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    Which Wifi connector for College?

    Discussion in 'Networking and Wireless' started by Supercujo, Aug 19, 2008.

  1. Supercujo

    Supercujo Notebook Consultant

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    My college lists on their recommendations "Built in wireless with support for 802.11b/g*"

    I am looking at a Lenovo SL500 and the two options they provide are
    "ThinkPad 11b/g Wireless LAN Mini PCI Express Adapter III"
    and
    "Intel WiFi Link 5100 (AGN)"

    Which one is compatible or will both work?
    Which one would give the better connection?
    Which one would be better for future use?
     
    Supercujo, Aug 19, 2008
    #1
  2. Wirelessman

    Wirelessman Monkeymod

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    Both have g, which is the most used standard (54Mbps), the Intel 5100 is a new card, and some people have complained about it, try to get the 5300.
     
    Wirelessman, Aug 19, 2008
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  3. Apollo13

    Apollo13 100% 16:10 Screens

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    *Both will work.
    *They should give the same connection - the N on the Intel one won't help you since your college is on a G network (I don't know of any colleges that are on N yet - the final spec just came out a few months ago).
    *The Intel one would give you a bit better future performance - if your college ever upgrades to wireless N, you'd get a faster connection and be able to connect from further away - of course if your campus has complete wireless coverage already the being able to connect from further away part already isn't an issue because you can connect from anywhere on campus.

    Although realistically, you'll probably be capped by the maximum amount they allow for one computer, or the fastest speed a Website will download, rather than the wireless card. The fastest I've ever been able to get a download is a little over 2 Megabytes per second - even most download sites hit a wall around 768 Kilobytes per second. This is about 1/3rd the speed that a wireless G card can handle, and 1/16th what a wireless N can handle. If I remember correctly, nvidia.com is where I got the 2 MBps downloads.

    I'd recommend just going with the cheaper ThinkPad one, for the above reasons - the Intel one gives you nothing now and quite possibly nothing in the future. Don't be disheartened if it doesn't connect right away - regardless of wireless card or ethernet card - or even operating system - network connections at the beginning of a college year are always a headache and the IT departments always get swamped.
     
    Apollo13, Aug 19, 2008
    #3