Updating internal laptop wifi card to ac: can you help find the right model?

[azazel1024]

Azazel:

You could be right about my Intel underperforming. Since yesterday, I've played around with a few different drivers for the 7260, and have discovered a rather unique thing going on: My connection rates (Phy Layer) seem to be moving all over no matter where I have the laptop located. If close to the router, I seem to get mostly 867, but it will occasionally dip to 702, 585, and even 502, and then it goes back up, but in a random order and not at all in any regular pattern.

I think this fluctuation may have to do with the "u-APSD Support" settings or some other "advanced" setting I might have played around with. I do not believe the cause of this is my AC66U at home, because this same thing occurred at my office (where we are using a TP-Link). I turned off the "u-APSD Support" and that seems to have stopped whatever was causing the fluctuating connection rates.

Right now, I'm running the Intel driver for Win 8.1, version 17.1.0.19 from July 21 (at the Intel Driver Download page for the 7260, it shows as the "Latest" driver for the wireless card. BT uses separate drivers and I've not loaded those since it seems to be responsive using just the standard MS BT drivers...I don't really use BT anyway and will probably just disable it). I tried other drivers (including some very recent ones that were available at the Intel message forum but are not yet "official") and this appears to be the most stable for me (I formerly was using the 16.xx drivers, but these are even better).

What 7260 drivers you are using? Did you get it from your laptop OEM, or are you using the generic drivers from Intel?

Depending on what you're using, that could also explain any performance difference between the USB and the internal card.

In any event, I've not seen any difference in performance with the AC53 USB dongle no matter what kind of USB port I use. I have one 2.0 and three 3.0's, and performance seems to be the same in any of them.

Let me know about the driver though because I'm very much interested in what you are using. Thanks.

That is the Intel driver I am currently using in my laptop for the Intel card. I can't speak to what version of the Asus driver. The lastest as of a few weeks ago.

My connection rates sometimes bounce around just sitting there, but generally not by much. I'll sometimes see 702, but generally 867 if I am close to my router.

What about a file transfer test WLAN to LAN or LAN to WLAN? That shows actual performance where an internet test is often limited by just your internet pipe.

 

[TonyH]

Hi,
Even a 2x2 -N card is upgrade to that low end N1000. Adding another antenna is possible,
if you are handy you can even make one but for the time and materials you need look some
on eBay they are like couple $ per pair. I got hold of them and after checking it out tried it
on one of my laptop, it does the job. In my case the coax feeder line was too long so I had to shorten it. One time I had a Dell laptop which had N1000 but extra antenna was already tucked in there, just matter of using it. 7260 has two flavors -N or -AC. Pick the right one.
Here it costs ~20.00 CAD for -AC one.