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Abit AirPace 54Mbps Wi-Fi PCI-E Card |
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Written by Mikhail Ivanenkov
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Monday, 06 August 2007 |
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Page 1 of 3
Thanks to Geeks for the product sample. Check out their computer parts.
Although wired networks are still faster and more secure, the wireless standard is now mainstream. What was once only found in Starbucks is now everywhere. Entire cities are even taking initiatives to offer wireless networking. London, for example, is providing over 20 miles of Wi-Fi coverage. So it comes as no surprise that residential areas are becoming more and more populated with these networks. After all, the speeds are good enough for gaming and sufficient for the majority of downloads. The most common adapter type is USB. It's easy to set up, it's portable, and it takes up another valuable port. For desktop systems it's a bit of a waste. Today we'll be looking at Abit's AirPace, a PCI-E based card.
The Wireless-G adapter comes shipped in the box shown above. Selling for $20 it costs about half as much as typical retail USB models. Furthermore, it frees up that extra port for whatever else you may need (and since almost everything is USB these days, the more empty ports the better).
The package contains the adapter, an attachable antenna, installation CD, manual, and an optional smaller bracket most likely for use with micro ATX or similar cases.
The antenna screws into the back of the card. Its wide, cloth-like base allows it to sit firmly almost anywhere. The cable is roughly 40" long so you have plenty of room to move the antenna from the back of the case and place it in a more open area with less interference from PC components.
The card itself is very basic. There's a small blue PCB, a PCI-E x1 connector, and a porous metal shield over the controller chip. During extended use this shield does get slightly warm, but it's loosely fitted and is most likely there for protection rather than any sort of heat dissipation.
The back of the card is plain except for a few stickers. The fact that it uses a PCI-E x1 interface makes it ideal for newer motherboards since there are few cards that are actually made for these slots. Most add-on products are still designed for use with legacy PCI slots.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 06 August 2007 )
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