If you could buy your PCI wireless card now...

DaveQB · 11-14-2006, 08:54 PM

....which one would you buy ?

I have never used wireless before, so have no idea about Wireless NIC's. What are the best cards in the market now?

I have some old PII and PIII's I might need to use it on/in.

Thanks!

Bruce Hill · 11-15-2006, 11:22 PM

Just <Linux> Google and search the LQ HCL for ones that work with Linux. The Atheros chipset cards work very well with madwifi, and are generally easy to setup. If you can get the store where you buy it to tell you the chipset. Last time I was in America, there was no one at either BestBuy (worst service), CompUSA, or Fry's who had a clue.

I have a Linksys and a NetGear that both work well. One is Atheros and works with madwifi; the other needs the ndiswrapper app to use the Windows driver.

DaveQB · 11-16-2006, 12:56 AM

Thanks Bruce.

I have had a look around and saw a few with this Atheros chipset and that they were reported to work well.

I was just wondering what peoples "pick of the litter" is.

PS I am buying in Australia.

shaman66 · 11-16-2006, 01:31 AM

Planet WL-8310

17db, great stability, great power, really works

no big problems under Linux (it's based on Atheros AR5213)

It supports b/g
hight speed 108 Mbps.

Really good one

Bruce Hill · 11-16-2006, 06:58 AM

Netgear 108 Mbps Wireless PCI Adapter Rev. A2 - WG311T
00:0d.0 Ethernet controller: Atheros Communications, Inc. AR5212 802.11abg NIC (rev 01)
It uses the Madwifi driver.

Linksys Wireless-G 2.4 GHz PCI Adapter - WMP54GV4
(will edit with lspci output when I put it back in a box)
This one is a Ralink chipset - the rt2500 module.
Native drivers available from the rt2x00 Open Source Project.