Home > Consumer Reviews > Linksys Wireless-N PCI Adapter WMP300N

This draft N PCI adapter works great paired with the Linksys WRT300N draft Wireless-N router. I have three computers in my home all using WMP300N cards along with my WRT300N router. I also have a Vonage phone adapter hooked into my router (via Ethernet cable). No complaints at all. This product is speedy and appears to be low latency as well. It can easily handle the 4 Megabits/second download rate from my cable internet without any glitches or slowing down. If only more websites transmitted that fast!

There is one caveat, however, I recommend that you do not install the Linksys software that comes on the CD. I found that it utilized quite a bit of CPU bandwidth just keeping the connection current. However, if you let Windows install the DRIVERS ONLY by searching the CD-ROM for the correct drivers, then it works perfectly and doesn't burn up any extra CPU cycles. With the Linksys driver software installed, I was seeing upwards of 30-50% CPU utilization even when not surfing the web. With the drivers installed via Windows XP hardware installation wizard, CPU utilization went down to practically zero whether surfing the web or not. Great product, especially for the price!

Addendum regarding drivers - February 24, 2007 - The newest drivers do not cause the CPU utilization problems. I still don't think they are necessary, but at least they don't cause high CPU utilization problem.

I bought this along with the corresponding Linksys wireless router. Set up was easy until I tried using the PCI card. After installing, my computer would freeze every few minutes unrelentlessly. I spent a good 3-4 hours trying to solve the problem with no luck. Finally I went on the Linksys Website Forums and discovered literally 100's of complaints about this PCI card from users that were having the same problems as me. After fishing through post after post, I came up with a solution.

If you buy this card, DO NOT install the linksys software from the CD installer. Get the drivers ONLY from Linksys and use Microsoft to set up your wireless. Apparently, the Linksys Wireless Monitoring software conflicts with the operating system. I am using XP Media Center version. Once I installed the drivers only and removed al the Linksys software, my computer was again stable with no freezes. I am getting connects speed from 216-270 which, although not as fast as advertised, is credible. I'm sure a firmware upgrade is down the road eventually.

I was going to trade all the Linsys "N" hardware for something else like a "G" Mimo, but I actually got it to work. Would I recommend? Yes, if you are computer savvy enough to get this card to work. If you want strict plug and play, this card isn't going to do it. If you can get it to work, the speed is worth the price of admission.

Linksys Wireless N WMP300N is perfect for your desktop when you don't want wire running all over your house.

It took me less than 3 minutes to get this installed and connected to my network. I don't understand why some people are having a hard time installing on Vista. I installed on a 64 bit edition without any problems.

NOTE - VISTA OWNERS: DO NOT INSTALL LINKSYS CD.
-Don't follow the directions on the paper, it's for XP
-Make sure computer is off, and plug the card into your MOBO.
-Connect the Antenna
-Turn on the computer, Vista will automatically install the driver.
-When you do a MS Vista update, you will have the option to update the driver.
-Connect to your wireless router.

Yes, it's that easy.

I was initially pleased with the ease of setup and the range and speed improvement over my old wireless G network. Then I noticed that the audio/video on my receiving computer (Using the WMP300N PCI DESKTOP CARD) had become choppy and static. After days of rollbacks and uninstalls I traced it to the linksys driver for the WMP300N. To make matters worse, the uninstall for this does not work properly and leaves keys in the registry which prevent the new driver from installing without some geek activities that might be daunting to the average user. Then the new driver after I finally got it installed, was much better but not completely fixed. As a former driver developer I noticed that the new driver solution for the problem was simply to saturate the PCI bus with data! The computer equivalent of talking faster and louder so no one else can get a word in edgewise! If you attempt to run other intensive data applications such as gaming, or video rendering applications, this "solution" will cause your computer to hang. Microsoft would NEVER certify a driver written like this.
Since the value of this router in terms of range and speed, depends on the use of Linksys' own desktop receiver solution, the overall system you set up is severely flawed and I cannot and would not recommend it.

I do not know if the laptop receiver card exhibits the same behavior.

Easy to install. Usually have over 200 Mbps connection...can't tell the difference between the N wireless and the hardline connection. Note: IF you have a WinXP 64bit you will need to download the correct driver from the Linksys webpage first