TRENDnet TEW-423PI 54Mbps Wireless G PCI Adapter
See it at Amazon.com for $17.15Average Customer Rating
(3.5 out of 5)
Amazon Customer Reviews
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(5 out of 5)As Good (or Better) Than Cards at Twice the Price
I have multiple PCs linked to a wireless router and have used 54Mbps network card from Dlink, Netgear, Belkin, Microsoft and now TRENDnet. All of the cards were about $20, though the TRENDnet card is the only one that didn't require submitting a rebate form (and with my Dlink purchase, I missed the submission date on a $30 rebate so that one cost me $50).
The Netgear and Belkin cards were terrible (weak signal, dropped connections) and I ended up returning them. The Dlink and Microsoft cards on the other hand worked fine, though the initial install wasn't without some aggravation.
I was planning to get another Dlink card for my latest purchase simply because I have a Dlink router but I couldn't find the card for less than $30 (after rebate) which is why I decided to give TRENDnet a try. I'd never heard of the company before, but the reviews from users were mostly positive and the price was great. Well, I installed the card 2 days ago and it's been working flawlessly. Some reviewers had install issues and many mentioned problems with the drivers on the disk, but I didn't experience any issues at all - NONE! I loaded the connection management software, turned off the PC, popped in the card, turned on the PC, loaded the drivers from the disk, restarted the PC and I was done. It took less than 10 minutes and has been working perfectly.
As soon as I restarted the PC it connected to my network. All I had to do was enter the security code using the connection software. It now connects automatically every time and hasn't lost or dropped the signal once. This PC is in a finished basement office with the wireless access point on the 1st floor about 30 feet (2 walls and a floor) away, and the signal strength has been very good to excellent. I was planning to update the drivers, but everything is working so smoothly right now I don't think I'll bother (why mess with a good thing?).
Based on my experience, I would highly recommend this card. I'm fixing up an old PC for my daughter and will definitely be ordering another TRENDnet card. It works well and it's cheap which is a great (and rare) combination.
(5 out of 5)Excellent card and worth the money
Pros:
- Inexpensive
- Good warranty
- Easy to install and configure
- Superlative reception with no drop-offs
- Works in a plethora of operating systems
Cons:
- My system won't let me have this card and a wired NIC at the same time, but I think this may be a flaw in the Windows OS
(4 out of 5)Great performance and inexpensive
This card replaced AT&T wireless card and works flawlessly but only after latest drivers are installed. Problems experienced by MO reviewer may be due to not installing latest drivers, not disabling Windows wireless configuration software suggested by another review or bad location of card. Moving my PC just a couple of feet improved signal strength from 55% to 80%! I've had the card a couple of years, and the only problem I encountered was changing routers resulted in failure of Windows 98SE system to connect to web which was resolved by Trendnet tech support in just 5 minutes. The issue turned out to be Windows 98SE requirement to run Winipcfg and do the "release" and then "renew" that's brought up by Winipcfg and click "apply." This is a Windows 98 issue and no fault of the card. This device would get 5 star rating from me except for limited tech support hours Monday through Friday 8 AM to 6 PM Pacific time. I can find no faults with the card, would buy again and would recommend to everyone.
(5 out of 5)Highly Recommend
When I was in search for a cheap and efficient wireless LAN adapter for my computer, I happened to run into TRENDnet's wireless PCI adapter. I wasn't sure if it would be any good since it was only $20. But after reading a couple of reivews, I decided to take a chance.
One of the best decision I've made (computer-wise). I just plugged it in, attached the detachable antenna, boot up my computer, and it was ready to go. Since I use Windows XP, I didn't even need to install the software that came with the disc it included. Which is a plus, in case you lose the disc and need to connect online to just download a newer version of the software for the adapter.
Overall, it's an excellent product for its price, and I highly recommend it.
(5 out of 5)Cheapest wireless adapter around and works excellent
I only tested the adapter for 5 days, but I did it heavily: 4 days of uninterrupted transfers, that was continuous file transfer and video streaming for about 90 hours.
What I noticed:
Problem: -at the beginning Windows XP had a problem on browsing the networks available, and I had to connect using the TrendNet utility.
Good thing: -once connected to my LinkSys WRT54G wireless router the transfers were just as good as over the wired network (note: I use 64-bit WEP security).
Problem: -once in a while I'll be noticed that my wireless network got connected (it happened about 3 times during my 5 days testing period), but I guess it's just a software bug or something as both my file transfer (using internet explorer) and video streaming weren't affected.
Problem: -the first time I restarted the computer I had to re-connect manually to my wireless network. However this issue has been fixed after, probably because Windows Xp has been able to browse the wireless networks since the first restart. Now the computer stays connected as it used to with the wired network.
Strange thing: when there aren't transfers ongoing the indicators show as the signal strength drops even spectacular sometimes. However, during my intense transfers, the signal strength went only to "very good" once in a while (from excellent) without affecting the speed of 54Mbps.
Conclusion: although I listed here several problems were all minor. If I would have to buy a wireless adapter again I would do the same choice without even hesitate.
Note: I use a Dell dimension 8400 desktop, P4 3.0 GHz HT, 512 RAM. The desktop has been within a close range to the wireless router but I'll come up with more information when I'll set the desktop further.