jigga what?
Written: Sep 15 '03 (Updated Sep 15 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Free after rebate, works fine for internet surfing.
Cons: transferring files or networking apps over any wireless network is a mistake.
The Bottom Line: The price is because the card was free after rebate. Supposedly it does work on linux, but you have to find drivers for it.
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| madlee's Full Review: GigaFast Ethernet WirelessEngine 721-AEX (WE721-AE... |
This is the first wireless card I've ever used. So, I can't really compare this card to any other. However, I can detail the features and performance.
First off, it's a 802.11b card so it's the slowest of all the protocols, but it's also the most common protocol. The card installs very easily on windows 2000 and comes with a nice configuration utility. the manual is decent, but leaves some info and explanation out, so it's recommended that you research the terms on the web.
This card is capable of operating in 2 modes: ad hoc and infrastructure. The former is used to operate the card as an access point or peer to peer, whereas the latter is used when working with a access point like a wireless router.
This card comes with WEP encryption up to 128 bits and includes some of it's own proprietary encryption methods since WEP is known to not be very safe. The stated coverage area is 35ft ~ 100 ft indoor and 100ft ~ 300ft outdoor. I haven't experienced any problems with coverage.
There are some things I was disappointed to discover is that no card rated at 11Mbps gets that bandwidth. In fact you are lucky if you get half. Supposedly, much of the bandwidth is taken up by using encryption. Nonetheless, I do consistently get about 5Mbps which is about 3 times more than traditional broadband cable connection. Of course this card doesn't need to be used only in a laptop, you can purchase a pci adapter. I'm not sure what chipset this card is. It identifies itself as a Realtek 8180, so I'm assuming that's what it is. Lots of different brands use the same chipset, they just slap their own label and sticker on it. I haven't tried to run snort with it, but network stumbler works with it.
Installation is simple. Just plug the card into the cardbus port and windows will detect the device and request the driver. Insert the cd included with the card and it will install the driver.
Next, you will need to install the utility which configures the card's settings. This is on the CD too. However, if you have Windows XP, then you can use XP's own wireless utility instead of the Gigafast one.
I am currently using this card with an SMC router. There are no cross brand issues that I've seen.
All in all, it works fine. There may be better cards out there like the Orinco but since the WF721 was free after rebate, I can't complain. From what I've read about other cards, this one sounds no different.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
madlee
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Reviews written: 32
Trusted by: 13 members
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