Linksys WMP300N (WMP54GX) Pre-802.11n Wireless Adapter
- Interface Compatibility: PCI
- WLAN Standards: IEEE 802.11g/b IEEE 802.11n
- Form Factor: Internal Adapter
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Wireless a/b/g/n For the Desktop PC
Pros
External antenna. Wireless N up to 270 Mbit. Supports WPA/WPA2/WEP and open wireless.
Cons
Unreliable wireless network adapter. The PCI card causes problems with on-board sound.
Recommended it?
No
The Bottom Line:
There are much better wireless a/b/g/n adapters for a desktop PC. This model proved entirely too unstable and unreliables. Consider using one of the many other brands of USB devices.
I bought this wireless adapter to get access to my D-Link DIR-655 b/g/n wireless router. My older Linksys WMP54GS didn't work well with Windows 7 so I decided it was time to move into wireless N.
The WMP300N comes with a PCI card, the external wireless antenna and connecting cable, and the Linksys install CD and a foldout installation guide. The install CD is worthless for Windows 7 as the OS contains drivers for this adapter. I inserted the card into my EVGA 680sli motherboard, powered on the system, and Windows 7 recognized and installed the adapter without trouble.
Setup is straight forward with Windows wireless networking. You will see a list of wireless networks that have been heard and then choose the one to connect to. Enter the passphrase and that's it. You can also manually create the wireless connection, if desired.
For some reason, my WMP300N took over an hour to connect and maintain link to the router. It would connect and then randonly lose connection. I finally determined I needed to made an adjustment on the D-Link router for the WMP300N to consistently connect.
The next day the WMP300N refused to link to the router for over an hour. I finally had to remove the network adapter from Windows 7 and then let it be added and make a new connection. By this point I realized this not a reliable wireless adapter, but decided there was no urgency to replace it until I could find something else.
That evening I started playing music on the PC while I was reading some web pages. I immediately noticed a ticking/chirping/chopping of the music every few seconds. I could find no explanation for this problem and the only change to the system was the change of the wireless. To verify the problem was the WMP300N, I removed the card and tested the music. The sound played perfect. Some later research on Internet found multiple complaints about the sound problem on the Linksys forums.
The biggest problem is the WMP300N will not coexist with other wireless activity. I have a wireless music streaming unit and play my music collection from a laptop. As long as I was streaming music with the wireless, the connection on the WMP300N was nearly worthless. It frequently would disconnect and lose access.
The WMP300N uses a Broadcomm chipset. Linksys has not released a Windows 7 driver and the Windows Vista driver will not load. Unfortunately, the Broadcomm driver does not offer much in terms of adjusting the WMP300N for better wireless performance.
To verify my in-home wireless is working properly, I tried a Netgear WNDA3100 RangeMax Wireless-N USB adapter. I had none of the problems I had before. The Linksys is going back in the box and I am waiting for return instructons.
In summary, this adapter may work better with Windows XP and Vista since there is a native Linksys driver. If you are looking for reliable wireless for your desktop PC running Windows 7, you should consider a different product.
The WMP300N comes with a PCI card, the external wireless antenna and connecting cable, and the Linksys install CD and a foldout installation guide. The install CD is worthless for Windows 7 as the OS contains drivers for this adapter. I inserted the card into my EVGA 680sli motherboard, powered on the system, and Windows 7 recognized and installed the adapter without trouble.
Setup is straight forward with Windows wireless networking. You will see a list of wireless networks that have been heard and then choose the one to connect to. Enter the passphrase and that's it. You can also manually create the wireless connection, if desired.
For some reason, my WMP300N took over an hour to connect and maintain link to the router. It would connect and then randonly lose connection. I finally determined I needed to made an adjustment on the D-Link router for the WMP300N to consistently connect.
The next day the WMP300N refused to link to the router for over an hour. I finally had to remove the network adapter from Windows 7 and then let it be added and make a new connection. By this point I realized this not a reliable wireless adapter, but decided there was no urgency to replace it until I could find something else.
That evening I started playing music on the PC while I was reading some web pages. I immediately noticed a ticking/chirping/chopping of the music every few seconds. I could find no explanation for this problem and the only change to the system was the change of the wireless. To verify the problem was the WMP300N, I removed the card and tested the music. The sound played perfect. Some later research on Internet found multiple complaints about the sound problem on the Linksys forums.
The biggest problem is the WMP300N will not coexist with other wireless activity. I have a wireless music streaming unit and play my music collection from a laptop. As long as I was streaming music with the wireless, the connection on the WMP300N was nearly worthless. It frequently would disconnect and lose access.
The WMP300N uses a Broadcomm chipset. Linksys has not released a Windows 7 driver and the Windows Vista driver will not load. Unfortunately, the Broadcomm driver does not offer much in terms of adjusting the WMP300N for better wireless performance.
To verify my in-home wireless is working properly, I tried a Netgear WNDA3100 RangeMax Wireless-N USB adapter. I had none of the problems I had before. The Linksys is going back in the box and I am waiting for return instructons.
In summary, this adapter may work better with Windows XP and Vista since there is a native Linksys driver. If you are looking for reliable wireless for your desktop PC running Windows 7, you should consider a different product.
