** Neil O'Brien <neil.obrien@???> [2007-02-07 21:20]:
> On Wed, Feb 07, 2007 at 16:43:28 +0000, Paul Tansom wrote:
> > Does anyone have any recommendations for decent PCI wireless network
> > cards? I'm not worried about Linux support here (well, I do want Linux
> > support, but that's not the question I'm asking). What I'm interested in
> > is quality of connection and compatibility with WAPs.
>
> Not sure how helpful this will be, but I strongly recommend avoiding the
> Netgear WG311v3. I bought this card to install into a mate's Windows XP
> Home machine. The installation went smoothly, with the exception that
> the drivers/software, for some reason, forced the use of the ctrl-alt-del
> logon sequence rather than the normal user choice screen (I believe this
> is rectifiable with a registry edit).
Yes, I quite like Netgear kit on the whole, but PCI cards I tend to
avoid for some reason! I've setup a PCMCIA one without problems on 98 a
year or so ago and use a hub of theirs myself, but my first real
experience of them was with the FA311 card which was an ongoing pain in
the neck for SmoothWall when I was part of the project. I did compile
the driver for it and get it working, but I don't remember it ever
actually getting into the final distribution until it hit the main
kernel tree - not that there was a specific problem with it, just time
taken to get there.
D-Link I also avoid now, although they were my first network cards and I
still have my old 10M D-Link hub and a selection of their 220 ISA
network cards kicking around - wonderful cards for a basic setup back in
the day.
<snip>
> I replaced it with a "cheapest and best" card from eBay, based on the
> Ralink RT2561 and with an external aerial. I believe it was identical
> to item no. 270084936910. Whilst it's relatively early days yet, he is
> quite pleased and said that listening to streaming radio no longer poses
> a problem. It is claimed that it is supported in Linux. I downloaded
> the GPL drivers out of curiosity but haven't used them so can't comment
> on them.
>From what I've read the Ralink chipset seems to be one of the best
supported manufacturer wise, but working out which card uses which
chipset is a pain - especially when some manufacturers do a version
upgrade of an existing card and completely change the chipset (a
particular issue with D-Link I think).
I'm waivering on a Linksys one atm, but haven't purchased yet. I also
need to get a new card and router to install my parents-in-law's new
ADSL line when it gets activated. No way of getting out of supporting
them, Windows or not (hi Popey!) since I know their ISP way too well.
** end quote [Neil O'Brien]
--
Paul Tansom | Aptanet Ltd. |
http://www.aptanet.com/
