TRENDnet 108Mbps 802.11G MIMO Wireless PCI Adapter

Average customer rating: 3.5

TRENDnet seems to be a good brand
Good hardware, bad software

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TRENDnet 108Mbps 802.11G MIMO Wireless PCI Adapter

Manufacturer: TRENDnet
Product Group: CE
Binding: Electronics
ASIN: B000BNDETU

Related Categories:

Networking & Online Communication

Networking & Online Communication

Desktop Cards

Product Description

<b>Box Contents:</b> TEW-603PI, utility and driver CD, multi-language quick installation guide
The TRENDnet TEW-603PI 108 Mbps 802.11g MIM Wireless PCI Adapter gives you wider coverage. Thsi MIMO wireless PCI adapter connects with your wireless network seamlessly, without performance degradation. It also supports universal connectivity with 802.11b and 802.11g networks, reaching speeds of up to 108 Mbps with either WPA or WEP encryption. Supports 64/128/152-bit WEP, WPA(AES-TKIP) and WPA-PSK encryptions 1 5 dBi detachable dipole antenna (reverse SMA connector), 1 2 dBi Fixed Dipole Antenna Low interference, high susceptibility guarantee Simple user setup and diagnostics utilities Compatible with Windows 2000/XP (SP1 & SP2), 2003 Server Frequency - 2.412 ~ 2.484 GHz Channels - 1 ~ 11 US, 1 ~ 13 EU FCC and CE certified Dimensions(LxWxH) - 4.8 x 2.5 0.2 (122 x 64 x 6 mm) Weight - 1.8 oz. (50g)

Customer Reviews:

TRENDnet seems to be a good brand.......2007-01-10

I have had no problems with this wireless PCI Card. I bought it to replace a Linksys that did not have MIMO technology and I am very impressed with it's performance so far.

Good hardware, bad software.......2006-11-04

After owning and tinkering with this for a while, I've found the hardware to be a good performer and that it works well IF you follow the right procedure to install it.

The supplied trendnet software is old (over a year as of this writing) and the one more recent update to the driver is not functional.

It appears that the software that comes with the product as I received it is the older 1.0.0.56 driver, which is microsoft WHQL certified. It appears that this driver does NOT support the WPA2 encryption method, as stated in the products marketing documentation. a newer driver (1.1.0.22) is posted on their web site and shows WPA2 support as its primary feature.

I've tried many configurations of both drivers with and without the trendnet supplied client configuration/monitoring/tray icon software. I get frequent windows blue screens (driver faults) with the WPA2 driver, windows explorer crashes and boot delays with the trendnet software.

I have had success in removing all traces of the trendnet software (if you installed any yet), download and unzip the 1.0.0.56 package from the trendnet web site to a directory, installing the card, and when windows boots and asks for it, telling it you do NOT want it to find the software itself and that you 'have disk', point it to the \driver subdirectory you created by unzipping the trendnet files, and using the windows networking configuration tools to configure your wireless connection including the security bits.

If you want WPA2, do not buy this card.

Under the trendnet and windows tools, I get three out of four bars of signal, which is less than my two laptops (dell 1390 equipped e1705 and intel centrino pentium M toshiba) but my actual download throughput is up to 20% higher with the trendnet card, so the MIMO/802.11g turbo capabilities are apparently providing some benefit, even though the reported signal strength isnt as good.

Do note also that i'm using this with a trendnet MIMO router that uses the same Atheros chip set. It may or may not work better or worse with routers that employ other chip sets, that do or dont have MIMO, or that do or do not employ a compatible 802.11g 'turbo' mode. Seems on reading reviews that some people enjoy less success with non atheros based routers but that may be just because they made the mistake of installing the trendnet software.

A parting shot, its fairly lame to release a product and then have the only update for the buggy software in over a year take the form of an uncertified, even more buggy driver...just so you can say you have a particular checkbox feature.

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