you have a 5Ghz AP.