c610 internal mini pci wireless upgrade help/advice.

I have suggested two Intel Pro Wireless models here:

http://forums.us.dell.com/supportforums/board/message?board.id=latit_network&message.id=8130

Dell Pro Wireless could be simply rebranded Intel cards, but I'm not sure if Intel's excellent drivers work with it. You might be better off buying a new card. I have 3 C610, 2 with Intel Pro Wireless 2200BG and one with Dell TrueMobile 1150 (which ain't that great), no problems.

Thanks for the info.This is the listing for the card i'm looking at: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=8767631495&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1  .It is an Intel 2200.If I understand your reply correctly,you approve of this card?I appreciate your help.THANKS.S.Powell.

It looks like an Intel Pro Wireless 2200BG made for Dell. This rebranding thing worries me, it is possible that there are slight differences in hardware so Intel's excellent software will not recognize the card and tell you to use Dell's software - which may not be as good. For instance, the Dell TrueMobile 1150 card is a rebranded Orinoco card, but Orinoco drivers won't recognize it and Dell's drivers were, umm, painful, to put it politely, and have not been updated in a long time.

If I were you, I'd shell out 10 extra bucks and get the real Intel model from Newegg, with peace of mind of a reputable brand and seller and also backed up with good post-sale services. I'm not saying that the eBay seller is bad, just that you often get what you pay for, and sometimes you kick away many advantages by saving only a few dollars. But that's just me. ;)

I may have acted too quickly.I've already purchased the one off Ebay.I'll see if it works.If it doesn't,i'll go to plan "B",>NewEgg<.Thanks for your help.

It should be a fine piece of hardware, it carries the Intel logo which is OK with me. My only worry was with the perspective of being forced to use only Dell's drivers; as a custom card, the custom drivers built by Intel for Dell might not be as frequently updated.

IMHO, you should try Intel's drivers first, here's the download link:

http://support.intel.com/support/wireless/wlan/sb/CS-010623.htm

The one at the top of the table is the most recent for the Intel Pro Wireless 2200BG: driver 9.0.3.9, application 10.1.0.3. It's a whoppin' 79.6 MB ZIP archive, it will take a while to download on slow connections.

In case you're having problems with these drivers, Dell's drivers for the Intel Pro Wireless 2200 card are in the file R107434.EXE (search for R107434 to get to the download page). I found them by searching for drivers for Latitude D810, under Network Drivers. As I guessed, they are older: driver 9.0.2.31, application 9.0.2.1. They're about 30 MB in size.

I hope you will enjoy this card and that my advice was indeed helpful.

You have been very helpful,and I really appreciate it.I should receive the laptop tomorrow and the card in the next few days.I'll keep you updated as to my progress or regress :-) .THANKS!!