This is my first review, comments and criticisms welcomed
Ok so I had to reinstall windows and lost my install CD for my D-Link wireless card, and every driver set I find online makes windows hang, so it was time for a new wireless adaptor. After a lot of searching and review reading, I decided to go with the Belkin F5D8053 USB 2.0 Wireless N Adapter - 300Mbps, 802.11n.
I did online searching, and found it at Tiger Direct for $49.99.
I ordered it on a sunday afternoon, and recieved it on the following wednesday. As always, nice fast shipping from Tiger
Specs:
Device Type: Wireless Adaptor
Interface: USB 2.0
Wireless Network Standards: IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11n
Wireless Data Transfre Rates: 300Mbps
Wireless Network Configuration: Ad-Hoc (Peer-to-Peer), Infrastructure
Security Protocols: WPA, 128-bit WEP, 64-bit WEP, WPA2, WPA-PSK
Packaging:
The box is as you would expect, clear pictures and clear specs on the unit.
Box contents included the following. Installation CD, USB adaptor, USB dockng cradle with 4-foot USB 2.0 cable, a Quick Install Guide and a troubleshooting guide.
A nice feature was that the USB adaptor came with a nice hard plastic cover to cover the USB plug when not in use, i.e. in your pocket, etc. if using with your laptop.
Cover installed:
Cover removed:
Heres a shot of the adaptor next to its cradle:
And sitting on its cradle:
another nice feature is the blinkng blue LED on the adaptor itself that shows activity. At a glance you can look and see if its working, instead of having to look behind your PC at the PCI card.
Installation:
All the reviews I read online from every source said the Belkn software is junk and to just use the CD to install the drivers. I wanted to see for myself so I installed the CD normally. This is where found they were correct. The Belkni utility didnt even see my wireless network. The Windows utility saw it with a low signal strength, as it always did even with my old D-Link PCI card. So I uninstalled the Belkin software and just loaded the drivers off the CD and used the Windows utility to set it up, worked like a charm.
Performance:
Well with my D-Link PCI card I was always connected with a speed of 54Mbps, at a very low to low signal strength. I would occasionally lose the network and not be able to find it for an hour or two - very frustrating. So far I have not experienced any signal drops with the Belkin adaptor, but I'm gettng the same very low to low signal strength (which can be associated from the layout of my house and my g-router), but I'm only connected at an average speed of 18Mbps! I tried moving the adaptor all around - up, down, left, right, etc. Speeds would range from 2Mbps to 59Mpbs, but they always fluctuate, they're never stable, no matter where I put it. This may have something to do with my g-router that came from Verizon for my DSL.
Final ratings:
Packaging: 10/10
Ease of installation: 7/10
Performance: 5/10
Asthetics: 8/10
Price: 8/10
Total: 38/50
I give it a 7/10 for ease of installation only because of the crappy Belkin software. If they just put the drivers on the CD w/o the software it'd be a 10/10.
Performace gets a 5/10 due to it getting way lower speed than my D-Link PCI card did, regardless of location, and it was only a 108Mbps max card. I'm savng up to get a N-router, so once I get that things may change
Asthetics get 8/10, as its a rather attractive piece, even the cradle. Still ugly to have a 4-foot USB cable around, but unless you're on a laptop or have it plugged in directly, its something you have to deal with. Also, if you were to plug it in directly its rather long, so there ma be clearance issues depending on how youre area is setup.
Price gets 8/10 because of Tiger, and is also tied into its performace. Belkin wants $79.99 for this, while Tigers regular price was $59,99, but also had a $10 instant savings. If its performace was better, it would have been a 10/10.
Overall
This is a good piece at a good price (from Tiger) and works well. No dropped signals, although speed varies and the Belkin software is crap. If you're looking for a good part on a budget, this is it. If you've got more to spend, you may look into something else