Question 1

I've never used a wireless card before; do you need any wires to connect this or can you just drop this into any Mini PCI-E slot and it'll work?

Accepted Answer

Excellent question! By asking, you'll avoid a lot of grief I went through. Intel's official response is that there is no public documentation because they intend it to be an OEM part. Don't just blindly believe what I say; do your own research to verify or disprove.

This card did require a couple of antennas in my setup. (Perhaps in some enclosures or laptops it's not necessary.) If you look closely, there are a couple of very tiny connectors (a gold-plated pin with a gold-played circle) near the corners furthest from the slot pins. Those accept a connector called Hirose U.fl/IPEX. If I recall correctly, those just snap straight on. Be gentle; they can only be snapped a few times before wearing out. The other end of those wires went to the back panel of my PC enclosure (where the keyboard, mouse, connectors, etc). I suspect that laptops use some sort of internal antenna. The ends of the wires that stick out of the case have a reverse-polarity SMA (RP-SMA) connector, to which you can attach wifi antennas. The wires and antennas often come in a kit, a pair each of wires and antennas.

In my aluminum case with the card alone, I was getting absolutely no wifi signal. With the antennas hooked up, everything works well. It looks like Newegg is currently out of stock on suitable examples.

One more thing: double-check yourself, but I think mini-PCI doesn't insert straight in like a full size PCI card. You insert it at an angle and then rotate it down. Trying to push it straight in, mine made a terrible, gritty, scraping noise before I realized my error. Still works, though.

Question 2

would this chip work with an amd based computer?

Accepted Answer

For laptops, it depends on a number of factors, including the BIOS/UEFI -- for example, Lenovo ThinkPads traditionally (I don't know if current ones still do) used BIOS "whitelists" of only a very small number of supported cards, and would prevent the laptop from completing POST if it detected anything not on that whitelist.  Sometimes it comes down to the mPCIe slot pinout to determine if it's even detected and/or if it works with the wireless switch on the laptop itself.

I bought this for an ASUS N56DP, which is an AMD APU notebook system, and both WiFi and Bluetooth work, as well as the Fn+hotkey radio switch control to turn Airplane Mode on and off.

Being installed in an AMD system, obviously it wouldn't support ALL the features, such as WiDi (since that requires a supported Intel CPU and chipset), and I cannot guarantee compatibility, so you may want to do a lot of research before dropping cash on this...unless this is for a desktop system (with a supported PCIe adapter), in which case, both WiFi and BT4.0 should be supported.

Question 3

Do I need some kind of antenna for this to work?

Accepted Answer

It varies depending on what you're installing it into. Check the existing card and see how many antenna leads are attached to it. If there's already two, you should be okay. If there's only one, then you'll need to buy an antenna cable and track down where it needs to be plugged in on your motherboard. That could be extremely easy or a large pain in the... neck. I highly suggest researching on youtube because someone has probably attempted an install with your hardware.

Question 4

I would like to replace my Dell Wireless 1704 with this card.  Is it compatible with a Dell Inspiron 3520 running Windows 8.1?
Thank you!

Accepted Answer

I have achieved 300 Mbps with the Intel Centrino 6235 adapter in my MSI Gamer laptop.  Most Dell computers will accommodate standard parts produced by other manufacturers with much higher quality like this Intel internal adapter.  The Intel 7260HMW 802.11AC Dual-band adapter on can achieve even better results 867 Mbps.  
Windows 8.1 will work correctly with Intel's drivers. I recommend that you download the driver file before installing the new hardware.  Install the drivers only after the new hardware is in place.

Question 5

Does "dual-stream" mean this product can connect via both WiFi and Bluetooth simultaneously?

Accepted Answer

That's not what dual stream means.  But yes it can be connected to WiFi and BT simultaneously.

Question 6

How can I use the Bluetooth feature to connect to my Logitech wireless Bluetooth keyboard?  I'm trying to save a USB port on my computer by not using the usb/Bluetooth dongle supplied with the keyboard.  If not possible, how exactly can the Bluetooth feature be used otherwise???

Accepted Answer

Most of the Logitech wireless keyboards/mice are not actually Bluetooth but include their own "Unifying receiver" which is incompatible with Bluetooth.

If you're sure that the keyboard is, in fact, Bluetooth, then you can pair it just by putting the keyboard into pairing mode and selecting it from your OS's Bluetooth devices list.

Question 7

Can this product replace the current wifi card in my ASUS Q200E and provide Bluetooh and WIDI for my computer?

Accepted Answer

As far as I know, this card does not have a WiDi feature, that may be more the graphics than the card. It does however provide very good WiFi and Bluetooth though.

Question 8

would like to replace Atheros ar9285 wlan in a Lenovo g570 laptop to use the 5ghz speed on new Linksys router. I s this unit plug&play for a laptop?

Accepted Answer

Yes, you should be able to replace this by only removing the bottom cover, disconnecting the antenna cables and removing 1 screw to remove the old card.  For installation reverse the steps above.

Question 9

Does it come with an antenna? If no what do I need to buy to install it into an HTPC case?

Accepted Answer

I installed this in a Intel NUC. The NUC has a antenna built into its case. The wires attach to the two connections located at the top of the card. If not installed in a NUC, you will need a antenna that has those small connectors. The card does not come with one.

Question 10

DO I need this to operate a NUC  DC3217BY ?

Accepted Answer

The NUC doesn't come with any networking.  There is a slot for this type of wireless adapter.  This one includes Bluetooth - most don't.  So its a good choice.  There are also much less expensive ones that also work.  But this is the best for the NUC because you also get Bluetooth.

Questions & Answers