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intel 3945abg Vs 2915abg

post #1 of 21
6/26/06 at 11:56am
Thread Starter 
Hello,

It's been a while since i have been on the forum.... How are you guys doing?

I have an m170 and m1710 infront of me and was testing the wlan cards.

m1710 (uses intel 3945abg)
m170 (uses intel 2915abg)

M170 has detected 4 networks (3 of which had 4/5 bars fiilled, 1 had just 2 bars)

M1710 detected only 2 networks (both of which had 2/5 bars).

I am not sure if it is just a faulty card in the m1710 or if the intel 3945abg is just inferior to the intel 2915abg.

I would appreciate if someone had some information on the performance of these cards relative each other.

Thanks.
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post #2 of 21
6/26/06 at 12:31pm
I seem to have problems with my m1710's WLan card as well. Even though I'm 5 meters away from the AP and open air, it has random disconnects if im not using the connection. Also, on a single download i can only get 3 mbps whereas my desktops WLan can get the full 6 mbps (internet download). I've read places it might be the drivers but I have the latest Dell drivers. Any ideas?

thewird
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post #3 of 21
6/26/06 at 12:43pm
Thread Starter 
thanks for replying...

this is pretty strange, i would think the intel 3945abg would be alot better than the 2915 and not worse.
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post #4 of 21
6/26/06 at 12:49pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by thewird
I seem to have problems with my m1710's WLan card as well. Even though I'm 5 meters away from the AP and open air, it has random disconnects if im not using the connection. Also, on a single download i can only get 3 mbps whereas my desktops WLan can get the full 6 mbps (internet download). I've read places it might be the drivers but I have the latest Dell drivers. Any ideas?

thewird?


Also, whats your average gpu temp while your doing noting really graphically intensive.

You could check using nvidia control panel.

thanks
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post #5 of 21
6/26/06 at 12:53pm
50-60 degress celcius

thewird
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post #6 of 21
6/26/06 at 1:02pm
The intel line of Wlan cards is constantly suffering.... so i dont really expect much out of the line. An atheros card is much needed compared to the intels
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post #7 of 21
6/26/06 at 1:06pm
Is it possible to swap the WLan cards without voiding warrenty? Also, what would you recommend? Does Dell sell better ones or would I have to go 3rd party? Thanks.

thewird
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post #8 of 21
6/26/06 at 1:08pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by thewird
I seem to have problems with my m1710's WLan card as well. Even though I'm 5 meters away from the AP and open air, it has random disconnects if im not using the connection. Also, on a single download i can only get 3 mbps whereas my desktops WLan can get the full 6 mbps (internet download). I've read places it might be the drivers but I have the latest Dell drivers. Any ideas?

thewird?


I also read somewhere (2 or 3 days back) that dell realesed drivers for the wlan cards ( i have not tried updating to them or even checked if i am using them).
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post #9 of 21
6/26/06 at 1:10pm
Thread Starter 
i hear those atheros cards are pretty good and are 105mb/s(or 150mb/s not sure) on downloads. the intel cards are 54mp/s.
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post #10 of 21
6/26/06 at 1:30pm
For random D/C's, try changing channels. This worked for me. Some channels may interfere w/ other's wireless network sigs is what I've heard, and changing channel may help.
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post #11 of 21
6/26/06 at 2:14pm
I've tried using the 3 sections of the band. Channels i tried are 2, 6, 10.

thewird
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post #12 of 21
6/26/06 at 5:08pm
atheros are by far the best choice, they get stronger signals.... btw they may void warranty but just keep the old card, and the installation is SOOOOOOO easy so its a quick 2 min swap.
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post #13 of 21
6/26/06 at 11:57pm
the 3495 is really a pos , not even worth keeping
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post #14 of 21
6/27/06 at 12:18am
I don't know if it's just me, but if I'm playing online games, I don't even use wireless. I'd rather just use lan line to my router unless I'm web surfing, or watching tv etc.
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post #15 of 21
6/27/06 at 1:55am
try the driver directly from intel , this solved all my problems with 2915 a year ago when I got my xps2. they have brand new ones for the 3945 and 2915 and they work really well :

LINKY
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post #16 of 21
6/27/06 at 2:06am
I have E1705 and am in Japan. Unfortunately, the only "broadband" service we have on base is a crappy wireless service and the WLAN card I had in my XPS Gen 2 would drop the signal constantly versus the 3945.
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post #17 of 21
6/27/06 at 2:39am
Thanks for the link, magalarn. Downloading now. I've been getting lots of disconnects, but I think it's my router because it happens to all of my PC's at once.....
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post #18 of 21
6/27/06 at 4:08pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by magalarn
try the driver directly from intel , this solved all my problems with 2915 a year ago when I got my xps2. they have brand new ones for the 3945 and 2915 and they work really well :

LINKY

I have been using that driver for a month and it works GREAT!
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post #19 of 21
6/27/06 at 4:20pm
I have the m1710 with the intel 3945 and I travel a lot. So, i have varied experience in many hotels with their wireless. My experience is that sometimes I get and keep a signal and sometimes i will constantly get disconnected. This happens sometimes in the same hotel room during different days of the week. I originally blamed the hotels' crappy wireless implementations, but after getting similar performance in many different hotels with many different service providers across the US, I am blaming the card itself. So, I am glad to hear the performance I get is not something unique to me. I am going to download and try the drivers suggested above and will let you know if it helped me in the hotel tonight. (THankfully they provide wired as well as wireless so i havent been disrupted.)

Just to share the basic problem.. With basic web browsing and email, I have only small problems. Mostly, it works with the occasion where i notice a disconnect/reconnect. I can deal with that. I do some video/audio conferencing and it will disconnect me from that which is annoying. I also play online games (which is important since it keeps me sane in these hotel rooms) and I constantly get disconnected from the games as they are not tolerant to having connections dropped and re-established.

So, if this new driver doesnt work, I will consider replacing the card.
Thanks for the advice.
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post #20 of 21
6/27/06 at 5:37pm
I've tried the 4 cards between 9300's and 1710's and I'll put them in ascending order in quality of my opinion.
1. Any Atheros Chipset Wifi
2. Intel 3945 (best range lowest drops of the intels)
3. Intel 2200 (not a great range but maintains solid connection)
4. Intel 2915 (I own a 2915 and a 2200 in my 9300's and the 2915 could quite possibly be the worst wifi NIC ever produced...low range and frequent drops...just read the horror stories on the forum and i'm sure you'll see other agree!)
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