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| Date Reviewed: 09/13/2004 |
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Strengths: Strong signal reception on different floors & through walls.
Supports WEP (and WPA claimed) in linux. Very responsive (though no attempt to measure speed from the SpeedBooster technology).
Weaknesses: Antenna can get in the way of other expansion slot connections. Tricky to set up in linux. No native linux drivers available.
Summary: Having a Linksys WRT54G wireless broadband router I purchased the WMP54GS for compatibility and *hopefully* a speed improvement over the standard 54mpbs rate. First off, the SpeedBooster really only gives you up to a 35% improvement if all the devices on your wireless network have SpeedBooster. If you have non-SB devices, your speed improvement is reduced. When I attempted to install this card into linux I found out: 1.) linux doesn't detect the card as new hardware (at least Fedora Core 2 didn't) and 2.) Linksys doesn't provide any linux drivers at all - only a Windows .exe file. With a bit of research and a lot of headache I found ndiswrapper - a linux utility to wrap Windows wireless drivers - that allowed me to create a wireless device and then I had to figure out how to tell the card my WEP key and SSID. In the end, after all the pain of getting it to be recognized in linux, it does work flawlessly and I have full speed in linux -- even down one floor and through two walls from the router. With knowledge of how to get wireless working in linux I'd buy this card again but I'd hope Linksys supply native drivers at some point in the near future.
 82% of People (27/33) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 07/08/2004 |
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Strengths: Got great distances on connection even connected to neighbors wireless network!
Weaknesses: No weaknesses
Summary: This product is easy to install! I think Linksys did a great job with the installation instructions. You don't need to be A+ or N+ certified to install this one!
77% of People (10/13) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 03/30/2005 |
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Strengths: (1) Easy Installation
(2) Fast Speed
(3) Built Quality
Weaknesses: (1) Interference with other device (cordless phone)
Summary: 2008-01-03 12:45:03 The installation was a breeze. I pushed the card into the available PCI slot of my computer, and turned on the computer. The card was recognized by the operating system without any problem (Windows XP Professional). After that, I simply followed the quick installation guide, and I could immediately connect to my home network (as well as to the Internet). I have a non-Linksys router (SMC), and my router is not even 802g (my router is an old 802b model). But there was no problem in communication between my router and this card. It did not take more than 15 minutes to install the card. I was pleasantly surprised by this because I always had to spend a few agonizing hours to install anything "wireless." Also, I heard a lot of bad experiences about installing this card on the Internet, so I do not want to overgeneralize my experience -- I could have been just lucky.
I placed the computer (in which this card is installed) in my living room (at the first floor). My router is located at the third floor (I live in Los Angeles where real estate is gold. My small townhome is built on a small piece of land, so it ended up a 3-story building.). Because my router is only 802b, I could not get the full 50+Mbps nor could test the speedbooster techology. Yet I was able to get the full-speed without any problem (10Mbps). I will buy a 802g router sometime in the near-future. Until then, I won't be able to test the full-capability of this card. Thus, please take my review as a "partial" review, and refer to others' review before making a purchase decision.
The card has been reliable since it was installed. The only problem I experienced was the occasional inferences with my cordless phone. I have a Panasonic 2.4GHz cordless phone, and experience two separate occasions of inference (i.e., network lost). But this was a minor problem as the connection came back immediately.
All in all, I had a good experience with this card.
75% of People (6/8) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 11/14/2004 |
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Strengths: Works great and is a very good product. Good signal plus range.
Weaknesses: A little bit costly compared to other brands.
Summary: I recommend this wireless card to anyone who has a Linksys 54G router. The reception is great and its very easy to use and plus its easy to install.
70% of People (7/10) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 10/19/2005 |
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 No 64 bit drivers or even 64 bit compatible drivers Strengths: Works perfectly over good distance and through many walls
Weaknesses: No go if you have 64 bit OS
Summary: I purchased two of them along with the corresponding router. It works great on the PC with Windows XP on the farside of the house. My new PC has Windows XP x64 and the drivers do not work on it. Linksys has no 64 bit drivers or 32 bit drivers compatible with 64 bit OS for the WMP54GS v 1.1. If you have a 64 bit OS like me, you need to buy the WMP54G, the same one with no speed booster(or find WMP54GS v 1, it will work I'm told, but I cannot find them for sale anywhere). You can get that one to work. Or you can wait 6 months or so for some compatible drivers from Linksys.
67% of People (8/12) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 08/18/2004 |
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Strengths: Good range and easy to use.
Weaknesses: Price and customer service.
Summary: I bought this a month ago and I was quite surprised. This thing has good range and it's quite easy to use.
The bad thing about this product is its price. You can get something similar to this for about 10 bucks cheaper. Another thing bad is the customer service. Be ready to wait for at least half an hour and not receive any help in the end. That's what happened to me.
60% of People (6/10) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 02/09/2005 |
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Strengths: Works great. Easy to install.
Weaknesses: The antenna might be in the way of all the cables etc.
Summary: The Linksys WIRELESS G PCI CARD WITH SPEEDBOOSTER is great. I would highly recommend to buy it. It was easy to install and works great. The antenna might be in the way of all the cables etc. but is nothing that will bother you really.
60% of People (3/5) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 01/17/2005 |
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Strengths: Easy installation, quality and stability.
Weaknesses: Low range, week signal, cost.
Summary: I purchased this card along with WCG200 cable modem/gatway from buy.com. The installation/setup instructions were very clear and it took me 20 minutes to connect both devices and install the driver for the NIC. I was pleasantly surprised by Comcast - I've got quite a knowledgeable guy on the phone who walked me through their setup in about 10 minutes and, bam, I was online.
Now, the bad part. My modem is set up in the living room and my PC is in the next room un der the desk. That's 15 feet away, with a regular sheetrock wall in between. I only get Low to Very Low signal strenth that normally yields 24 to 36Mbps. While that's enough for me, I know some people will be pissed off. You'll have better results after turning your PC's rear towards the gateway (I've checked) but this doesn't work for everyone.
All in all, this is a good quality card, it works. I certainly recommend it.
60% of People (3/5) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 08/19/2004 |
- Breemania
from NY
- Member Since:
Apr 2002
View Member's:
Reviews
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 Over all a very good card but it has a very weak s ... Strengths: Easy to setup, detailed instructions.
Weaknesses: Range, Weak signal, Antenna very low gain.
Summary: Over all a very good card but it has a very weak signal; my D-link card in my laptop blows this one away. I will purchase the new D-link in the future. I had originally purchased this because of working with Cisco products in the past that have been of excellent quality. Linksys should offer a better antenna with this product. Recommend the D-Link Xtreme G!
Thanks,
Tom
57% of People (4/7) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 01/19/2005 |
- cenzo989
from NY
- Member Since:
Jul 2004
View Member's:
Reviews
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Strengths: strng
Weaknesses: none
Summary: very strong singnal. i think its one of the best, no problems or conflicts so far. it can range all the way to my back yard. i can on the internet from my back yard.
50% of People (3/6) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 07/03/2005 |
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Strengths: Very easy to install
Weaknesses: So far, none!
Summary: 2005-07-04 11:51:18 Linksys WIRELESS G PCI CARD WITH SPEEDBOOSTER is an excellent wireless network card. Straight forward installation, you'll be on your LAN in no time! Furthermore, the price is also excellent.
50% of People (2/4) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 01/12/2005 |
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Strengths: Easy to install. Great reception.
Weaknesses: NA
Summary: This wireless card makes everything so much simpler! No more cords stretching across rooms, etc. I found it extremely easy to install and use - very low maintenance compared to a Netgear wireless PCI card that I used to have. If you have a Linksys wireless router, I recommend using a Linksys wireless PCI card - they say they should be compatible, but I had nothing but trouble.
50% of People (2/4) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 09/10/2005 |
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 I am a network administrator of a private Christia ... Strengths: Cheap, widely available
Weaknesses: Ability to connect to some wireless networks is questionable, your mileage may very well vary
Summary: I am a network administrator of a private Christian in the Columbus, OH area which utilizes these cards for its in-house network. Purchasing of the hardware for the network was done by the guy before me - Linksys wireless 4-port routers and WMP54G nework cards. These cards, while widely and fairly well supported under Windows and (sort of) under Linux, I would say that I cannot recommend Linksys wireless NICs to anyone. The desktops these cards are installed in either will not connect to the Linksys 4-port wireless routers or will connect after anywhere from 10-30 minutes (or more). You would think they would work well, but they do not. Drivers are easily available from Linksys' website, but attempting to figure out which card you have is difficult because even if the box your card came in says it's a WMP54G (card without speedbooster) but only the WMP54GS driver works with it. I am not an idiot, but it's true. Apparently others have had a better experience than I have with working with WMP54G's and GS's, so I would think carefully and choose another network card in this price point, such as one made by D-Link
43% of People (3/7) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 03/27/2005 |
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DO NOT BUY THIS ADAPTER FOR XP. Instead get Linksy ...
Strengths: None.
Weaknesses: Not compatible with XP.
Summary: DO NOT BUY THIS ADAPTER FOR XP. Instead get Linksys WUSB54GS. This adapter has wizard for me and 98, but for XP you have to stand on your head and cross your fingers to get it to work. Mine never worked and I am a degreed and certified Network Engineer.
On the other hand, the updated WUSB54GS external adapter works only with XP and 2000. Insert the CD and it practically installs itself. No hassles whatsoever. I wasted hours trying to make the WMP54GS work. Don't make the same mistake I did. Get the WUSB54GS and you will be up and running in minutes.
36% of People (5/14) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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| Date Reviewed: 09/01/2004 |
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Strengths: Very good signal obtained from PC card from about 50 feet of distance.
Weaknesses: Not quite as easy to set-up as the product description would imply.
Summary: Got this 2 days ago and installed within 1 hour. Was not able to get a signal right away using the start-up CD enclosed until calling Linksys and speaking to Tech support. I have Win XP Pro, and had to change some settings in Network Connections in order to stop existing ethernet port from being the default.
However, now works great and have not lost the connection yet. Speed says "54G" on the little icon but sometimes seems slower. Overall very happy with the wireless PCI card.
0% of People (0/1) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
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