Upgrade wireless cards (4965) or router (DIR-655) to get 300 speed

[louisw]

So I have two dell laptops (M1530 and M133) with the Intel 4965 AGN cards (mini pci express) along with a dlink - dir 655 router. I also have a DNS -323 NAS device attached to the router, a slingbox, a windows mobile phone, a wii and some old desktops.

Each laptop is limited to a connection of 130 Mbps. (I understand this is because the card can only do 20 mhz bands on the 2.4ghz)

I am trying to figure out if I should replace the router or the wireless cards in order to get the full speed?

From my research, Iif I decide to replace the router, I think the DIR - 825 will work ($130 on amazon)?

What are the options for replacing the wireless cards? I cannot seem to figure out what will work.


As an aside, I want the full speed - 300 - because I would like to be able to either stream from the NAS or have the ability to quickly copy .iso files of my dvds which I plan to store on the NAS. I would like to have gigabit routing.

 

[thiggins]

The Intel 4965 AGN cards disable 40 MHz channel operation in 2.4 GHz. The DIR-655 supports it.

I would look to see which other draft 11n wireless cards your notebooks support (check Dell's support site for drivers) and then see if you can buy the cards. The Intel cards are readily available. I think Broadcom and Atheros-based cards are harder to find. You may have luck on eBay, however.

Of course, if you are ok with external cards, there are many to choose from.

 

[louisw]

The Intel 4965 AGN cards disable 40 MHz channel operation in 2.4 GHz. The DIR-655 supports it.

I would look to see which other draft 11n wireless cards your notebooks support (check Dell's support site for drivers) and then see if you can buy the cards. The Intel cards are readily available. I think Broadcom and Atheros-based cards are harder to find. You may have luck on eBay, however.

Of course, if you are ok with external cards, there are many to choose from.

Are there any specific minipci cards that you know allow for 40MHz on 2.4ghz. Is that even worth it (I live in an apartment building and can see at least a dozen (maybe more) networks).

 

[louisw]

Well. I bought a 5300 card. Of course, when I tried take out the 4965 from my dell xps m1530, the screw became stripped. Now I have to send it in for that as even though I have on site service as they wont be able to remove it as the screw as stripped.

 

[louisw]

Well.. actually, I just installed it into the WWAN slot and hooked up the WLAN antennas.

 

[louisw]

And I have gone back to the 4965.

Why, because after a while, the 5300 has this problem, where it either drops the connection or makes it local only.

I have not found a good solution yet. It is really annoying.

I wish I had the higher speed but I cannot figure out why.

in short... dell xps m1530 + intel 5300 = trouble...