Best 802.11b PC Card

[Memo]

ok. So my laptop (Dell Inspiron 8100) is in the mail and I just found out the University of Texas has most of its buildings hooked up on a wireless LAN and so do most of the sorority and frat houses here. So, i'm looking for an 802.11b card. I see some of them say they only go up to 150ft and some go up to 1700ft. I know it varies depending on whether you're indoor/outdoor and what transfer rate you set it at. But.........are there any cards that are BETTER than others? Or maybe some that reach farther? Also, if they're 802.11b, will they work on any 802.11b compliant network?

[hapoo]

they're pretty much all the same among similar brands. I have a Netgear and it works great.

[Apex]

I think D-Link tends to have the worst reception (you should hear darth complain about that one).

If I remember correctly, the Cisco Aironet 350 client adaptor has the most powerful antenna (at least the most powerful of any I've seen):

http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/cc/pd/witc/ao350ap/prodlit/a350c_ds.htm

[Jeffbx]

I've had good luck with 3Com's, but the Cisco and Avaya (Lucent) ones are supposed to be the best. I've tried the Cisco and it works good; haven't tried the Avaya.

One thing to check out - see if they are using encryption wherever you'll be connecting. If so, be SURE to get a card that supports hardware encryption at the same level as the WAP. Otherwise your performance will be horrible.

[clutchy]

Intel was coming out with a new card a while ago that was supposed to be 5 times faster than regular wireless cards, i'm not sure if it's out yet or not though.

correct me if i'm wrong but most of those cards will only do like 11kbps. right?

[Apex]

802.11a is a completely different standard (55mbps).

[Jeffbx]

Originally posted by clutchy

correct me if i'm wrong but most of those cards will only do like 11kbps. right?

11Mbs, not Kb

[clutchy]

thx for the correction...

[joe52985]

ive heard very good things about the cisco's reception, even tho i have a wired switch dlink seems to be very reliable i dont know if they are the same way with wireless cards

[faither]

I've been using the Linksys wireless for a few months now and I love it. At home and in NYC (where a few wireless hubs have been created).

[Memo]

Awesome faither, i think i'm gonna go with the Linksys just because I have 120 dollars in Best Buy store credit. Laptop arrives tommorow :)


Dell Inspiron 8100 baby! Specs:
15" ULTRA XGA Screen
1.0 Ghz P3
384 PC133 Ram
32MB Geforce2Go
20 GB Hard Drive
Windows XP

[faither]

You'll love it. Happy motoring!

[redenergy]

For 802.11b for signal streght it is depend on the RF site. I think Lucent did a good job, they are using Dual Reverse F antenna. But the performance is about 3.5-3.8Mbps throughput only. Cisco card performance is better about 4.5Mbps throughput. Depend on are you looking for distance, performance or power comsumption! For best power comsumption you can choose 3com the pervious design from symbol there is a power management. And 3com cards support mobile ip.

I think i did post a got deal for Lucent card for $60-70 only last time if you are looking for distance.

[Bandito]

Very happy with my 3COM.

When one is made with a retractable antenna THAT will be a great thing. One that is maybe spring loaded, and stored inside the card itself. When you want to use it push it once to retract, when you are done push it in again to store it...