D-Link DWL-AG530 Wireless PCI Adapter, 802.11 a/g, 108Mbps

Rating:
Summary: A bit dissapointed
Review: After reading the good reviews, I tried out this PCI card. I particularly liked that the antenna can be positioned away from the computer in order to find the ideal reception.

I compared this model against a similarly priced Linksys USB Adapter [Model WUSB54GS], which also allows for a positioning freedom of several feet due to the USB cable.

Unfortunately, the Linksys USB beat the pants off the D-Link PCI. Why unfortunate? I wanted to use a PCI card because the USB uses up significantly more CPU resources. I don't really need the portability of an USB adapter.

The results, from the best consistent reception obtained with each adapter during a simultaneous test:

The Linksys had a signal about 45dB above noise, which was very good. The D-Link didn't get above 25, and frequently struggled with maintaining connections.

My D-Link card doesn't look like the Amazon picture, eventhough the model number is identical. Specifically, the antenna shape is different, as well as the antenna connector type [it's not the screw-in pictured, but more of a plug-in that conencts close to the middle of the card near the chipset]. Perhaps this plays a role in the poor performance observed by me?

Rating:
Summary: great
Review: after trying the linksys A+B+G pci card and having nothing but problems, i tried this D-link model and had no problems.... in window XP SP1 i didnt even have to install drivers off the cd and the card was instantly working with my wireless lan with no further reboot. Reception right now (with an 802.11G network) is "excellent" as listed in XP.

it does the job and it's an awesome product so far compared to the linksys model.

Rating:
Summary: Just what the doctor ordered
Review: I bought this card to use in the 802.11a (5.8 GHz band) in a "difficult" location in my house. The external antenna is a great benefit in obtaining the maximum signal available without getting into some very specialized and expensive antennas that would be out of place in a home environment. It's great to ALSO have compatibility with 802.11b and 802.11g in case our needs change. Easy to install and set up. Very reliable.

Rating:
Summary: Replaced a LinkSys 802.11a+g PCI Card
Review: I replaced a LinkSys 802.11a+g PCI card with this one under a Windows XP Pro SP1 environment. Signal strength jumped from poor to very good. Additionally, the LinkSys card would only attach to an 802.11a+b LinkSys access point at 802.11b specs. With the DLink card I connect at 802.11a 54mb speeds.

With these results, I decided to upgrade the access point to the DLink 802.11a+g. I saw no real improvement with the new access point other than it supported 802.11g where my old LinkSys did not.

The moral of the story, buy the DLink PCI card - best value and best performance. As for the access point, look for the best value since there does not appear to be any difference in signal strength ... at least not between LinkSys and DLink.