Buying a Wireless Network Card (802.11B PCMCIA form factor, for laptops)
Mar 13 '02
The Bottom Line You have to consider all the factors, but my recommendation is the Lucent/Orinoco/Agere/Avaya product line. These cards are widely considered to be simply the best.
In a recent search for a wireless network PCMCIA card (802.11B standard @ 11Mbps speed) for my laptop, I have found out much about this technology and exactly what criteria determine a good network card.
Chipset:
The biggest choice with wireless cards is the chipset that the card uses. Most of the lower-range cards (DLink, NetGear, SMC, LinkSys, etc) use the Prism II chipset, which performs well, but there are reports of these adapters having range problems. There are also cards based on the Hermes chipset. I would not recommend these as they are not compatible with all operating systems and may have trouble working with other wireless hardware such as routers and access points. Finally,x Lucent/Agere/Orinoco/Avaya/HP 802.11B cards are all based on the same WaveLan chipset. This is duly considered to be the best chipset on the market. Cards that use it work with the widest range of software and hardware. Furthermore, these cards seem to have more range.
Drivers and Compatibility:
If you plan on using your new wireless card in a non-Windows system, make sure that there are drivers available for it. Shamefully, many big manufacturers still ignore major operating systems such as Mac OS and Linux be not making any drivers for them. Check online to see whether it is possible to use another card's drivers for your purposes (many cards that are based on the same chipset are, for all intents and purposes, interchangeable). You might also want to make sure that your card and the other wireless hardware you plan on using will "like" each other. Despite the promise of universal compatibility from 802.11b manufacturers, some combinations of routers, access points and client adapters are pathologically "unfriendly" to each other. To check for these issues, see the newsgroup alt.internet.wireless (it can be accessed through the groups.google.com website).
Brand Name:
Your next consideration is the brand. As usual, you will have to pay big for big brands. For instance, the HP card that is basically a rebranded Lucent card. However, you will pay over $50 more for the HP brand name (which also brings up a question: isn't Lucent a more respected brand anyway?). Examples of this abound. Do your research and make sure thay you are pay extra for the card's quality and not for a big brand name. Do not be afraid to experiment with a brand that you have never seen before: relatively unknown companies such as NetGear and Proxim manufacture good wireless cards. Just do your research carefully (refer back to Google Groups) before you buy.
Encryption:
You have to consider whether your card supports 40-bit, 64-bit, or 128-bit WEP encryption levels (of course, the higher the number of bits, the better). The biggest faux pas of wireless networking is leaving WEP entirely disabled. There is nothing more inviting to a hacker than an unencrypted network. Granted, it is widely known that WEP security is flimsy at best, but it is better than no security at all. If WEP security is combined with MAC address filtering (the latter is done on the router side of your network), most would-be hackers will not bother spending the 3+ hours required to break the encryption and break into the network. It would be easier for him/her to just find another wireless network from the multitude of unprotected ones out there. Keep in mind that WEP security usually decreases the card's receiveing speed by at least a few percent (and sometimes as much as 50%, depending on the level of encryption and which hardware is used).
Power Output:
In mobile computing, battery power is everything. However, some wireless network cards can be as power-demanding as a CD drive. To make sure that the wireless card will not make quick work of your battery, try to buy a card that has power output of less than 200 mW. Not only will it be more power-efficient, the card will also not heat up as much as those above the 200 mW threshold.
Form Factor:
Some wireless cards are spac hogs. If placed in one of your laptop's PCMCIA/PC Card/CardBus ports, they will in effect disable the other by taking up more than their fair share of space. When you come up with a shortlist of card models to buy, run them through the wireless listings at www.practicallynetworked.com -- this site lists power output figures for most cards.
LEDs, Antennae:
Some cards have LEDs that show connection status, network activity (or even both). These can be quite convenient in determining whether you're connected and to see if any data is getting through to your card. Furthermore, some cards (e.g. 3Com) have extendable antennae, which can help increase the card's range significantly. If range is a concern, consider what type external antenna connector (if any) is used on your card. Most Lucent-based cards have a proprietory Orinoco antenna connector, whereas several other connector formats are used by the remaining manufacturers.
Price:
The final, but most important, factor is price. After coming up with a shortlist of cards and their features, run the selected models through PriceGrabber.com , eBay.com , and Amazon.com (or simply search for "802.11b card" on those sites). Most likely, you will be able to find some amazing deals on various cards, both new and used.
Final Recommendation:
Having considered all these factors, Lucent/Orinoco/Agere/Avaya cards clearly come up on top (though they're a bit more expensive than others). These brands are all spinoffs of the original Lucent WaveLAN product line and come in two variations: Silver (64-bit WEP) and Gold (128-bit WEP). They work with the widest range of other software and hardware. These cards have also proven to be rock-solid in terms of range, throughput and reliability. From what I hear, Orinoco support is also quite helpful and accessible. Unless you have money to spare, I would get the Silver card -- the only difference between the cards is the encryption level; getting the Silver, however, will save you around $30.
My Result:
I ended up getting an Orinoco Silver card and could not be happier with my purchase. It works flawlessly with my SMC Wireless Barricade Router (see my review of the router at http://www.epinions.com/content_58575851140). I would recommend it to anyone, but do consider other cards.
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Epinions.com ID:
mishchenko
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Location: Vancouver, Canada
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As seen in my reviews, I am into technology, sports, culture, entertainment and more.
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