Go to Windows 7 Insider GuideLinksys WPC300N Notebook Adapter
Manufacturer: Linksys Inc. Part number: WPC300N
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- Solid maximum throughput is not nearly enough to make us recommend the Draft N-based Linksys WPC300N. Sit tight to see how the other Draft N gear fares.
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CNET editors' review
Linksys WPC300N Notebook Adapter price range: $17.99 - $85.84
- Reviewed by: Stephanie Bruzzese
- Edited by: Felisa Yang
- Reviewed on: 04/25/2006
- Released on: 04/24/2006
The good: The WPC300N has some good things going for it, including adequate maximum throughput, a painless setup process, clear documentation, an excellent configuration utility, and a long warranty.
The bad: The WPC300N's mixed-mode performance is merely mediocre, and it's especially sluggish at long range.
The bottom line: Solid maximum throughput is not nearly enough to make us recommend the Draft N-based Linksys WPC300N. Sit tight to see how the other Draft N gear fares.
Like most PC Card adapters, there's not much to the WPC300N. The device features the standard metal PCMCIA portion, with a black-and-blue end piece that extends outside of your laptop's PC Card slot. This piece includes the adapter's wireless antenna, along with two tiny square status lights for power and wireless activity.
The WPC300N's setup process is a piece of cake, thanks to its well-organized user guide and helpful installation wizard. Both items ship on CD, which Linksys puts inside of a handy envelope. The envelope's inside flap gets you started with a directive to insert the CD; this step spurs the wizard into action, taking you through the process of installing drivers and the included configuration utility, as well as popping in the adapter. The wizard ends by helping you make your first connection to an available network in your area. From then on, you may use the excellent utility to manage the card and its connections. In addition to allowing you to store individual profiles for the networks you access most, the utility shows every pertinent detail about the network you're currently connected to, including signal strength, link quality, MAC and IP addresses, and associated security features.
Linksys asserts that the WPC300N is theoretically capable of 12 times the speed and 4 times the range displayed by 802.11g. When it comes to Wi-Fi devices, theory is always different (read: faster) than reality. But in CNET Labs' throughput tests, the adapter came nowhere even remotely close to these claims. The device made its best showing in maximum throughput, managing to earn faster times than those of most pre-N adapters we've tested, including the Belkin Pre-N PC Card. The Linksys WPC300N's maximum throughput of 71.5Mbps, however, still fell short of the Netgear WPNT511's superfast score of 93.8Mbps.
The Linksys's performance took a turn for the worse with mixed-mode throughput: the device scored just a bit faster than Belkin's Pre-N adapter and, again, significantly trailed Netgear's unit. Finally, the WPC300N's speed at long range was simply poor compared to that of most pre-N adapters. While the WPC300N's scores are not bad in and of themselves, they certainly don't measure up to the promise of MIMO and the 802.11n spec. Keep in mind that to muster their maximum speeds, all of the pre-N adapters we've reviewed prior to this Linksys adapter must be used with their corresponding pre-N routers (part of the 802.11n specification is a mandate for interoperability, which means networking equipment from different vendors--starting with this round of Draft N announcements--should play nicely together without a drop-off in performance).
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Linksys bundles a long three-year warranty with the WPC300N, and 24/7 toll-free phone support is available for as long as you own the adapter. These terms are topped only by Belkin, which offers lifetime support for its adapter. Regarding online support, Linksys provides FAQs, downloads, and one of our favorite support features, live chat with a tech support rep, on its Web site.
Though the WPC300N is by no means a sluggish PC Card adapter, it did fall short of our expectations for Draft N networking gear. Its poor long-range performance dampens our enthusiasm for its impressive maximum throughput. Those looking to upgrade their home networks would do well to wait to see how the rest of the Draft N pack fares in our tests.
User reviews
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Works great - but has issues at distance
by dcurtis987 on January 9, 2008
Pros: Great speed when close to the router (within 30 feet)
Cons: speed drops when over 30 feet from the router
Summary: I'm very pleased with the WPC300N and really don't have anything bad to say. However, when I move to another location that is about 50 feet away from ...
Summary: I'm very pleased with the WPC300N and really don't have anything bad to say. However, when I move to another location that is about 50 feet away from the router the speed drops but it is still faster than the old G connection. All in all I would recommend the product.
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Better suited as a paperweight
by gchancel on May 17, 2008
Pros: Works with LinkSys
Cons: Too many to count
Summary: With a matching Linksys 300N router and for $100 it still underperforms my laptop built-in a/b/g 54M for throughput and consistency. Not worth anything. Do not buy or ...
Summary: With a matching Linksys 300N router and for $100 it still underperforms my laptop built-in a/b/g 54M for throughput and consistency. Not worth anything. Do not buy or you will regret it.
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Poor range
by westlyw on April 26, 2008
Pros: Easy setup
Cons: Doesn't live up to hype
Summary: I paired this with the wrt160n but about the only thing I can say about it is it pick up the 20mhz signals well. I'd have to say N-What?
Summary: I paired this with the wrt160n but about the only thing I can say about it is it pick up the 20mhz signals well. I'd have to say N-What?
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Works very well for me
by MrDeveloper on July 17, 2007
Pros: Excellent Connection Speeds
Cons: I haven't found any cons yet.
Summary: I get a consistent 130 MBPS connection. Sometimes I get a 210 MBPS connection. Works great for me.
Summary: I get a consistent 130 MBPS connection. Sometimes I get a 210 MBPS connection. Works great for me.
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So far so good
by TavoD on December 29, 2006
Pros: Way better range than my G router setup
Cons: none so far
Summary: I have my router in my basement office and I was getting either no signal or a very weak connection in my bedroom in the 2nd floor with a G ...
Summary: I have my router in my basement office and I was getting either no signal or a very weak connection in my bedroom in the 2nd floor with a G Dlink router. I'm getting now around 270 MB good signal up there with the Linksys WRT300N/WPC300N setup, so I'm good.
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range is very disappointing
by unwireme on April 26, 2006
Pros: cheaper than other draft-N gear
Cons: range is very poor, pre standard
Summary: This new draft-N technology from Linksys can not mantain a connection where my nearly 3 year old Linksys WRT54G router and WPC54G CardBus can. I really hope the performance improves ...
Summary: This new draft-N technology from Linksys can not mantain a connection where my nearly 3 year old Linksys WRT54G router and WPC54G CardBus can. I really hope the performance improves when the standard is finalized. This equipment is heading straignt back to Linksys. I would really like to see how they justify 4x the range. Seems like false advertizing to me.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Linksys Inc.
- Part number: WPC300N
- Description: The Wireless-N Notebook Adapter is the simple way to add or upgrade wireless connectivity in your notebook computer. Just slide it into your notebook's PC Card slot and enjoy incredible high-speed wireless network access while retaining true mobility. The Wireless-N Notebook Adapter uses the very latest wireless networking technology, Wireless-N (draft 802.11n). By overlaying the signals of multiple radios, Wireless-N's "Multiple In, Multiple Out" (MIMO) technology multiplies the effective data rate. Unlike ordinary wireless networking technologies that are confused by signal reflections, MIMO actually uses these reflections to increase the range and reduce "dead spots" in the wireless coverage area. The robust signal travels farther, maintaining wireless connections up to 4 times farther than standard Wireless-G. With Wireless-N, the farther away you are, the more speed advantage you get. It works great with standard Wireless-G and -B equipment, but when both ends of the wireless link are Wireless-N, the throughput can be increased even more by using twice as much radio band, yielding speeds up to 12 times as fast as standard Wireless-G. Once you're connected, you can keep in touch with your e-mail, access the Internet, and share files and other resources such as printers and network storage with other computers on the network, wherever you wander. At home, you can surf the web or use instant messaging to chat with friends while sitting out on the patio. You'll also be able to connect with any of the growing number of public hotspots springing up in coffee shops, airport lounges, hotels and convention centers. Your wireless connection is protected by industrial-strength 256-bit encryption. The included Setup Wizard will walk you through configuring the adapter to your network's settings, step by step. The incredible speed of Wireless-N makes it ideal for media-centric applications like streaming video, gaming, and Voice over IP telephony, and gives you plenty of headroom to run multiple media-intense data streams through the network at the same time, with no degradation in performance. Get your notebook connected to Wireless-N, Wireless-G, and Wireless-B networks with the Wireless-N Notebook Adapter from Linksys.
General
- Device Type Network adapter
- Form Factor Plug-in module
- Width 4.9 in
- Depth 2.1 in
- Height 0.4 in
- Networking Device Type Network adapter
- Weight 1.8 oz
- Interface (Bus) Type CardBus
- Form factor Plug-in module
Networking
- Data Link Protocol IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11n (draft)
- 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
- Networking type Network adapter
- Status Indicators Power, Link OK
- Features MIMO technology
- Compliant Standards IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11n (draft)
- Line Coding Format CCK, BPSK, OFDM, QPSK, 16 QAM, 64 QAM
Expansion / Connectivity
- Expansion Slots Total (Free) None
- Compatible Slots 1 x CardBus
- Connections None
- Expansion Slot(s) Total (Free) None
Miscellaneous
- Encryption Algorithm WPA, WPA2, 128-bit WEP
- Microsoft Certifications Certified for Windows Vista
- Compliant Standards FCC
Power
- Power Device None
- Power Supply / Device None
Software / System Requirements
- Software Included Drivers & Utilities
- OS Required Microsoft Windows 2000, Microsoft Windows XP SP1 or later
- Min Processor Type 600 MHz
- Min Processor Type 600 MHz
- System Requirements Details Windows 2000/XP - RAM 256 MB
- Peripheral / Interface Devices CD-ROM
Manufacturer Warranty
- Service & Support 3 years warranty
- Service & Support Details Limited warranty - 3 years
Environmental Parameters
- Min Operating Temperature 32 °F
- Max Operating Temperature 122 °F
- Humidity Range Operating 10 - 80%
Expansion / Port(s) Required
- Slot(s) Required 1 CardBus
- Port(s) / Connector(s) Required None
Warranty
- Service / Support Details Limited warranty 3 years
Manufacturer info
- Linksys Inc.
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse Linksys Inc. products on Shopper.com
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- Website: http://www.linksys.com/
- Address:
17401 Armstrong Ave.
Irvine CA 92614 - Phone: 949-261-1288
- Email: support@linksys.com
- Fax: 949-823-3002
