Wireless for laptop -- Internal or PC Card

[Devhux]

Well, I've now settled on exactly what laptop I want to buy, but now I have an interesting question:

Which type of wireless card should I go with? Internal (MiniPCI), or external (PCMCIA). On the particular machine I'm getting, I can get an internal 802.11b solution, or an external 802.11g (good for when I eventually decide to upgrade my wireless router).

I've yet to find a good place here in Canada that sells MiniPCI cards, so I'm leaning towards a PC Card. What I'd like to know is this:

1) Do PC Cards use a lot more power than a MiniPCI card?

2) Do you get better range out of a PC Card, or an internal solution?

3) What brands would you recommend for an external card -- if that's the route I should go?

[Jeffbx]

Originally posted by GuruX

1) Do PC Cards use a lot more power than a MiniPCI card?

I believe they use more - 5v vs. 3.3v



2) Do you get better range out of a PC Card, or an internal solution?

Depends on whether you can use an external antenna with the internal card. For example, the IBM Thinkpads have antenna connectors on top of their screens, which can significantly increase your range.

However, if you have only the miniPCI card, you might get better range with PCMCIA, esp. if it has connections for an external antenna.



3) What brands would you recommend for an external card -- if that's the route I should go?

If you're worried about range, this card (http://www.demarctech.com/products/reliawave-rwz/reliawave-rwz-100mw-prism2-5-pcmcia-card.html) has probably the best receive sensitivity of any card on the market.

[bachviet]

Go with the PC card (54G).

[Joshua]

I popped one of these (http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?sku=430-0485&c=us&l=en&cs=19&category_id=4011&page=external) little puppies into my laptop and even had TWO little antennae wires inside the laptop. Range is awesome and I have had 0 problems with it.

IMHO, if you can find a minipci (The dell one might actually work for you since it's made by a 3rd party) you should get one. I hate having things sticking out the side of the pc if I don't have to.

[myhamster]

I have cable internet service, and in my opinion, the transfer speed of my 802.11b is good enough since my internet speed rarely goes ablove .b's transfer speed.

G is nice for the added distance. I'd get G. In terms of those turbo mode stuff, I think since my internet speed doesnt' go above the transfer rate, it doesn't matter too much if it's regular old G or not...

Eric

[Devhux]

...but considering the majority of my files will be stored on a central server, it might be a good idea to go with 802.11g after all. :) (802.11g is good for file transfers -- or at least way better than 802.11b)