Intel Ultimate N WiFi Link 5300 with Dell Vostro 1700

[gehav]

Hi,

after reading the review of the Netgear RangeMax Wireless-N WNDR3700 I'm thinking about buying one for myself. Of course to take full advantage of the new speed I also need a matching wireless adapter in my notebook (Dell Vostro 1700).

I'd like to buy the Intel Ultimate N WiFi Link 5300 and have already checked that it would physically fit into the expansion slot for wireless cards in my Dell (full size version). At the moment there is a "WM3945ABG" card installed which has 2 wires (antennas) connected to it. (see attached picture)

Now for my question: there are 4 other cables near the current wireless card. Which of those will I need to connect as a third antenna for the Intel Ultimate N WiFi Link 5300?

Because the picture is not very detailed: the connected wires are black and white. The 4 others are blue, grey, grey/white and grey/black.

I suppose I would need to connect the black, white and grey wires to the Intel Ultimate N WiFi Link 5300. Is this correct?

Thanks in advance,
Georg

 

[claykin]

Note, you may not be able to just install ANY Intel 5300 card you find. Dell, like other brands, often BIOS locks WLAN card types on their notebooks. That means you'll need to find one that has been approved to work in a Dell PC, preferably your specific model. Do some searching before you run out and buy a new WLAN card.

See here for installing the WLAN card and yes, it looks like the gray wire is what you need for a 3 antenna setup.

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/ins1721/en/sm/minicard.htm#wp1180179

 

[gehav]

Thanks for the advice! I had no idea that there were different Intel 5300 cards... Where I live (Austria) I can only find one type of Intel 5300. So I thought this was the only one (like there is only one Netgear RangeMax Wireless-N WNDR3700).

The one I plan on buying is the following:
http://www.intel.com/network/connectivity/products/wireless/adapters/5000/index.htm
which is pretty cheap according to our local price comparison site (in German): http://geizhals.at/a399608.html

Web research so far hasn't gotten me the right answer, which is the reason I asked here. I will ask Dell about compatibility tomorrow - but as far as I know support hotlines I already fear I won't find the answer there

Maybe I'll just risk the € 25,- and try my luck with the card linked above!

Thanks also for confirming the right cable colours!

 

[thiggins]

I know that it's a completely different notebook. But I had no problem installing an Intel 5300AGN half card in a Dell Mini 12 running XP Home. I just used the drivers downloaded from the Intel site.

 

[claykin]

I know that it's a completely different notebook. But I had no problem installing an Intel 5300AGN half card in a Dell Mini 12 running XP Home. I just used the drivers downloaded from the Intel site.

Hmmm, maybe Dell isn't doing a lot of BIOS locking these days. I've had a heck of a time in the past getting off the shelf wifi cards to work. In the past Dell has often locked certain cards based on identification strings that are embedded in the devices. Dell has Intel make them a custom OEM version of the wifi card that has their OEM manufacturer string embedded in the firmware of the wifi card. If you use an off the shelf card with a different OEM code, then the machine won't POST.

Lenovo and HP are other OEM's that do the same thing. With Lenovo there's often BIOS patches floating around that unlock this allowing the use of off the shelf cards.

I think the technology is called SLIC (Software licensing internal code). Google it.

 

[gehav]

Dell has just answered my support ticket and told me that the following cards are certified to work with the Dell Vostro 1700:

• Dell™ Wireless 1390/1490 Mini-Card

• Dell™ Wireless 1505 Dual-Band WLAN 802.11a/g/n Mini-Card

• Intel® 3945 802.11a/g Dual-Band Mini-Card

• Intel® 4965 802.11a/g/n Dual-Band Mini-Card

All the other cards on the market are not tested and/or certified but could work nonetheless. They also stated that there is no BIOS locking in place whatsoever.

I will therefore just buy the Intel 5300 and try to get it to work in my Vostro. Thanks for all the help!

 

[gehav]

Just to conclude this thread: I've finally gotten my Intel Ultimate N WiFi Link 5300 and it works flawlessly in the Dell Vostro 1700!

 

[dallascowboysworldchamps]

What speed are you getting with the 5300. Is it compatible with Windows 7

 

[gehav]

Yes, it runs on Windows 7 without a problem.

Connection speed is only 130Mbps on 2.4GHz - I suspect that there are too many WLANs in the vicinity for full 300Mbps. On 5GHz I get 300Mbps very near to the router but on this frequency the walls in my flat are a much bigger obstacle for the signal when you move to other rooms and reception quickly degrades with distance :-(

I'm using it on 2.4GHz for the time being. Real world speed for file copying from a PC in my LAN to the Vostro in the next room using the 5300 is about 9-10 Megabytes/second.

 

[thiggins]

Connection speed is only 130Mbps on 2.4GHz - I suspect that there are too many WLANs in the vicinity for full 300Mbps.

The default setting limits the 2.4 GHz band to 20 MHz bandwidth. Change the 2.4 GHz Channel Width setting in the Wireless Connection properties to Auto.

 

[gehav]

Thanks, I'll try that this weekend!

 

[gehav]

@thiggins: thanks a lot. I did what you said and the Vostro now connects with 300Mbps. The internet download speed is now at a point where the CPU and harddisk of the Vostro just can't keep up anymore