A bit confused

[kayizm]

Hello to all. This is a very informative site and I'd like to say thank you to all of the contributors to make this an excellent place to discuss and learn.
OK, my issue. I've just purchased the Netgear WNDR3700 router and my questions are.
1) I have a Lenovo T-61 Laptop currently with a G internal card. Would it make sense to purchase a N card to pair with the WNDR3700? I mainly want a stable, fast connection with as few drops as possible. Also if an N card or usb device is the best route, should it be a like brand (Netgear)?

2) I also have a desktop that I want to pair with the WNDR3700, basically with the same questions as above.

All answers are appreciated.

 

[thiggins]

G adapters will work fine with the WNDR3700 or any other N router. But only N adapters will provide higher speed. As far as drops and stability, that depends on your wireless environment. N doesn't necessarily give you fewer drops.

You don't need to match adapters and router brands.

 

[kayizm]

Do you have an N adapter in mind to pair with the WNDR3700 ?

 

[claykin]

Do you have an N adapter in mind to pair with the WNDR3700 ?

How about replacing your mini pcie card in the T61 notebook? here's two that will work with the T61. I prefer the first one since its Atheros (same manufacturer chipset in the WNDR3700) and it will do 300Mb/s on both 2.4 and 5Ghz.

For some stupid reason the Intel card won't do 300Mb/s on the 2.4 band. It will on the 5Ghz band. At least that what Tim tells me.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Lenovo-ThinkPad...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item56340f3cb6

http://cgi.ebay.com/IBM-Lenovo-Thin...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item5d25a3a630

For your desktop you can look at either an internal card or a USB solution. I prefer the internal card as it will often allow you to use the chip manufacturers reference drivers. USB normally requires you to stick with the vendors driver/app (which are often crap) but the USB ones are more available and easier to hang off a USB extension cable and raise it up for good signal.

I don't know of a dual band PCI or PCIe N card that uses an Atheros chipset. Linksys has a WMP600n which is dual band N but uses a Ralink chip. Should work fine, but in the wireless world "your mileage may vary".

Maybe Tim can chime in with a PCI/PCIe suggestion???

 

[thiggins]

Maybe Tim can chime in with a PCI/PCIe suggestion???

I didn't even know about the Linksys WMP600N until I happened to see it in Office Depot this weekend.

It's the only dual-band PCI card that I know of.

For notebook PCIe, I'd go with the Intel WiFi Link 5300. It supports 40 MHz in 2.4 GHz, but defaults to 20, so you need to change the setting in Network Properties.

 

[claykin]

I didn't even know about the Linksys WMP600N until I happened to see it in Office Depot this weekend.

It's the only dual-band PCI card that I know of.

For notebook PCIe, I'd go with the Intel WiFi Link 5300. It supports 40 MHz in 2.4 GHz, but defaults to 20, so you need to change the setting in Network Properties.

5300 won't work in a T61 unless the OP wants to start messing around with BIOS hacks. See here:

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=71459

and if he wants to use the hacked bios, see here:

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=55837&start=0

 

[kayizm]

I went with the LINKSYS WPC600N for the T61 Laptop. Ill let you know how it goes.