Belkin Pre-N PC Card
Manufacturer: Belkin Part number: F5D8010
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- If you're looking for a PC Card adapter with great range, this is it.
Read more
Where to buy
| store | customer rating | inventory | tax & shipping | price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  | In stock Get free shipping on orders over $25! | Enter zip code to get total price: Price +Tax +Shipping =Total price | as of 05/21/2012 |
CNET editors' review
Belkin Pre-N PC Card price range: $32.96
- Reviewed by: Xiao Ming Wu
- Edited by: Allen Fear
- Reviewed on: 12/14/2004
- Released on: 10/01/2004
The good: Fast; great range; simple setup.
The bad: Pricey; requires MIMO adapter to achieve its full potential.
The bottom line: If you're looking for a PC Card adapter with great range, this is it.
These days, most Wi-Fi adapter installation routines are short and painless, and Belkin's Pre-N PC Card adapter is no exception. You begin by inserting the accompanying CD into your computer. The CD automatically launches a wizard that guides you through a few prompts and ends by asking you to insert the Pre-N PC Card, which initiates the adapter's driver installation. After the drivers are installed, the wizard guides you through the installation of Belkin's Wireless Client Utility, which you can use to manage the Pre-N PC Card adapter.
The Wireless Client Utility lets you scan for available networks; view connection statistics, such as the card's transmit-data rate; and set up individual connection profiles for specific networks you connect to regularly, for example, those at home and work. If you prefer to manage your adapter with the Windows native wireless configuration tool, you can. Belkin's installation wizard prompts you with check boxes that let you choose the tool you want to use. We like Belkin's utility better than Microsoft's because it shows you more granular network traffic statistics and gives you greater control over the adapter's transmit power.
Belkin's Pre-N PC Card is unlike other high-performance adapters currently available, such as the Netgear WG511T and the Linksys WPC54GS, because it doesn't have a separate turbo mode that works only with other devices equipped with matching chipsets. The Belkin adapter's MIMO-enabled chipset uses a single mode to connect to 802.11b, 802.11g, and Belkin Pre-N devices; our Labs' tests demonstrate that this results in significant performance gains on mixed networks with standard 802.11b and 802.11g devices. When used with a matching Pre-N router, Belkin's Pre-N PC Card delivers the best range we've seen to date. At 200 feet, it pumped out a speedy 36.4Mbps, more than twice as fast as the Atheros-based solutions we've tested at that distance.
Belkin offers the best service-and-support package in the business, including a lifetime warranty and toll-free, 24/7 tech support. The Belkin support Web site is easy to navigate and offers free software, firmware, and downloadable manuals for the Pre-N PC Card adapter.
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Throughput in Mbps |
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Throughput in Mbps |
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Thoughput in Mbps measured indoors at 200 feet |
User reviews
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BEWARE! Doesn't Work with All Laptops!
by SonicMooBoy on April 19, 2005
Pros: Fast, decent price, nice concept I guess.
Cons: Uh, Won't work with Dell or Alienware Laptops
Summary: Beware if you are interested in this card. I just purchased both this card and the pre-n router and installation of the card continually froze my computer (when card inserted) ...
Summary: Beware if you are interested in this card. I just purchased both this card and the pre-n router and installation of the card continually froze my computer (when card inserted) - Called belkin, they tell me it won't work with my Alienware Laptop or a bunch of Dell laptops - What the? Now I have to return these pre-n products and go "G" - ugg.... nice concept, if it works with your computer - don't go through the hassle I went through.....
17 out of 19 users found this user opinion helpful.
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this card is awesome
by mngmikes on June 29, 2005
Pros: when used with the pre n belkin router it's unstoppable
Cons: spent 200 bucks for 1pc and 2 notebook cards... a little pricey
Summary: this card is really where it is at... 15mbs with a 62% connection at just about 2.5 acres. with my g setup i could go just about 30 feet (...
Summary: this card is really where it is at... 15mbs with a 62% connection at just about 2.5 acres. with my g setup i could go just about 30 feet (to my kitchen) and barely get a 1mbs if any. the one thing my network buddy told me was to go into the router and only allow my mac addresses access because even 128 wep keys can be broken in 30 seconds. so i thought i would pass along that info to people that don't like their neighbors stealing their connection
5 out of 5 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Works if you can get it installed
Pros: Great speed and range. Far side of my house and I'm still at full 108Mbps speed.
Cons: Card version 1002 would not install in 2 of my laptops. Tech support told me to take back to store and try to get a Ver 1001 card. Store only had Ver 1000 card. Exchanged and the new card worked fine as advertised.
4 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Excellent! Far better than any other notebook card
by randyps on May 3, 2005
Pros: This adapter delivers 100% of what is promised
Cons: Are there any? Haven't found any yet.
Summary: I live in an apartment and normal Netgear, Linksys type routers and nics just didn't get the job done. In a 1 bedroom apt, I couldn't run the ...
Summary: I live in an apartment and normal Netgear, Linksys type routers and nics just didn't get the job done. In a 1 bedroom apt, I couldn't run the router in a bedroom and wireless nic in my living room, even with door open to bedroom. Had to buy an access point to make it work at 54g. My DLink equipment would only run in Turbo mode on one channel which couldn't be changed, so I only got 54g at best. With Belkin Pre-N router and notebook adapter I get consistent 108mbs about 98% of time. Their tech supt is also FREE.
3 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
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No Apple support? Not"THAT"good range, antennas are low qual.
by bmxing85 on June 6, 2005
Pros: Fast if you have the whole system,Good cust supp.
Cons: Not Mac friendly, Pricey, can't upgrd Antna., no garan. this will be the standrd
Summary: Don't Bother with any of the belkin pre n network products even More important for the mac users. I had a netgear wgt 624 router and I had better ...
Summary: Don't Bother with any of the belkin pre n network products even More important for the mac users. I had a netgear wgt 624 router and I had better range than the pre n, I was using the built in airport card. This airport card is 1.5yrs old and is a wireless B and it works better than the pre n and airport, and you can't use the notebook card on a powerbookor any mac product for that matter. Save your money and get a $20 wireless G router and wait till the N standard gets better and more compatible. I can't say its all bad, They have 24-7 cust supp. and the pre n speed with the right config is pretty fast. Now I still think getting a $20 router like a netgear and modifing the antenna with a higher gain (9db) will give you better range with close to the same speed. Get this only if you have a all windows based network with bad speed and tired ofthe 54G and want the 108N and you have to have some money to throw down.
4 out of 6 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Cannot install version 1002
Pros: Looks nice, but I can't say more because it won't install.
Cons: Using the 2 different Belkin desktop PCI adapters with 2 PC cards, could not install on hp Pavillion with Celeron and eMachines with AMD Sempron desktops. I am experienced with hardware and software installations. Tech support is awful! Will try to get ve
3 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Easy install, strong signal, better range
by R Griffin on November 20, 2005
Pros: Easy install, strong signal, better range
Cons: At $99 - pricy. Dead-end or "N" compatible?
Summary: This card comes in two versions - one as shown for a laptop and another that adds a card to convert a PCI slot to use this PCMCIA card. Using ...
Summary: This card comes in two versions - one as shown for a laptop and another that adds a card to convert a PCI slot to use this PCMCIA card. Using desktop version, I replaced a Netgear failure that offered a weak signal and crashed my PC when overloaded. Now, signal is strong with good speed -- max'ed at my router's 54g limit (I'll upgrade that later). Finally, I can save my movies or music on the server and play them reliably on computers and TV's throughout the house. Thanks, Belkin!
2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Would not connect to pre-n router
Pros: None that I could see
Cons: I bought the router and desktop version of this card. System freezes, and does not see any wireless access points. I could not get this card to work. Router works great with my linksys g card.
2 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Nice; works great
by bmathers on February 15, 2006
Pros: Great range and speed
Cons: Card software doesn't work with WPA
Summary: I bought this to go along with the Pre-N router and the setup was super easy. I am getting fantastic range and speed with my setup. The only issue I ...
Summary: I bought this to go along with the Pre-N router and the setup was super easy. I am getting fantastic range and speed with my setup. The only issue I have is with the software that comes with the card. It forces you to use Windows to manage the card. It would be nice to have the option of either using the card software or Windows. Otherwise, great card.
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Worked just fine immediately ("quiet" area)
by chinohills on September 23, 2005
Pros: Worked immediately for new user on older Sony laptop!
Cons: Some lack of clarity in documentation and quirky XP.
Summary: Was concerned by the widely varying results and opinions on the different sites (and on different systems and manufacturers) which offer user reviews and had to consider issues with adding ...
Summary: Was concerned by the widely varying results and opinions on the different sites (and on different systems and manufacturers) which offer user reviews and had to consider issues with adding PCI, PCMCIA or USB2 adapters depending on the computer involved. There seem to be some issuses with either pci or pcmcia type adapters and no USB2 yet and with my computers, any of these seemed to be a potential problem source. The Sony PCG FX250 doesn't have USB2 and called out cardbus "compatibility." OTOH, there seem to be some desktop slot compatibility issues too and my older machine???
However, in a neighborhood that didn't show any other networks out there, it came right up with the router. It was a little hard to find documentation from Belkin or Microsoft which led through to the non-wizard set up of the Windows utility to allow WPA-PSK modes. But they seem to work fine now.1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Belkin
- Part number: F5D8010
- Description: The Belkin Wireless Pre-N Notebook Network Card connects your notebook computer to your wireless network with new Belkin Pre-N technology. It lets you share your broadband Internet connection farther and faster than ever. Featuring smart antenna technology, the Pre-N design helps combat distortion and interference so the Network Card can send its data streams greater distances, more reliably. With a Belkin Wireless Pre-N Router as the central connection point of your network, your computers can share your high-speed Internet account as well as files, printers, and hard drives. While on the road, you can use the Belkin Wireless Pre-N Network Notebook Card to connect to any of the increasingly available public wireless hotspots found in airports, coffee shops and hotels. (For these connections, you do not need a wireless router). Belkin's Pre-N technology offers backward compatibility with existing 802.11g and 802.11b products, to provide seamless integration into existing wireless networks. In fact, its advanced technology enables Belkin Pre-N products to significantly improve the performance of standard 802.11g and 802.11b devices in the mixed network environment.
General
- Device Type Network adapter
- Form Factor Plug-in module
- Width 9.5 in
- Depth 6.0 in
- Networking Device Type Network adapter
- Height 2.0 in
- Interface (Bus) Type CardBus
- Weight 0.6 lbs
- Form factor [Jul 2, 2008 from CDS: Networking] Plug-in module
Antenna
- Antenna Internal integrated
Networking
- Data Link Protocol IEEE 802.11n (draft) ,
IEEE 802.11b ,
IEEE 802.11g - Wireless Capability This product uses the draft version of the upcoming 802.11n standard. Its compatibility with other and future products is not guaranteed, and it may interfere with current 802.11b and g products.
- Connectivity Technology Wireless
- Data Transfer Rate 108 Mbps
- Networking type Network adapter
- Selectable Channels Qty 11
- Max Range Open Space 300 ft
- Status Indicators Link activity,
Link OK - Frequency Band 2.4 GHz
- Network / Transport Protocol AppleTalk,
IPX/SPX,
NetBEUI/NetBIOS,
UDP/IP,
TCP/IP - Spread Spectrum Method DSSS,
OFDM - Features True MIMO technology
- Compliant Standards IEEE 802.11g,
IEEE 802.11b,
IEEE 802.11n (draft) - Line Coding Format 64 QAM,
DBPSK,
DQPSK,
CCK,
QPSK,
BPSK,
16 QAM Expansion / Connectivity
- Expansion Slot(s) None
- Compatible Slots 1 x CardBus
- Connections None
- Expansion Slot(s) Total (Free) None
Miscellaneous
- Encryption Algorithm AES,
WPA,
128-bit WEP,
64-bit WEP,
TKIP - Compliant Standards FCC,
CE
Power
- Power Device None
- Power Supply / Device None
Software / System Requirements
- Software Included Drivers & Utilities
- OS Required Microsoft Windows 2000 / XP
- Min Processor Type Intel Pentium
- Min Processor Type Intel Pentium
Manufacturer Warranty
- Service & Support Limited lifetime warranty
- Service & Support Details Limited warranty - Lifetime
Expansion / Port(s) Required
- Slot(s) Required 1 CardBus
- Port(s) / Connector(s) Required None
Warranty
- Service / Support Details Limited warranty Lifetime
Manufacturer info
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse Belkin products on Shopper.com
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- Manufacturer:Belkin
- Address:
501 West Walnut Street, Compton, CA 90220 - Phone: 1-800-223-5546
