mookiekong's Full Review: Intel (WM3945AGM1GEN) Network Adapter
Intel Pro Wireless 3945abg Card
I picked up a new notebook the other week and it had a built-in wireless card. The card was based on a Ralink chipset, which has some support for Linux. I had no plans of running the Windows Vista Basic that was included with my notebook purchase – and wish that I could have opted not to pay for it. Anyways, I installed Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 (RHEL5) on my notebook and found that I had to go through all sorts of hoops to get the Ralink card working – downloading and compiling a kernel module, then trying to fiddle with the networking settings so that it would start up at boot time. Having spent half the night working on it, I gave up and ordered an Intel Pro Wireless 3945abg card.
If you remember all those Intel Centrino commercials, you'll already have heard about the 3945abg. This Mini-PCI Express card is one part of the Centrino platform from Intel. The other parts are a Intel Core (Solo or Duo) processor chip and the Intel chipset that controls all functionality of the computer. But, the good thing is that you don't have to have any of those components to take advantage of rhte 3945abg. I have a Celeron M 420 (which is an Intel Core Solo chip without Speedstep) and the Intel chipset that comes with the Centrino platform. Swapping out the Ralink card with the 3945abg made my notebook as close to a Centrino notebook as possible without a processor swap.
The 3945abg, as you can probably tell from the “abg” part supports 802.11a, 802.11b and 802.11g. What's the difference? 802.11b and g run on 2.4Ghz and is pretty common. 802.11b runs at 11Mbit/s and 802.11g runs at 54Mbit/s. 802.11a runs on 5Ghz and is not very common, it runs at 54Mbit/s (just like 802.11g). Having the extra 802.11a is nice. If you live in an apartment complex where there are a lot of baby monitors , cordless phones and other 802.11b/g access points, you will get a lot of interference on the 2.4Ghz channels that 802.11b/g runs on. You can run out and buy a 802.11a 5Ghz access point and be free from all that interference. That is a huge benefit for people living in tight quarters. And because it also does 802.11b/g, you don't have to worry about getting service at your local Starbucks when you are there with your notebook!
The installation of the 3945abg card is pretty straight forward. You open up your notebook and find the Mini-PCI Express slot. You slide the card in at a 30 degree angle and then push it down towards the motherboard. There are two screws you screw in to hold the card down. Then you connect your antenna pigtails to the card (there are two connections, one for the main antenna and one for an aux antenna).
With RHEL5, there is support from Red Hat for the 3945abg card, it is in the Extras Channel. You just install the packages from yum, reboot and you're done. It would be good also to turn on NetworkManager and NetworkManagerDispatch from System | Administration | Server Settings | Services. NetworkManager will allow you to roam between networks without hassle. It will also pick the fast connection for your use – wired or wireless.
The card supports all current encryption schemes (WEP 64/128-bit, WPA/WPA2).
The 3945abg performs very well. I use it at home and pair it up with a Netgear WPN824. I can wander throughout my house and keep a consistently strong signal. It beats the Atheros-based PCMCIA cards that I had been using with my previous notebooks. At work, where I would get half signals, I now get 70-80% connection strengths. I have yet to experience a dropped connection with this card also. It has performed reliably.
Overall, if you want to add wireless to your Mini-PCI Express capable system, or are looking for a Linux compatible card, the Intel Pro Wireless 3945abg is a great card to pick up.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 32 Driver Availability: Windows and Linux
Device Type - Adapter Data link protocol - IEEE 802.11a,IEEE 802.11b,IEEE 802.11g Data transfer rate - 54 Mbps Networking compliant standards - IEEE 8...More at Amazon Marketplace
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