wireless pcmcia card. what to buy?

[reiss]

hi
just got a laptop and am looking to install a wireless pcmcia card.

i have no idea of what specs i should be requiring to get a good hi speed card with a broad range.

any tips would be appreciated

cheers

[reiss]

ok, ill try a different approach - is this any good ?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...MEBI%3AIT&rd=1

[DanU]

There are some relatively expensive high transmit power wifi cards and access points. If you're serious about having as much range as possible, you should look into high power cards. Otherwise most 802.11g cards seem to perform about the same when close to the router.

Don't get that card on ebay. It's only an 802.11b card, which is limited to 11Mbps. It's enough for web surfing and such, but if you're looking transfer large files to other computers in your WLAN, get an 802.11g card and AP/router

[johnnyis42]

yeah, agreed. if you're concerned aboyt what to get, ask yourself what you want out of performance.

remember that higher power literally means higher power... it will drain the battery faster. if this is not a concern and you want the best quality/range possible, that's what you're going for.

if you just want connectivity when you are at a location that you know has a decent hotspot, somehting cheap at 802.11G will do fine.

if you want to get really exotic, you can get one that has decent range and a "pigtail" connector for an antenna. there are some really decent antennas designed to attach to your laptop that really increase the range, and often times the high powered cards actually require them as they have no internal antenna (though most wifi pcmcia cards have pretty lame antennas to begin with).

[Elburn]

johnnyis42 is right, if you want some serious range for your card, you should look at getting one with a pigtail connector (orinocos, and others).

I assume you have windows XP. So do I, and I have a D-link DWL-G650. It's a nice card, but for some reason it hates my (and only me) winXP laptop. You may not have a problem with it (and I'm a D-link guy), but holy cow I can't get it to work.

Otherwise, as previously noted, 802.11G is the way to go now, and you'll probably be able to get something at walmart that will suit you well.

[reiss]

thanks guys, im in the UK by the way, so no walmart.
i did buy the card off ebay, it ended before anyone commented. as it only cost £6.50 (around $11) im not too fussed.
i already have an 8mb broadband at home (not wireless)
just wanted to be able to use the laptop around london and get a connection pretty much anywhere.

will look at the 802.11G cards, ahh well, another excuse to shop on ebay..!