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    Which wireless chip is better? Or is there even a difference?

    Discussion in 'Networking and Wireless' started by dwang040, Oct 5, 2015.

  1. dwang040

    dwang040 Notebook Consultant

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    Looking at xotic, i see a two options for wifi adapters. (sorry for my terminology, i'm not the biggest pc guy). Ones is by intel, the other is by killer.Here's what the description says.

    Sager - Intel® Dual Band AC 8260 802.11 A/AC/B/G/N 2.4/5.0GHz + Bluetooth™ 4.0 [M.2 Chip] (SKU - S8X116) - Default
    Sager - Bigfoot Networks Killer™ Dual Band Wireless-AC N1525 [M.2 Chip] - 802.11 AC/A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module + Bluetooth 4.0 | (2x2) (SKU - WIFIZ8)

    Is one better than the other? since they are both $0 and free, i wasn't sure if one has tiny slight advantage over the other. Sorry if i'm in the wrong thread forum... Thanks
     
    dwang040, Oct 5, 2015
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  2. downloads

    downloads No, Dee Dee, no! Super Moderator

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    Intel 8260 is brand new and hardly anyone has it so it's impossible to judge if it's any good or not at this point.
     
    downloads, Oct 6, 2015
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  3. dwang040

    dwang040 Notebook Consultant

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    Cool do you have any preference between the two?
     
    dwang040, Oct 6, 2015
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  4. downloads

    downloads No, Dee Dee, no! Super Moderator

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    I wouldn't buy a card that comes from Intel until it was proven to work right, so at this moment I'd go for Killer.
     
    downloads, Oct 6, 2015
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  5. dwang040

    dwang040 Notebook Consultant

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    Thanks for the feedback.
     
    dwang040, Oct 6, 2015
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  6. WhatsThePoint

    WhatsThePoint Notebook Virtuoso

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    IMO if you use the 5ghz band and try a few different driver versions you won't find much difference in downloading speeds or disconnect issues between the Intel and Killer offerings but if you transfer files between devices on a home network be it a NAS or USB attached storage then in my experience the Killer AC cards are the winner.

    The Intel AC-8260 is just starting to appear in configurations,so like downloads stated it's too early to tell.

    I'm in the process of getting one now to put in my MSI GS60

    I've tried the Intel AC-7260NGW,Intel AC-7265NGW and Killer N1525 in the GS60 and the Killer is by far the best on Windows 7 and 8.1

    The 1st generation Killer N1525 is about a year old and has Bluetooth 4.0 or 4.1
    The 2nd generation Killer N1535 states Bluetooth 4.1
    The Intel AC-8260 states Bluetooth 4.2

    There's conflicting opinions on whether Bluetooth 4.0 and 4.1 can be fully updated to 4.2 with firmware and whether cards need recertification.

    The OS you use will also come into play especially if you are trying out Windows 10

    You are force fed drivers in Windows 10 Core and Pro.

    Killer has had a lot of new drivers released lately to fix issues related mostly to Windows 10.
     
    Last edited: Oct 7, 2015
    WhatsThePoint, Oct 7, 2015
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