Home >> Computer Add-Ons >> Networking
Home >> Computer Add-Ons
Linksys Wireless-N PCI Adapter WMP300N | List Price: $116.99
Discount Price: Too low to display
|
Brand: Linksys
Binding: Electronics
Warranty: 3 years warranty
Features: - High-speed Wireless-N (draft 802.11n) networking for your desktop computer
- MIMO technology uses multiple radios to create a robust signal that travels up to 4 times farther and reduces dead spots
- Up to 12 times faster than Wireless-G, but can also connect to Wireless-G and -B networks
- Advanced wireless security: Wi-Fi Protected Access™ (WPA2) with up to 256-bit encryption
Devil in the details... [Posted on 2008-06-03]
I was initially pleased with the ease of setup and the range and speed improvement over my old wireless G network. Then I noticed that the audio/video on my receiving computer (Using the WMP300N PCI DESKTOP CARD) had become choppy and static. After days of rollbacks and uninstalls I traced it to the linksys driver for the WMP300N. To make matters worse, the uninstall for this does not work properly and leaves keys in the registry which prevent the new driver from installing without some geek activities that might be daunting to the average user. Then the new driver after I finally got it installed, was much better but not completely fixed. As a former driver developer I noticed that the new driver solution for the problem was simply to saturate the PCI bus with data! The computer equivalent of talking faster and louder so no one else can get a word in edgewise! If you attempt to run other intensive data applications such as gaming, or video rendering applications, this "solution" will cause your computer to hang. Microsoft would NEVER certify a driver written like this.
Since the value of this router in terms of range and speed, depends on the use of Linksys' own desktop receiver solution, the overall system you set up is severely flawed and I cannot and would not recommend it.
I do not know if the laptop receiver card exhibits the same behavior.
Don't buy, non-standard installer and has hardware conflicts in Vista [Posted on 2008-06-12]
Product says that it is Vista compatible but it was not in my case. I ended up having to return this product. First of all it has a non-standard installer. When finally getting it installed in an unusual way, there are hardware conflicts. Try to fix this then it does not even partially recognize the device. If you check the linksys website the only have the old driver which ships with the product. A complete waste of my time.
Beware of the bad driver software [Posted on 2008-06-28]
I purchased this card as a long-time customer of Linksys. I have a WAP 4400N from Linksys with the latest firmware, as the access point. I installed this into a Dell E510 Media Center SP2, with only a video card in the PCI slots. I have a boot drive and ***had*** a brand new 500GB Seagate drive for data.
The installation went smoothly, and the card seemed to work fine using it for Internet access (270 MB!). However, when I started to copy 30-40 4MB image files from another file server on my LAN, it would get about 5-7 of them and then hang. After that, the network showed connected, but there was nobody home. I would have to reboot to get a network connection back. I tried this again, and the second time it hung and completely blew out the hard drive that it was writing to! If I try to use the drive in another PC to recover the data, it just hangs. I have tried recovery software and it is no use.
I replaced the drive (thinking it was an infant mortality - 2 months old) and tried the WMP300N again, same crashing results. I have removed this and have taken it back to the dealer. It truly is a dangerous piece of junk! THe new drive and the PC work great without the card.
The Dell doesn't allow me to set IRQs for the PCI slots, as this is probably a driver conflict. However, this is really bad driver software from Linksys, as I have since placed another vendor's card in the machine and it is rock solid.
Buyer, definitely beware! I had tried to get the drivers from elsewhere as much of the lore indicates, but they fared no better. Avoid this card at ALL COST!
Incompatibility with Dell Optiplex GX110 [Posted on 2008-06-30]
I bought this adapter for the kids' computer (an old Dell Optiplex GX110,) after I got the WRT330N Wireless-N Gigabit Gaming Router. The adapter would not work at all, even when NOT installing the Linksys drivers as suggested by other reviewers.
I called Dell for suggestions, but they didn't know of any incompatibility. I called Linksys, and one of the technicians I spoke with suggested something rather smart: to try the card in a different computer to discard if the card was bad or not. So I installed it in a Dell Dimension 9100. The card worked seamlessly (no installation of Linksys drivers). So the card worked fine; I'd say more than fine, just not with the old Dell computer.
I returned the card and instead installed the USB version (Linksys WUSB300N Wireless-N USB Network Adapter). I've had no problems with the new adapter since I plugged it in. My kids want a newer computer, but that's another issue :-).
I am loyal to Linksys. I think they sell good products, and I was happy to be able to get a solution within the same brand.
No more whining . . . [Posted on 2008-07-03]
I almost didn't buy this WNA because of all of the whining and complaining I saw in the reviews. Seems a lot of people had difficulties installing it and even more difficulty with technical support. I saw folks advising not to use the provided software - not to follow the manufacturer's instructions etc . . . I had my own challenges with the installation and founf tech support to be very helpful. Turns out, tech support did not end up getting me up and running, but they DID get me far enough down the road that I was able to figure it out myself - They could not have known what my "real" issue was because it was the fact that there was some old software from another WNA that had been previously installed . . . When I cleansed my system of that old software, the Linksys stuff installed immediately and has worked flawlessly since.
My advice? Be sure your system is clean of old software before attempting to install new (competing) software.
Oh, and I followed the linksys instructions without any issues once my system was clean.
Click here for more details and discount information...
|
){kind=link}