Well everyone, consider me a full convert. I got my Atheros AR5006EX card yesterday and installed it. Let me tell you WOW!!!! This is quite the powerful card. I picked up over 2x the AP's that I saw with the Intel card, and my signal strength almost doubled. After looking at the card specs more through software I found the following impressive numbers:
AR5006EX transmission power
73-100mW
which matches my Linksys "hacked" router that puts out 83mW. MUCH better than the Intel cards ~45-60mW. Not to mention that I am getting more battery life as well. About 10 min in fact. That is nice too.
SO.... how do I know what one I need? There are 2 distinct versions of this card that apply to us Dell users. They are as follows:
AR5006EX - MiniPCI-E Card for E1405, 1505, 1705 and M1210, 1710, 2010 series Dell notebooks. Will work with M90 as well. Other models with miniPCI-E can use this card too.
AR5006XS - MiniPCI Card for XPS, Gen2, M170, 9200, 9300, etc... Basically all the laptops that do not have the new miniPCI-E slot.
So now that I know what I need, how do I get one?
Well there are 2 dealers of this card currently as they are pretty rare (especially the PCI-E version). They are listed by them on ebay for $70+shipping as well, but by going direct through forum, I got mine for $68 shipped.
You can get the cards from garagesale125. He is active at notebookreview.com, and I have seen him around here too. He is from Hong Kong, but dont let that scare you as I received top-notch shipping and service from him. Fully recommended and is the only one I have EVER found that can get the PCI-E version.
Another member here that seems to have the 'hookup' is Firebretha. Dont know much about him, but He carries the XS version from what I have read lately.
But anyway, GET THIS CARD IF YOU USE WIRELESS HEAVILY!!!! YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT!!!
Cheers,
Whack
AR5006EX transmission power
73-100mW
which matches my Linksys "hacked" router that puts out 83mW. MUCH better than the Intel cards ~45-60mW. Not to mention that I am getting more battery life as well. About 10 min in fact. That is nice too.
SO.... how do I know what one I need? There are 2 distinct versions of this card that apply to us Dell users. They are as follows:
AR5006EX - MiniPCI-E Card for E1405, 1505, 1705 and M1210, 1710, 2010 series Dell notebooks. Will work with M90 as well. Other models with miniPCI-E can use this card too.
AR5006XS - MiniPCI Card for XPS, Gen2, M170, 9200, 9300, etc... Basically all the laptops that do not have the new miniPCI-E slot.
So now that I know what I need, how do I get one?
Well there are 2 dealers of this card currently as they are pretty rare (especially the PCI-E version). They are listed by them on ebay for $70+shipping as well, but by going direct through forum, I got mine for $68 shipped.
You can get the cards from garagesale125. He is active at notebookreview.com, and I have seen him around here too. He is from Hong Kong, but dont let that scare you as I received top-notch shipping and service from him. Fully recommended and is the only one I have EVER found that can get the PCI-E version.
Another member here that seems to have the 'hookup' is Firebretha. Dont know much about him, but He carries the XS version from what I have read lately.
But anyway, GET THIS CARD IF YOU USE WIRELESS HEAVILY!!!! YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT!!!
Cheers,
Whack
Also whackamac, how did you hack your router to get more juice out of it? Thanks!! 
