Hard to change wirless card in lpatop to N standard?

Depends on whose laptop it is. Most (not all) have a circuit board inside the laptop with the actual wireless chip on it (seperate from the motherboard).. Many have the antenna built into the lid, so you can just have the internal card changed and go...

I know Dell is proprietory and maybe some other brands

In article , snipped-for-privacy@privacy.net (known to some as snipped-for-privacy@privacy.net) scribed...

I've only seen a couple of laptops with built-in wireless. However, in both cases (Gateway and Dell), the wireless card was installed in a mini-PCI slot in a bottom compartment. It would be the work of a few minutes to physically change out the card, and probably ten or so minutes to install new drivers.

In short: Get a laptop with a Mini-PCI slot and built-in wireless antenna, and you should not have any problems.

FWIW: I highly recommend Intel's 'Pro' 2200 series for wireless cards. Outstanding receiver sensitivity, and a great user interface on the driver. I use one in my Dell, and I couldn't be happier. The thing even does better than a Senao high-power card, and that's saying a lot.

The only other thing I would add is that the draft 'N' standard has yet to be approved. I would not even bother with 'N' equipment until the thing has become an actual standard, and has been on the market for at least a year.

Happy tweaking.

So you like the Intel unit better than Dells wireless card unit that comes standard on all their laptops?

I'm with Anton, Dells cards are less standard and not as well supported as the Intel cards, IME. Dell usually offers the Intel cards as an option (I'm seeing them today on their Latitude D510 for instance), and I always choose them.

Thanks that's just the info I need!