What Wifi Card would you recommend?

Im looking at getting a new gaming laptop. Will be on wifi most of the time when im playin and traveling. I want a good wifi card to keep a good and fast connection. At home i do have a netgear N600 router which is duel band. Just curious which card you would recommend.

Internal 802.11 B+G+N Wireless LAN + Bluetooth Combo Module +CA$0.00
Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6235 - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN + Bluetooth Combo Module +CA$30.75
Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module +CA$46.13
Killer™ Wireless-N 1103 - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module +CA$61.50
Killer™ Wireless-N 1202 802.11 A/B/G/N Wireless LAN + Bluetooth 4.0 Combo Module +CA$51.25

 

I'd go with Intel 6235 as it has the best power to price ratio.
Killers are overpriced and generic cards are crap, Intel 6300 and Killer 1103 are three stream cards unlike your router so it doesn't make sense either.

 

ok thanks for the info Ya i was debating on the duel band cards just didn't know if its really worth goin for the killer 1202 or the intel one.

 

Just a note:

Make sure you order your laptop, installed with one of the cards you want to use. More precisely, don't assume you can buy your laptop with a sub-par Wireless card, and order the replacement upgrade on Amazon, or E-Bay. A lot of current laptop manufacture's have a BIOS white list (more like a blacklist) that prevent you upgrading the card unless the card has their FRU , or some other coded nonsense, on the Wireless card. Example: Lenovo!

 

Well "a lot" is an overstatement- Lenovo and HP comes to mind- which to be fair adds up to roughly 30% of the market. Anyone else? I think Toshiba might have used white-listing but I'm not sure.

 

Yeah, I use "a lot" well.... A Lot! :laugh:

Still, it's pee'ing me off, that I was so stupid for not researching this issue before buying my Lenovo Y470. I'm stuck with 2 more years in my maintenance warranty, and I can't find a Wireless card with a Lenovo FRU stamped on it. Even Lenovo will not sell me an upgraded card!

 

If you are at wits' end and willing to brick your laptop, submit a bios de-whitelist request at a special forum you can easily find by searching the intarwebs.

I use a dewhitelisted bios on my x220, but I'm a wuss because other people tested it before me.

 

Thanks, but I'd rather have a valid warranty. :yes:

Also, and this is even stupider (That's a word?) I rarely use the wireless card!

That's why I haven't YELLED at Lenovo. Still, the OP ought to be aware of the "issue" :thumbsup:

 

HP is dropping the whitelist on consumer iirc. Since the OP is either getting alienware or sager/clevo(maybe MSI not sure), DIY upgrade is doable.

Warranty, well,
1. If it bricks, they can't proof that you use modded bios. (Unless they hire engineer(s) to diagnose the problem, which in the end cost more for them)
2. If it doesn't bricks, you can always flash stock bios back.

Lenovo thinkpad segment is not that bad since all of them are intel upgradeable. consumer though meh....

 

I upgraded my Toshiba Qosmio X875 in my sig with the Killer N 1202. So far it's been stable and served me well being paired with my Asus AC66u router. It replaced the stock Intel 2230 that was installed. I can safely say at least with this Toshiba model that the wifi cards are not whitelisted in the BIOS. Also MSI is also a safe bet since I did the same in my previous GE60 laptop. The only problem I have is not being able to get the bluetooth to work :-(

 

Just saw this thread, & lucky my lenovo was the model before the whitelisting. On the interwebz it says that after upgrading the WLAN card, I would need to hit F1 for my notebook model, but I haven't have ever do that. Installed the 7260ac & haven't had to hit F1. Good luck to others that have whitelisted models, especially if attempting to alter the BIOS.