Rating: 
Summary: Wireless Adapters
Review: All of these negative reviews really surprised me. I have had this wireless adapter for over two months and it has not given me a bit of trouble.
I have a home network, consisting of four desktops and a laptop. My network equipment consists of a Netgear router, 2 Linksys wireless PCI adapters, this D-Link wireless adapter, Netgear wireless card adapter, and a Linksys ethernet card. Of the three wireless adapters, this D-Link has been the most reliable.
Let me add that this situation may have more to do with the operating system on those computers, rather than the Wireless adapters themselves. The Linksys adapters (WMP 11) are both installed on computers with the Windows XP Pro operating system. They give me constant trouble. They lose connection with the router on a regular basis. I noticed that this did not happen with a computer running Windows XP Home Edition that did not have the Windows XP Service Pack 1 installed. I am not alone in having this problem. There are plenty of people using Windows XP, with the Service Pack, that experienced the same problems. There is a possible fix in the microsoft knowledgebase.
This D-Link adapter is installed on an old, Pentium III computer. This particular computer is running Windows 2000 Advanced Server, as well as Windows 2000 Pro in a dual-boot configuration. I have not experienced any difficulties with this system. None.
I can find no fault with this adapter. Perhaps there are other factors that are causing the difficulties. I must admit that I have not explored the possibility of the Netgear router having a "preference". Unlikely, but perhaps possible. I would have preferred to have all my equipment come from the same vendor. However, given the situation, this D-Link adapter has been the most solid component of my mixed-vendor network. Since these reviews are based on our personal experience, and mine has been great, I would have to give this device a five-star rating.
I will try and install the D-Link adapter on a desktop running Windows XP Pro, with the Service Pack installed, to see how it will perform.
Rating: 
Summary: Waste of time and money.
Review: DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, PURCHASE THIS CARDI bought this NIC at CompUSA for $40 and thought it would make a nice, low cost wireless card. This thing was a nightmare from start to finish. The configuration utility that comes with it is totally counterintuitive. Nothing is where you think it would be. After installation, it detected my wireless network just fine. Steady 80-90% signal strength with NINETY-FIVE PERCENT packet loss. The connection would be stable for two minutes at the most and then die. I tried different PCI slots, I tried different channels, I tried uninstalling and reinstalling the software... nothing worked. I called D-Link support multiple times and spoke to a totally clueless "technician" each time. They offered such pearls as "try a different router" and "try uninstalling your sound card". Please. There are plenty of other complaints online about this piece of junk. Don't bother buying this card. It's a complete joke.
Rating:
Summary: Waste of time and money.
Review: DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, PURCHASE THIS CARD I bought this NIC at CompUSA for $40 and thought it would make a nice, low cost wireless card. This thing was a nightmare from start to finish. The configuration utility that comes with it is totally counterintuitive. Nothing is where you think it would be. After installation, it detected my wireless network just fine. Steady 80-90% signal strength with NINETY-FIVE PERCENT packet loss. The connection would be stable for two minutes at the most and then die. I tried different PCI slots, I tried different channels, I tried uninstalling and reinstalling the software... nothing worked. I called D-Link support multiple times and spoke to a totally clueless "technician" each time. They offered such pearls as "try a different router" and "try uninstalling your sound card". Please. There are plenty of other complaints online about this piece of junk. Don't bother buying this card. It's a complete joke.
Rating:
Summary: Poor software, worse performance...
Review: I bought this because it was cheap, but didn't realize it wouldn't really work. First of all, the software is a resource hog. It causes my mouse to stutter randomly, apparently due to one or more memory resident programs it uses. I *never* had any sort of trouble with other NICs I borrowed and tested out. Lastly, if you are attempting to connect to a Wireless Access Point that has SSID disabled you will not be able to access it with this card. The software forces you to enter something for the SSID. The only WAPs this appears to work out of the box with are, of course, D-Link. The funny part is the support article on their website acknowledges this issue, but provides an "answer" that is directly contradictory to the problem. Buyer beware. I'm returning mine tonight (minus 15% stocking fee) :(
Rating:
Summary: Very happy with the DWL-520
Review: I bought this card along with the D-Link DI-514 wireless router and am extremely pleased with my purchase. My son's room is about 60 feet away from where I have my Desktop PC, through several walls no less. But he now has a GREAT connection to both the Internet and my Desktop PC (and my printer) via the Network I was able to setup with this card. When I received the card, I installed it in the PC and ran the setup program, but it did not work. I called D-Link Technical Support, and the rep was very friendly and informed me that under Windows XP, I needed to flip a checkbox to let Windows know that the D-Link program would handle the connection. I did, and it worked. Then he helped me setup my network, something I never have done before. In 15 minutes, from start to finish, my son's room was connected! Now he can go to his video game websites on HIS time, and I can get some work done. And, he can print his homework on my printer, so I don't need to buy another. This is great! I highly recommend this product!
Rating:
Summary: Please do not support a business that does not offer support
Review: I echo other complaints about the DWL520. The connection is made with very good signal strength and quality. However, the device refuses to make any throughput. It would almost never successfully load a page. The irony is that I am using another Dlink product as the router. The 520 is a poor product.
Rating:
Summary: another problem device
Review: I echo other complaints about the DWL520. The connection is made with very good signal strength and quality. However, the device refuses to make any throughput. It would almost never successfully load a page. The irony is that I am using another Dlink product as the router. The 520 is a poor product.
Rating:
Summary: Cheap price, cheap performance...
Review: I fell to the cheap temptation and bought this DWL-520(rev e) PCI card. It took me a few minutes to discover: - it will not connect to a Wireless Access Point that does not use SSID. It forces you to use an SSID of your own and if you don't it uses "default" which works fine with their hardware. This is completely moronic. Most WAPs/Routers offer a feature to turn off SSID and the designers of the software (card?) should know this. - tech support is especially cheap. The support article on their website that addresses the above HUGE problem completely contradicts itself and proves they don't know what is going on. - their software is big, cheap and caused my Windows 2000 system to stutter (erratic mouse movements ever few seconds, etc). Last week I borrowed a friend's Cisco 350 wireless card and had absolutely no problems. If you want a wireless card backed by quality hardware and software, expect to spend at least US$65. I'm taking mine back and spending twice as much on a Cisco 350.
Rating:
Summary: Frustratingly unreliable connection
Review: I got this card for pretty cheap ...so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised about its quality, but I would really recommend going with something else. I had reservations about buying this card considering my relatively poor experience with another D-Link wireless card (for my laptop), but I figured that range wouldn't be an issue this time because my computer was only going to be 20 feet away from the access point (I just didn't want to have the clutter of a cable running through the hallway). It turns out that when this card works, it works all right, but sporadically (about 25% of the total time on average for me), it just stops sending or receiving. Obviously, this is very frustrating. I'm not sure if it's an issue with the drivers or the hardware itself, but either way, I'd rather spend twice as much to get a card that works nearly 100% of the time.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent connection, easy install.
Review: I have used the DWL-520 for a month now and I have nothing but gleeming satisfaction for it's ability. The card installed quickly and setup was quick and painless. For first time users who have limited understandings of home networks, this is a great buy. Especially for the price!
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