My Dell Mini Forum

ppafford · **Dell Mini 10v wireless-n upgrade card options/how to -** 10-30-2009, 01:39 PM

Looking to upgrade to a wireless-n card, what options are there for the Dell Mini 10v? also how easy is this to upgrade? Any tutorials?

Thanks in advance,
--Phill

lauriem04 · 10-30-2009, 03:13 PM

I went with the Intel 5300, which has been great. You should be able to pick one up on eBay for less than $20. I know a few people who have gone with the Intel 5100 as an alternative. Whichever one you choose, make sure it's the half-mini version (NOT the mini version).

Here's more information from Intel's website:

Intel® Ultimate N WiFi Link 5300 and Intel® WiFi Link 5100 Products

I don't know of any tutorials, but I found it very easy to switch cards using just the online service manual:

Documentation

Hope this helps! Good luck!

MikePA · 10-30-2009, 03:45 PM

ppafford's signature indicates they are running OSX. The Intel cards do not work with OSX, do they? There's no driver for OSX at the Intel site.

anguish · 10-30-2009, 03:46 PM

There are also Atheros-based alternatives out there as well. Once I get mine and confirm functionality, I can post details about it. There's also the 1510 from Dell, although I'm not much a fan of it.

lauriem04 · 09:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikePA

ppafford's signature indicates they are running OSX. The Intel cards do not work with OSX, do they? There's no driver for OSX at the Intel site.

You're right. I missed the OSX reference. I'm not sure if Intel cards work with OSX or not. The OP might want to check out the OSX forums for more information.

inigopete · 10-31-2009, 12:35 AM

I went for the Intel 5300 from an eBay seller called "hellowifi" - it was stupendously simple to install on my 10v, all I needed to do was undo one screw, take of the plate on the underside, undo another screw, detach the antennae, replace one wifi card with the other, re-attach the antennae (to 1 and 3) and replace both screws. It's a better card than the stock Broadcomm 1500, however, as previous people have said if you're running OS X then you may need to hunt for drivers - Windows and Ubuntu drivers seem to cope fine. HTH.

bsoplinger1 · 10-31-2009, 01:51 PM

There are no OS X drivers for the Intel card unfortunately. I have an Intell 5300 and the Dell 1390 (b/g) card in my Dell D830. In Windows I can use both cards and bridge them to get better speeds but in OS X I can only use the Dell card. Too bad that isn't an option in the mini.

ppafford · 11-02-2009, 06:46 PM

Thanks gang. Looking forward to your response Anguish

Sry for not posting I was running OSX but thanks for catching that.

wjones23 · 11-08-2009, 03:05 PM

Looking to upgrade to N as well. I would like to use an Atheros card. Based on what I have read, they are fully supported in Linux. Are these cards supported in OSX? Anyone know of a source to buy these? The only half size Atheros cards on eBay are located in China or Hong Kong.

Thanks to all...especially the Anguish videos on uTube to get my memory upgraded!

10v Obsidian Black 2GB Windows 7 Home Premium/UNR 9.04

anguish · 11-08-2009, 03:48 PM

My Atheros card works great. It's AR928x card, and the only thing that it doesn't seem to do (at least under Ubuntu Netbook Remix 9.04), is packet injection. Causes a hard lock on the system. I plan on rebuilding though and trying again soon, but haven't had the chance.

I will note that OS X does not seem to recognize it. I haven't played with it at all though, so I haven't determined if I can get it to work.