Easy, fast wireless

How simple is it to setup a wireless network?

Pick up a Buffalo router, plug one of these cards into your laptop, load the software, hit the AOSS button on the router and your off and running. It really doesn't get any easier than that. It sure beats dealing with Windows networking which may or may not work and might need countless hours of tinkering to get working correctly and that's if it decides to work at all.

I'm currently running the Buffalo Turbo G WHR-HP-G64 router (wired to desktop), two WLI-CB-G54HP cards in laptops and I just added on a Buffalo 500 gig Linkstation Live NAS. The range on the cards is outstanding. I took a laptop to a nextdoor neighbors house and was able to connect to my network and had a near 100% signal strength. The HP in the part ID stands for High Power and they aren't kidding.

I've had the network up and running for almost two years and it's been fast and bulletproof. The price, performance and features are about the best you'll find. As an added bonus, their tech support is U.S. based so if you have a problem that can't be resolved via their website or email support, you can give them a call and be assured you'll understand the person on the other end. This was actually a criteria of mine while shopping for some new networking gear.

I've had a number of routers and cards over the years and this is by far the easiest to setup and with the the Buffalo router/card combo, you'll get speeds that far exceed the G standard (54 mps). I won't say you'll actually get 125 mps but you'll be flying fast.

That's also the one downside to this card (and router), in order to get the max speeds, you must be using a Buffalo router and card. I can't say how well it works with other routers that support the MIMO specs. This is not really a Buffalo issue as much as there a few competing high speeds standards being pushed but that's pretty much the way electronics have always been (think betamax vs VHS).

Anyway, to wrap this up, I would highly recommend this card as long as it's hooking up to a Buffalo router. I have used it on a non-Buffalo wireless router at work and I got typical G type speeds but it worked flawlesly so in that respect, it's just another quality wireless adapter.

One side note (aka Tech Tip) I'd like to mention that most people don't think about when shopping for a wireless network is that these networks operate in the 2.4 GHz range which is also the same frequency as many cordless phones. If you're finding that you're having problems with your network, you might want to think about getting a 5.8GHz phone. They're actually much clearer that the 2.4 phones, getting better range (based on my experience) and eliminates a possible source of interference.