Broken wireless G pci antenna/ Are the different Brands of wireless G PCI cards compatible with each other?

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Joy
Broken wireless G pci antenna/ Are the different Brands of wireless G PCI cards compatible with each other?

We currently have a Linkys G wireless network PCI card. The antenna broke off the back of the card, all that remains is a small wire sticking out.There is no thread or connection to connect the a replacement I just BOUGHT!
In my search to find a replacement part ,( which I never could find by the way, cause it would be alot cheaper!) I discovered that there are now cards made with speed boosters. My kids are gamers and anything to improve speed is great. If I have to buy another one I might as well buy improved technology.
Are all G cards compatible? And...speed boosters do they really make a difference? ANd.. could I just find a replacement part somewhere? Thanks for any HELP!

Ron Repking (not verified)
Technically, if a card is

Technically, if a card is advertised as Wireless G compatible it will work with other Wireless G devices and other brands. At least they are supposed to, that's why it's a standard. I've had pretty good luck with different brands and even mixing Macs and PCs on the same wireless network.

However, the 'speed boost' that you are talking about are generally product/brand specific. For example, NETGEAR advertises something called "Super G" which gives you twice the speed of standard wireless G. This sounds great until you find out that the only way to obtain Super G speed is if EVERY piece is Super G compatible. This means that you not only need the NETGEAR Super G card, but also the NETGEAR Super G router/access point. Going even further, if you have other PCs or laptops that want to connect to the Super G network, ALL of them need to have the card to obtain Super G speeds. If one of the devices does not support Super G, you will have to run at the 'normal' G speeds in order for it to work.

To put a real wrench in this, the next wireless technology - Wireless "N" - is due to be finalized sometime soon. This technology is much faster than Wireless G, but since it is not finalized yet, if you buy a "Pre N" wireless card, it won't be guaranteed to work with real 'N' technology when it comes out.

Confused? It's not that complicated actually. Find out if your router supports a "Super G" type speed. If it does, you should purchase the same brand that has that technology do you can utilize it. This of course assumes that no other PCs will be connecting wirelessly in your house. If so, than it probably doesn't matter as much.

If it doesn't support advanced speeds, than you have to decide if you want to buy a new router or access point that does. In that case, you can decide between a "Super G" type solution or a "Pre-N" solution.

If you're not sure what your router supports, post back the brand/model number and we'll help you find out.

 

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