NETGEAR WG311T Super-G Wireless PCI Adapter
See it at Amazon.com for $35.00Average Customer Rating
(3.5 out of 5)
Amazon Customer Reviews
Most Helpful First | Newest First
(5 out of 5)Works great after a few adjustments made in WinXP
Just installed the WG311T PCI cards on two pc's connecting through my WGT624 and so far everything is great . Good signal and speed on both computers and no dis-connects . Iam pretty happy with my results todate .
But .......
IMPORTANT NOTE ON INSTALL WITH XP AND SP2 !!!
1.)If you use the Netgear application to monitor/manage your Wifi stuff then you MUST disable the "wireless-zero" in the "Adminstative tools" in the control panel for things to work correctly ( start/settings/contrpl panel/administative tools/services/wireless zero ; and put to "DISABLE"
2.)If you use WindowsXP to monitor/manage your Wifi , then you MUST disable the Netgear application (start /run / then TYPE IN: msconfig / then look in "startup"/ then DISABLE or UN-CHECK the line saying "GEAR 311T".
You must do one of the two items Ive listed to make sure your netgear Wifi works /connects properly (to the internet) . Seems you cant NOT use both applications together in anyway . Ive done ALOT of testing on this and this is the ONLY method(s) Ive found to work correctly (and this is not mentioned by Netgear or Microsoft) .
I hope this helps future users of this equipment . =)
(5 out of 5)I WAS pleased with the performance - BUT NOT ANYMORE
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Now it's June 13, 2005 and Amazon won't let me change my star rating that I first entered last year - but now I would give it only TWO STARS.
It appears that the advertised wireless rate of 108mbps is just a THEORECTICAL RATE and the device doesn't even come close. So if you are like me and want the speed of WIRED and think this will do it - WRONG.
ALso, to get ther "108mbps" rate you need to use NETGEAR routers or you will just be able to get the "54mbps" rate. And I can't get the router to work in "108mbps" mode without disconnects and high pings. I bought another NETGEAR router and it dropped the network after 2 days and again in about an hour - apparently due to overheating. To even try another vendor's 108mbps gear I would be forced to replace my router and the 3 pc adapter cards .
As a package, the NETGEAR 108mbps items are not what I thought I was getting. I am now in the process of fishing wire through my house to get to the wireless computers. I will then TURN OFF WIRELESS and use wires to obtain the 100mbps rate that wires can support.
Last year, I installed the NETGEAR WG3111T 108 mbps Wireless PCI Adapter while still utilizing my Microsoft MN-500, 11 mbps router. I find it easier to resolve any issues by taking things one step at a time. After the adapter card is operating correctly, I then installed the new NETGEAR WGT624 108 mbps router. I have Windows XP Home edition.
First word of advice, for this or any other piece of hardware: Go to the NETGEAR website (www.netgear.com) and check out the support area, and see if there is a newer version of the device driver and the utility software. If at all possible, download and install those BEFORE you install the WG3111T. It would have saved me a lot of time if I had done this myself.
Installation started smoothly. The Smart Configuration Utility setup the new network connection easily even while my old MSN-510 adapter was connected and operating. The utility listed my available network. I selected it and entered my encryption key. All I had to do was disconnect the old adapter and the NETGEAR WG3111T was up and going.
Then I restarted my computer... and I began losing connectivity. When McAfee VirusScan was installing, it would get "synchronization errors" and "VSMain errors". When AOL started up the network would lose connectivity and the IP address was getting changed to 169.254.120.96 or other variations of 169.254. The IP address was also getting changed when I uninstalled CyberSitter. If I ran the Smart Configuration Utility and hit APPLY, then everything would be fine until I restarted AOL. After going to the NETGEAR website and checking out the support area, I found a newer version of the device driver and the utility software. After downloading and installing these, everything is going just fine.
Since the antenna sticks out of the card, I was a little concerned about reception but the signal strength turned out to be a little better than with my Microsoft MN-510, 11mbs Wireless USB Adapter. I do have to remember to fold the antenna in before I move the computer around since I get the best reception by sticking the antenna straight out. (The computer is on third floor and router is in my basement ceiling.) The instructions tell you to point the antenna up.
After I installed the NETGEAR WGT624 108 mbps router, the WG3111T found the new network and was operating without any effort on my part. When the router broadcast channel was changed, the WG3111T picked-up the change automatically. The reception is consistently in the "excellent" range (and runs at 108 mbps according to the NETGEAR utility), but it does drop to "very good" (and 54 mbps) often. Your reception will be based on the location of your router and receivers. And remember, these rates are theoretical and you will not get anywhere near that actual transfer rate when wireless. Go figure.
(5 out of 5)Experiences with Netgear WG311T (Router is WGT634U)
I have gotten quite a bit of experience with this card, so might share some information with others about the quality of this product. The Netgear WG311T is the 108 Mbps version of the PCI based wireless adapter for PC's. Note that there is also a 108Mbps USB 2.0 adapter (WG111T) version as well as a 108 Mbps PC Card (WG511T) version for notebooks. The USB 2.0 one seems quite nice, but this WG311T comes with an attenna that you can turn and point in the direction of the wireless router. Note that there has been multiple revisions of this product since introduction. This review is for the V12H019 REV:1 version (printed on the card). I have heard that previous versions (V12H009.0 REV 4 and before) had major problems with freezes and hiccups with VIA chipsets and XP SP2, but the current version I have seems fine (my computer has the VIA chipsets and SP2 of XP). All new cards should have this new version now unless you are buying a used one from someone. Be sure to visit Netgear's website and download the latest drivers for this card (3.0.1.6 as of this writing).
The card supports better WPA security with the new drivers and comes with its own utility to connect with the wi-fi routers/access points. I have heard that it works with Microsoft's wireless utility as well as atheros drivers (the card uses their chip). Note that a lot of experts that have tested 108Mbps thoroughput have found that no 108Mps cards by any manufacturer achieve that rate and is usually half that speed. The 108Mbps advertisement comes from using two channels of 54Mpbs in the 2.4 Ghz spectrum instead of one.
The card does its job and am able to connect fine with the Netgear WGT634U. In the beginning the signal strength was at full, but after a week or 2 of using it, the signal is one notch lower (96Mbps), but I suspect that is related to the WGT634U router (see my review of that one as well).
This is one of those products that requires getting new and updated software so it will work well, so be prepared check for new drivers and install them instead of the ones that come with the card. As long as you have the newer revision of the card and the latest drivers, you should be fine. The Netgear software leaves an icon in the tray that you can open up and check and modify settings of card (like WPA-PSK password).
If you are going fully wireless, consider getting bluetooth keyboard/mouse from Microsoft or Logitech, WiJet.Video (wifi video to your monitor), Netgear PS121 (wifi printing), and bluetooth mic, headphones and audio transmitters to your speakers.
The major competing brand for this product is the D-Link DWL-G520.
(1 out of 5)Consistently locked up XP machines - unusable
I had to return it because it consistently locked up any XP PC where it was installed. Purchased this model because it seemed to be the right fit for the Netgear WGT624 router.
Returned this item and purchased the USB wireless adapter WG111 instead, which worked just fine.
Won't purchase this item again and cannot recommend it.
(1 out of 5)This product may FREEZE up your system
I've owned this product for a week now and have tried various things to get this card working correctly on my system. It appears that with LARGE traffic, this card will freeze up and lock your system, forcing you to press the RESET/POWER button. There is apparently a compatibility issue between the Atheros chipset (what this product uses) and the VIA chipset (what most AMD compatible motherboards use).
I would only recommend this product to people who ARE NOT using a motherboard with the VIA chipset. [...]
I hope that this helps you in your decision.