Killer 1202 has the same range as Intel Centrino 2230?

I just got a Killer 1202 for my Lenovo Y410P and installed the drivers, but the range is the same as my old card. Is the Killer better than the Intel 2230? When I installed the card, there was a loose sticker on the back of the wireless card. Could this be messing with the signal?

 

Welcome to the forum.

The 2230 is a 2x2 300Mbps 2.4ghz band wireless card while the Killer 1202 is a 2x2 300Mbps dual band(2.4ghz and 5ghz) wireless card.

Range can vary according to card and router setup and where the notebook is at your location.

Use the FREE inSSIDer app to find the least used channels on both bands and use them in your router settings.
inSSIDer for Home – Discover The Wi-Fi Around You | MetaGeek

Your router should be set to WPA2 AES to get the best speeds.

After you set your channels walk around your location with notebook in hand and inSSIDer running to see where connection stenght is strong or weak.

Get latest Killer drivers from killergaming.com
Killer Gaming :: Support :: Driver Download Support

 

Range is related to transmit power and frequency of operation (assuming the same location and antennas). Amps can also increase range but that is more on the router side than the cards.
Also range works both ways - your notebook has to be able to pick up the signal from the router and transmit its signal to the router (and the router has to be able to pick up this signal) meaning that the lowest common denominator is in play - if your router has a range of 100 feet and your Wi-Fi card has a potential range of 70 feet that your operational range will be 70 feet (regardless of the card in use).

That works both ways - even the best card will not make up for a crappy router (not that I'm suggesting yours is- just explaining how it works)

Wi-Fi cards with standard transmit power tend to produce similar range- you can get better throughput at the same distance from the router but max range is unlikely do be very different for reasons explained in the first sentence of this post.

 

I tested the chanels for both the Intel 2230 and the Killer 1202 with the inSSIDer program and the range of the intel was actually better. The Killer was -78db average and the intel was -60 average. I'm going to return the Killer and get a different one. My router is a Netgear N600 WNDR3400 and I'm about 70 ft away through 4 walls. I live in a secluded area so I don't get any other signals. Do you have any suggestions for another PCI-E wireless card with better range than the 2230?