Great Bargain! Netgear 802.11b-g Wireless Adapter Power-packed 802.11b/g Wireless Networking for Your Desktop At 54 Mbps, this wireless 2.4 GHz 802.11b-g PCI card is much faster than existing 11 Mbps wireless networks and will supercharge the delivery of media-rich content to your desktop PC as never before. It easily handles huge digital video and MP3 files, firing them through your network at blazing speeds. It gives you continuous access to your home wireless router or office network, saves the time and expense of installing Ethernet cabling when you want to set up or expand a network, and makes it simple to relocate your desktop PC without rewiring. Moreover, it allows network users to wirelessly share a broadband Internet connection for access to corporate resources, the Internet, and e-mail all with the highest available level of industry standard WEP encryption security. Blazing-fast This high-speed 802.11g PCI card delivers large files in the blink of an eye up to five times faster than 802.11b, allowing wireless video streaming for the first time ever. Dynamic rate shifting according to environmental conditions achieves the fastest possible connections.
1 Dell does not support this product
I am having exactly the same issue as some others with a dell dimension and a wg311 Netgear card. I get the same "NMI: Parity Check / Memory Parity Error", hardware malfunction blue screen on shutdown. When I remove the card the computer shuts down normally. With the card installed, I always get the blue screen on shut down. This is completely reproducible and consistent.
I just got off the phone with Dell technical support and spoke to "Dhocz".
I was told that Dell Dimension is not compatible with this Netgear card.
I don't know what else to say, but I'm P.O.ed. She said to call Dell sales department and they would be happy to sell me a compatible card.
If I were Netgear, I'd be a little worried or at least offended since Dell has such a large market share.
2 Works but has issues
I got this Netgear PCI adapter because i already had Netgear G router. Well, I placed PCI adapter into my brand new Dell running XP home edition with SP2. My PCs are about 30ft apart but i have no problem with wireless connection. HOWEVER, I get blue screen with Hardware Misfunction: Parity check/memory error every time I reboot my PC that has PCI adapter. If i disable my wireless connection before turning off my PC, i get no error, so I know for certain that it has to do with the card. I spoke to their customer support several times and we even tried a different PCI slot, no luck. I also tried what people sudgested here by installing only drivers and uninstalled Netgear utility software but that did not help me either. It very frastrating to remember to disable network before turning off PC and getting this error is very annoing. It offsets the fact that the network is working. My only hope is that their new driver version will fix this in some near future.
I would not get this product.
3 Get a Linksys
I installed this unit on a brand new Dell machine. After having problems with the BSOD on shutdown, I downloaded the new drivers and the old drivers -nothing helped. I called Dell support (I didn't even want to call Netgear) and they thought the Blue Screens were coming from a bad motherboard. Dell sent out a technician to replace it. They ran some diagnostics and they came to the same conclusion. It was the wireless card. Like others have said, don't be cheap~ get the Linksys card instead.
4 With some effort, it worked
I bought this from a major computer retailer and struggled a little with the install. I'd never setup a wireless network before and after reading some of the reviews on amazon was doubtful it was possible to do. The reason for wireless was that my house was never wired inside for cable so I prefer to keep the modem/router outside in a small shed.
I went online and found the drivers, which turned out to be the wrong ones. I fixed that and got it working in Windows 2000 (SP4). Then came the setup on my MS router (MN-720). Everything was fine except when I finished it was only able to upload data. I had restarted the computer, router, and modem before, but did it again and everything was now working. Total setup time was about an hour. After a day's use I've had no dropped connections or anything weird at all with the computer's performance. The only issue is that sometimes AIM will take a moment longer to load which is not a big deal. I would give it 4.5 stars overall and will likely look at Netgear's products in the future.
5 not to shabby
this is a great pci card. i read the reviews on here and made my decision by them. its very simple people have complained about installing it and what not, but the only problem seems to be with the utility software that it comes with, which has a compatibility issue with sp2. but dont worry about it, just follow what i have below which is what i followed from another reviewer.
i followed what this guy wrote in his review and i didnt have any problems along with a buddy of mine who also bought one.
Reviewer: urbangrid "urbangrid" (Pasadena, CA)
"The compatibility issue originates from the utility software provided by Netgear, but not from the PCI adapter itself. However, the problem is easy to fix.
Follow step 1-7 if you have already plugged-in the hardware and receive a bluescreen after restarting Windows XP.
Follow step 3-7 is you have not begun the installation process.
1. turn off your computer and unplug the PCI adapter
2. start your computer and uninstall the Netgear utility software from Control Panel
3. insert the installation CD but do NOT install the utility and driver from the CD
4. turn off your computer and plug-in the PCI adapter again
5. start your computer and Windows XP will tell you "new hardware found"
6. follow the instruction and let Windows XP search your computer for the appropriate driver (include your CD-ROM drive). DO NOT INSTALL THE UTILITY SOFTWARE.
7. in just a few minutes, your wireless PCI adapter will be working smoothly with no problems!
Note: Windows XP's default Wireless Connection Manager is a good program, therefore, there is no need to use Netgear's utility program which has serious conflict with XP SP2.
6 Cheap product, cheaply made.
My card worked off and on for about 2 weeks. It would lose the connection and sometimes a router reset would help, sometimes it wouldn't. It doesn't support WPA as it is now shipping. Upgrading the drivers to 2.0.0.7 to enable WPA-PSK resulted in my never being able to connect again. I have a dell axim x30 which does not experience these problems, so I'm pretty sure it's the card. I tried to adjust the antenna once, when it was still working, and the whole thing fell off. To be fair, I bought it in the marketplace, so it could have been an expertly repackaged refurb, but even when it was working it only got 50% signal 20 feet from the router, in the absence of interference. It has been suggested that heat may be a problem with these cards, especially under heavy use.
7 Nice and Stable
I have other Netgear products, so it was natural to go for another NEtgear. After I installed the software that came with the hardware, the computer was rebooting. I got a new firmware at NEtgear's website and that was it. It is running perfectly in a PC with WIndows XP2. Good signal strenght and fast connection.
This product is cheap and works fine. The only caveat is you have to get the firmware first at Netgear's website. After downloading and unzipping the firmware, install the hardware, turn the computer on and do a manual install for the drivers. I also like NEtgear's proprietary control card and had it installed with no problems.
In summary, an awesome cost-benefit ratio. At $25 after rebates, it is a very nice bang for the buck.
8 Plagued with problems, even with latest drivers.
This is a terrible product. I have had nothing but problem after problem after problem.
The service pack 2 issues are pretty bad. Lock ups, BSOD's, you name it. The kind of crashes that make you wince for your computer. Getting the new drivers isn't too bad, and when you install them, things should be great, right?
Oh no. Check any forum about the issues after the latest drivers. Notice that your mouse kinda moves pretty glitchy? Yeah, that's because the hardware induces SEVERE CPU USAGE SPIKES. Go ahead... open your performance monitor. You'll notice every few seconds that cpu usage goes through the roof. Any one using winamp will notice this right away as their music begins skipping badly.
What about the signal drop outs? Funny, this shouldn't be happening so close to the router. My other computer is fine. Oh, it's the Netgear card, failing. Again. Fresh windows install, careful deletion/replacement of drivers? Nope. Won't help.
There are "solutions" - using old drivers, using drivers from another company - but each comes with a slew of new issues. At best my internet connection is slow and erratic. But hey, I'm just paying for broadband... I didn't need all that speed.
Screw this wireless card. If you have an amd64 setup, be very weary of buying it. Netgear's site provides little help, I doubt I'll buy another product of theirs for a long time.
9 Works great with Win2k
Purchased with a WGR614 router; works great in an Athlon 64-based system with MSI motherboard (this is the v2 version of the WG311 with the TI chip). Downloaded latest drivers for WPA-PSK support.
Installed a WG311T at the neighbors two weeks ago in a new Dell P4; also working very well, with high (around 80%) signal strength through two floors, a couple of desks, a drop ceiling, and flourescent lighting. Much better reception than my previous 802.11b solutions (D-Link DWL-120 and Orinoco Silver cards).
10 Don't download Service Pack 2 yet !!!!!!!!!
Product works great on Service Pack 1, but I downloaded updates for XP and SP2 came up so I went ahead and downloaded it. Then I couldn't connect back to the network, regardless of what I did. Did some research and found I wasn't the only one, so I am uninstalling SP2, don't need it anyway with a wgr624 that has a firewall in it anyway. Good luck
11 Easy set up, good price, works great
I don't generally write reviews, but when a product is a good value, installs with ease, and works as advertised, I'm impressed.
I purchased both the Netgear 54Mbps adapter and router (see my review for the WGR614 router) to give my kids the advantage of high speed internet running off the cable unit I had installed for my home office computer. Both items were easy to install (the router set up without software off an internet site) and now provide 48-54 Mbps data transfer for the kids without the hassle of running cable.
12 forget Netgear; go check out Linksys
I purchased this adapter instead of the Linksys PCI Adapter because it was cheaper. Big mistake. In addition to having a painfully awkward setup and installation process, it just plain didn't work. When I called Netgear's (outsourced) tech support, they were functionally useless as well. They were unfriendly at best and downright hostile at worst.
I can't comment on Linksys's tech support, mostly because I've never needed it. In addition to a wireless router I've purchased from them, the PCI adapter I bought works great. Don't be a skinflint here. Buy a Linksys product now; otherwise, you'll just end up buying one later.
13 Problems with Windows XP SP2
4 stars for price, -1 star for bad Netgear driver.
I downloaded the latest 2.0.0.7 driver which supposedly fixed problems with Windows XP SP2. I could never get the card to work with only the driver installed or with both the driver and configuration utility installed. The Windows XP and Netgear configuration utilities would see my access point, but couldn't connect. I'm running the latest BIOS and drivers for my Asus motherboard.
I resorted to using the driver for the US Robotics USR5146, which uses the same chipset.
14 very very poor product support
i had some difficulty getting this to work in the beginning but the product support was helpful in that they got it to work--for NO CHARGE! at least for the first 90 days. occasional dropping of connections for no reason, it has been working fine. Now i can't get connected at all but since it's been more than 90 days since i bought the product, they are asking me to pay--more than the cost of the product! of course, there is free email support which takes more than 24 hours to reply and their suggestions are not that helpful. i haven't been able to get the connection working now more than two weeks!! so, while it works, it's great. after 90 days, count on buying another one as their technical support costs more than the product.
15 Card was defective VERY poor support dept.
Would rather give it a zero star if they had one. Installed the card with the ver.2 drivers. Card worked for a few hours then started switching on and off about every 30 seconds. After about 5 calls and to tech support over in India and 20 hours of playing around I gave up and bought a Linksys card it works great. Netgear should look at what Linksys does for Tech support. Would never think of buying another Netgear product.
16 Poor documentation. Incompatible with Windows XP
This is not a card that you can install out of the box. You have to carefully read the one-page documentation provided. The steps included do not tell you what to do in response to various dialogs that pop-up. At the end of the install, a dialog box that recommends us to disable windows XP wireless configurator shows up with yes and no buttons. Pressing either of them reboots the machine. This does not go away on repeated reboots. There is no way to get out of this mode except to uninstall the software while the dialog box is still showing. A half baked product.
17 Great Adapter! Even with Windows XP SP2
I am aware of the compatibility issues that this PCI adapter has with Windows XP SP2. Like many people who has XP SP2, I also got a blue screen following Netgear's installation instruction, which is to install the utility and driver from CD before you install the hardware.
The compatibility issue originates from the utility software provided by Netgear, but not from the PCI adapter itself. However, the problem is easy to fix.
Follow step 1-7 if you have already plugged-in the hardware and receive a bluescreen after restarting Windows XP.
Follow step 3-7 is you have not begun the installation process.
1. turn off your computer and unplug the PCI adapter
2. start your computer and uninstall the Netgear utility software from Control Panel
3. insert the installation CD but do NOT install the utility and driver from the CD
4. turn off your computer and plug-in the PCI adapter again
5. start your computer and Windows XP will tell you "new hardware found"
6. follow the instruction and let Windows XP search your computer for the appropriate driver (include your CD-ROM drive). DO NOT INSTALL THE UTILITY SOFTWARE.
7. in just a few minutes, your wireless PCI adapter will be working smoothly with no problems!
Note: Windows XP's default Wireless Connection Manager is a good program, therefore, there is no need to use Netgear's utility program which has serious conflict with XP SP2.
The adapter itself is a great product. It would have received a 5 star. However, due to the faulty installation instruction and the incompatibility of Netgear's software for Windows XP SP2, it receives only 4 stars. Netgear needs to fix this problem and get rid of the incompatible utility software ASAP.
18 Problem with Windows XP SP2
Got this adapter for my Dell Dimension 8400 with Windwos XP SP2. The firmware comes with the card would not allow the card to be installed correctly. The Netgear web site claimed that the latest driver 2.0.0.7 had solved the problem. I downloaded it and installed the driver. The card seems working but every time when I shut down the PC, I get a blue screen with memory parity error message and system halted. If I unplug the card, PC will shut down correctly. Netgear tech support just keep telling me to install the latest driver or install SP2 patch. All these do not solve the problem. Finally they admit that there's compatibility issue with XP SP2. They are "working on new driver" but there's no schedule for release. Stuck with the blue screen.
19 Change Install Method For XP SP2
First of all, this card is a great product and better than any of the competitors, to include Linksys and D-Link. With the deployment of SP2 you will need to change the install procedure for the V2 card so that it works without causing your system to reboot constantly. DO NOT install the utility and drivers ahead of time as the instructions in the packaging tell you to. Rather, install the card, then boot up and let windows detect the hardware. Instead of installing the drivers automatically, use the "I Will Select" the hardware option then through the hardware wizard browse to the XP Drivers folder on the disc and let windows install ONLY the driver, not the utility. XP has a very good wireless management utility and you will give up nothing by not having the Netgear utility installed. The card will finish install and you'll be up and running.
20 Don't buy this product -- incompatible with WinXP SP2
I had two that worked ok for six months before service pack 2 for WinXP came out. Since then I've had nothing but problems. Netgears software is incompatible with WinXP SP2. In addition, I couldn't find any working Linux drivers either. Some people have had luck by only installing the driver portion of the software (and not the utility programs) but my recommendation is to avoid this card and buy something compatible with your operating system. The only reason I gave this one star is that zero stars aren't an option.
21 Works great, but be careful
As with many computer peripherals, don't try using the driver disc that comes in the box. It is outdated and will simply not work with Windows XP SP2 (service pack 2). Instead, download the latest driver direct from Netgear. Once I did that, then this card worked great with my existing Netgear WGR614 Router. Since the antenna is attached to the card, care must be taken to position the computer so that the computer itself does not block the radio signal, but this problem applies to all wireless PCI cards.
22 XP SP2 requires special treatment
This card turns out to be compatible with Win XP SP2 only if you limit yourself to installing the drivers. The Netgear utility that comes with it as part of the installer is not compatible with SP2, and causes a blue screen crash. I found this out the hard way! So when Windows prompts you for drivers, browse to the Drivers/XP directory on the CD, and let Windows do the rest. Don't use the installer!
23 No problems at all
I have an old machine that I wanted to hook to my network so i got a D-Link DWL510. While it is adequate I am jealous of a friend of mine. I installed this Netgear in his machine. Its performance is by far better that my D-Link. I had absoultely no problem installing this card on his Win XP Home machine. Install took about 25 minutes total, and he has had his computer up 24/7 for the last month and a half, with no lock-ups.
24 System freeze with Win XP Home
This works fine with Windows 98SE but I moved it to a spanking new Windows XP Home machine (P4 2.4GHz etc).
The Netgear control panel would often disappear by itself without connecting to the network.
This morning, the system froze everytime the Netgear control panel came up. I had to disable the wireless card in order to boot Windows normally.
25 No WPA
This was my second attempt at installing a wireless network card in one of desktops.
My first went horribly - the D-Link DWL-G520 locked my PC every time I attempted to boot, nothing fixed it. Reviews mentioned a compatibility problem with it and on-board sound cards. I was informed that Netgear and D-Link used the same chipset - so I bought the WG311v2.
The install went fairly smooth. Initially I received an install error, but a second attempt went fine and the card was up and running. Unlike the D-Link - this card didn`t lock up the PC and I had great reception.
After a day of "testing" the card out - I decided to upgrade to the newest driver and connect with WPA (which was why I went with the card)...but after multiple attempts I simply couldn`t get the utility software to update to utilize WPA. The driver would update - but without access to necessary setup screens for control of the higher security.
While this is a good card, easy to setup/install - without the strength of WPA security I find it difficult to stay with it.
26 Windows XP SP2 issues are resolved...
Update: mid November 2004:
Editing the review does not allow reviewer to change the rating. To Netgear's credit, they have issued updates for this card, which now plays just fine with Windows XP SP2. I was able to confirm this during a build of a new machine this weekend.
My rant in September was valid then based on the state of their suppport for XP SP2. They have taken care of this, and if I could, I would elevate this product to 4.5 or 5 stars....
________________________________
Original early September review:
Once installed and working: 4 stars. The single star is for the overall experience in Windows XP Home Service Pack 2 environment. This eventually required a rollback from SP2 *and* an operating system reinstall. This might not be worth it for most people seeking just a little faster data througput...
If your are considering purchasing this --or **any other wireless network adapter**-- check carefully for compatability with Windows XP Home SP2. After over 4 hours of my own troubleshooting, and another hour on hold to speak with Netgear tech support, I learned that the only issue was that this device was having major compatability issues with SP2 (which we deployed last month on 4 computers in our network with no negative effects..until now). At this point you pretty much have the choice of returning to your previous (or non-existent) networking environment or uninstalling SP2. WARNING: Do not choose the SP2 uninstall. I went from a midly annoying networking hardware issue to a full blown operating system meltdown. In the case of Netgear, the SP2 compatability issue was not discussed on their web site (and certainly not in the included literature): I had to get this important information from the support rep. only after registering the product for the 90 day support period. If you are putting any wireless adapter into an XP SP2 system, it is time well spent to check with their tech support BEFORE install. The hold time may be time consuming, but it will be less so than Windows reinstallation (or a hard drive reformat!). Naturally, since my Netgear issue has morphed into a Windows issue, there's no more help coming from Netgear on this. I've had generally good experiences with Netgear products (a new router and laptop PCMCIA card installed flawlessly and were up and running in minutes), but this combined MS-Netgear SNAFU is a disaster of major proportions. Your experience may vary...but it would take very little for it to be better than mine! Good luck, and caveat emptor!
Update: Rollback from XP SP2 plus a reinstall of the operating system plus another 45 minutes on the phone with tech suppprt and we did succeed in getting it running. Enjoying the higher throughput, but I'm not sure it was worth the effort.
27 Purchase at own risk.
Some people have had good luck with this product; a great many, however, have not. I am one of the latter. I purchased this product, and installed it, and that's where the fun begins. The card was apparently unable to connect to my network if I was using any channel other than 11. That's when it would connect at all. As an added bonus, every 20 seconds or so, my PC would freeze for 1-2 seconds at a time. This seems to be a common issue with this product and Windows 2000 or XP. In short, I am less than impressed.
28 Less than pleased...
This product is pretty much incompatable with the XP operating system. I did not have v2 as the previous reviewer, but I doubt that would make much difference. Desperate I called Tech Support (India), and it was worthless. I'm not sure what to do now as I can't return it (over 30 days from J&R, a so-called Amazon.com partner). Burned on this one big time... At the time reviewers were like 'great product', 'practically installs itself'... should of known better... expensive lesson as I now have 2 of these worthless things... If you're a real 'techy' you might be able to do something with it, but I'd be careful of this one. Good luck...
29 WG311v2 Causes Windows XP to Freeze
Installation is straightforward, as it usually is with Netgear products. After a bit of fiddling (namely disabling the 'g' mode), which really should not have been necessary, given that it was talking with another Netgear product (the MR814 router), connectivity and throughput seemed solid. Unfortunately, my system would freeze (such that only a hard reset would revive it) any time I tried to play an AVI or MP3 file. I'm not sure what bizzare interaction is causing this, but it is a known and well documented issue (just Google "wg311 freeze") with these boards. Netgear support was useless, and they seem unwilling or unable to resolve the problem. My recommendation: stay away! And a lesson for me: do more research before making purchases...
30 Beware: doesn't work with PCI 2.1 or less
I bought this card to put in an existing PC, but the PC has PCI version 2.1. I could not get it to work. The computer wouldn't even boot up when the card was in, and I tried this in two very different computers. Same thing happened. Finally, after much online research, I discovered that the computer must support PCI version 2.2 and above. Since I waited to install it, I cannot return it now so I'm stuck with an unusable card.
31 Order the right one!
I ordered the NETGEAR WGT624 Wireless Router, and this card as a PCI connection. However, the card and the router were incompatible, which was an irritating waste of my time. I saved time by going to a brick and mortar store, locating the compatible card, and buying it there. Don't misunderstand me -- it works great now, and I'm very happy with the ease of installation. I just wish someone would have warned me that not all NETGEAR products are compatible with one another, even when they are so close to being identical.
Just for the record, I ordered the WG311 54 Mbps Wireless PCI Adapter, and needed the WG311T 108 Mbps Wireless PCI Adapter.
If someone can explain why I should have known they are incompatible, other than the adapter cannot utilize the full range of the router's capability, I'd appreciate the insight.
32 Beware
After a considerable amount of time, I decided it was time to augment my home network with a wireless system. I decided that there was no other option than to select hardware that supported WPA encryption. The WEP encryption is very weak (I have heard that it can take less than thirty seconds to crack), and the piece of mind is well worth the extra money. The Netgear router and pc card I purchased (WGR614v4 & WG511v2 respectively) have worked flawlessly. The security upgrades to enable WPA were available on the Netgear site were easy to install, and once again - worked flawlessly. My disappointment came when I found that the pci card I purchased at the same time to use on a PC that was too difficult to wire in, was not going to work. The WG311 was supposed to have a firmware upgrade to WPA in the 'February timeframe' according to Netgear. This target has obviously come and gone. I have emailed Netgear several times, but they have not emailed back. In respect to the setup, design, functionality, and ease of use - I am impressed with most of my purchase. The unfortunate thing is that when this company fails, it does so in a big way.
33 Excellent Adapter
This was my first time around with wirless connections and I chose NetGear from reputations I heard from many others. I use this card with my netgear wirless router and am very satisfied. My only suggestion is if you are new to wirless or more of a novice computer user that you connect to your router (if new)with a cable connection. Out of the box and trying to log onto your wirless connection first thing can be a little frustrating if there are any minor problems. Don't let this technology fool you, once you play with it, it is really easy and a great setup. Just make sure you purchase compatable parts (I would suggest same name brand for best performance) and that they are "g" or "g and b" compatable. Don't purchase just 802.11b setups, 802.11g is only a little more now and well worth the money. The future wireless networks will only improve and you will find less support and more problems in the future with 802.11b only setups.
34 Great Range!
This was my first wireless network card i bought and i am very happy with it. I dont know what all the other customers are complaining about ive had no problems what so ever. It was so easy to set up! As soon as installed the card and driver i was connected straight away! This also has great range, having my router (WGR614) set up down stair in bottom conner of my house and the WG311 all the way upstair in the utmost conrner room i still am able to get a strong signal. 48Mps on average.
i highly reccommend this product to ppl who are just getting into wireless networking or even already avid users because this was so easy to setup and trouble free.
35 Workes Great.
I do not have 802.11G but I do have 802.11B I liked how this card could be used for both. Took me no longer then 10 minutes to get it up and running. It shouldn't at all if you know what your doing. Overall for the $50.00 I spend. It is well worth it.
36 Poor support, unsupported drivers and freezes WIN XP
I purchased the wirless g router and pci card, which all installed fairly easy. I initially (first hour or so) got a constant connection of 54mbs but then the system would freeze after about 5 minutes and I would have to power off and reboot. I tried all the pci slots updated my motherboad's drivers with no luck. I searched Netgear site for support and checked message boards. I found out that a lot of people were having similar problems so I decided to return the card and try Microsoft's pci card. WOW!!!!!! constant 54mbs connection, no pc freeze and no dropped connection.
37 Best 54G PCI card around
This is the best. I have read many reviews and talked to friends who have returned Microsoft, DLink and Linksys. PC World just rated netgear on top for Dec 03. It took about 20 minutes of tinkering to get working with XP Pro on one box and XP Home on another. Make sure you turn off XP firewall, that was the reason I couldn't share files and printer at first.
38 Couldn't be better!
I just upgraded my son's PC to Dell PowerEdge 400SC. My old SMC USB adapter would not work even the Windows XP Pro says it is working fine. Since I have all Netgear stuff in my home network and work great, I looked at Netgear "stuff" first for the replacement. I wanted to try a different interface; via PCI vs. USB.
After reading some mixed review on MA311 card (which I thought it was mainly installation issue or crappy mobo of no-name PCs), I gave it a shot on this card for future upgradability. since all Netgear "stuff" requires to install the drivers and utility prior to installation, I did, and wow, I thought my old SMC USB adapter was pretty good on my son's old Dell, but this card surpassed my expectation. It was picking up a couple of more my neighbors access points I didn't see before, and getting full 11MB/s connection from my MR814 with 128-bit WEP.
The utility have much better interface from my MA401 cards. And this is something definitely worth the money. Being a realy picky bargain hunter, I did not mind at all for paying the full price on this card. Can't wait to find a good deal on 802.11a AP and try its full speed.
