Wireless card help....

[rubberman]

Want to buy a wireless card for my desktop. This is an old 200mhz Dell which i use as a fileserver to store pics, mp3's, and video on my home network. I am gonna install this computer on the other side of the house where the route is placed. so i didnt know how well the USB adapters worked and should i stick with a PCI card type? I notcied that walmart and circuit city carry a belkin then also a Dlink.

dlink
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/D-Link-802-11g-Wireless-Desktop-Adapter-DWL-G510-/sem/r...oductDetail.do

netgear
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Netgear-Wireless-Desktop-Adapter-WG311-/sem/rpsm/oid/81...oductDetail.do

should those work in an older computer like this? it does have PCI slots.

[Soopafresh]

You should be running at least Windows 2000 to work reliably with a Wireless card.

I'd recommend a PCI slot one - I've used both and set up many for clients and friends, and the internal ones are just a bit more stable. Whatever you do, DON'T get a Linksys External USB adapter - unless you want disconnects up the wazoo. Maybe things have changed int he past 4 months, but don't risk it.

[rubberman]

actually i have XPPro on this computer. Yeap its running and never has crashed yet. i keep it on all the time. I might go with the netgear pci adapter. But my laptop wireless card and wireless router are both B so i gotta make sure the card i get will work with a B router.

[Prot]

XP Pro on a 200 MHz PC? I don't believe it!
Min specs are 233 MHz. It should not have even installed.

[rubberman]

if you think that is bad, i have xp pro installed on a 166mhz machine. runs perfect everyday.

[rubberman]

so do you guys think it would be better to get a Wireless USB adapter or a PCI adapter?

[neomaine]

rubberman,

PCI all the way. Without much exception (like an external HD for backups) I'll always go for internal versus external on these types of peripherals.

[Poppa_Meth]

You can get a gigabyte wireless PCI card for $26 shipped at newegg and it has excellent range according to reviews on it. I'm about to order one myself.

[Shocker Milwaukee]

You should be running at least Windows 2000 to work reliably with a Wireless card.

Not to contradict, but I set up a Belkin Wireless G network card (PCI) on a machine running 98. It's been running reliably with no issues surfing or accessing shared network folders.

[ofbarea]

Try geeting a PCI cards with Broadcom chipset. The BELKIN Wireless 54G and Linksys WMP54G are examples of such cards.

For Generic Bradcom drivers check this link: http://www.linksysinfo.org/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=3927