Wired gigabit option for laptop

[Rilo Ravestein]

Hi all,

My laptop NIC just died and i am looking for something to use for wired gigabit LAN access for this laptop. I've seen some USB adapter devices that could do it, but i can't seem to find some real insight, testing or reviews of such devices. Unfortunately, i only have USB2 ports, so that would theoretically limit the speed to 480 Mbit/s, but if in any case if it were a USB3 device, speed would only be limited by the Laptop's USB implementation and not possibly also that of the device.

Anyone have some advice on what (else) i can do for this Laptop to get the fastest possible network connection?

 

[joeschmuck]

Well I have a laptop which has no LAN port but the WiFi is pretty good. I'm getting typically around 800Mbps connection rates, dropping down to the low 500's across the house. Yup, it's an ac router and modem configuration so that may not be for you. I was hoping for 1.2Gbps but my laptop WiFi module is only a 2 stream version and the 3 stream isn't worth the cost, well not today but maybe in a few years.

As for USB to LAN adapters, I've had a few in the past and you are correct, you will be limited in bandwidth due to your USB speed but I'd still purchase a USB 3.0 version of the device, they "should" ensure that they are not limiting your bandwidth and if you need it for anything in the future, you have it. I'm sure you are like me, you hop on the internet and start reading the reviews and tests of the devices out there. One thing I did notice is how bulky the better ones were and I wanted to purchase a nice sleek looking adapter before I got my ac band router, thankfully I didn't purchase one. I have an old USB 2.0 in the basement for an emergency if I need it. Good luck and if you find one specifically which you like, let us know, I'm more than happy to do some investigation on it, providing someone had done actual tests that mean anything.

 

[Ericloewe]

If your laptop has an ExpressCard slot, you can try looking for compatible NICs. ExpressCard is just a fancy PCMCIA-style external implementation of USB 2.0 and PCI-e x1.

 

[Rilo Ravestein]

Well I have a laptop
which has no LAN port but the WiFi is pretty good. I'm getting typically around 800Mbps connection rates, dropping down to the low 500's across the house. Yup, it's an ac router and modem configuration so that may not be for you. I was hoping for 1.2Gbps but my laptop WiFi module is only a 2 stream version and the 3 stream isn't worth the cost, well not today but maybe in a few years.

Yeah, i have an AC router too that should theoretically go upto 1300 Mbps / 162.5 MBps. Unfortunately, the wireless card only goes as far as 300 Mbps / 37.5 MBps (Intel® Centrino® Advanced-N 6205), which of course i have never been able to achieve. Max. so far wireless was 26 MBps.

As for USB to LAN adapters, I've had a few in the past and you are correct, you will be limited in bandwidth due to your USB speed but I'd still purchase a USB 3.0 version of the device, they "should" ensure that they are not limiting your bandwidth and if you need it for anything in the future, you have it. I'm sure you are like me, you hop on the internet and start reading the reviews and tests of the devices out there. One thing I did notice is how bulky the better ones were and I wanted to purchase a nice sleek looking adapter before I got my ac band router, thankfully I didn't purchase one. I have an old USB 2.0 in the basement for an emergency if I need it. Good luck and if you find one specifically which you like, let us know, I'm more than happy to do some investigation on it, providing someone had done actual tests that mean anything

Did you manage to get the max. advertised USB speed with those?

 

[Rilo Ravestein]

If your laptop has an ExpressCard slot, you can try looking for compatible NICs. ExpressCard is just a fancy PCMCIA-style external implementation of USB 2.0 and PCI-e x1.

That's a nice idea actually. Any brand names i should look into? And the ones I should avoid?

 

[joeschmuck]

Did you manage to get the max. advertised USB speed with those?

Never, I know of no manufacturer which doesn't state maximum rates in a perfect environment or just theoretical maximums. That is why I like to visit sites where they actually test the product to see how it works under real world use. If you are only using the LAN port for light traffic, any one will do, but if you are like me and want to do a backup of your laptop to your FreeNAS, that is were I wanted a high quality USB to Gbit LAN adapter. If I had purchased one like I expected, then I'd let you know what to buy or stay away from.

So as another option.... Check this option out and just replace the WiFi card with this or something similar.
I didn't do a huge amount of research on this option, took about 30 seconds. If this looks interesting then we can dive into it more.

 

[Ericloewe]

That's a nice idea actually. Any brand names i should look into? And the ones I should avoid?

No idea. I haven't seen an ExpressCard in years :p

 

[Rilo Ravestein]

No idea. I haven't seen an ExpressCard in years :p

Me neither, that's probably why i didn't think of it myself

So as another option.... Check this option out and just replace the WiFi card with this or something similar.
I didn't do a huge amount of research on this option, took about 30 seconds. If this looks interesting then we can dive into it more.

That certainly looks promising! It's almost the same price here; same number, but in EUR. Looks worth it to me. I do find a couple issues in a few reviews. Something about whitelists in BIOS for only accepted hardware (WTF???) and one user had to tape pin 51 to get it to work, but all other reviews (there are not too much i could find, and not even one that had actually tested speed and reliability) are good.
EDIT: Found quite a good review here.

 

[Ericloewe]

Me neither, that's probably why i didn't think of it myself
That certainly looks promising! It's almost the same price here; same number, but in EUR. Looks worth it to me. I do find a couple issues in a few reviews. Something about whitelists in BIOS for only accepted hardware (WTF???) and one user had to tape pin 51 to get it to work, but all other reviews (there are not too much i could find, and not even one that had actually tested speed and reliability) are good.
EDIT: Found quite a good review here.

Some laptop OEMs do that (*cough* HP *cough*).

For what it's worth, Intel's dual-band N stuff works perfectly with Windows 7, well with Windows 8.1 in its current state and miserably with RTM Windows 8.

 

[Rilo Ravestein]

Hehe. HP has a track record in doing stuff like that.
I hope Intel's AC stuff works with 8.1 then...

 

[joeschmuck]

Specifically what laptop do you have? Assuming the WiFi option is something you would pursue? And are you fine with opening the case of your laptop, assuming you have no easy access to the WiFi card inside?

As you stated, the BIOS could be of concern but maybe someone with your same laptop has tried it, or the model you have is sold with that as an upgrade which would indicate the BIOS would likely be fine.

 

[Rilo Ravestein]

It's a Dell, and I'm perfectly comfortable opening it up. I must say it is by far the best built laptop I've ever opened up so far. Not sure if all Dell laptops are built this way, but it's extremely easy to find and replace most of the stuff you actually can replace.
BIOS is updated to the latest version and I already replaced parts before, so I'm not afraid I will run into the same kinds of trouble some HP laptops have.

 

[joeschmuck]

My laptop is a Dell Inspiron 7000 series and the Dell Service Manual gives great detail on how to take the laptop apart, as they do with all their laptops. So if you do not have the service manual, you should download it. The first thing I did was take it apart to replace the hard drive with a SSD. I took my sweat ass time since I didn't want to put a single blemish on a new laptop. I really like this thing and even though I'm a power user, this laptop comes almost close to replacing my desktop unit. I said almost, so I use Remote Desktop to use my desktop machine when I need to do something I wouldn't want to try on the laptop.

 

[Rilo Ravestein]

The first thing I did was take it apart to replace the hard drive with a SSD.

Same here hehe :)

 

[cyberjock]

I would see if the board can be replaced easily with one bought from ebay. In short, today's laptops really don't leave much of an option when your LAN port fails. My last 2 laptops have had no express slots or anything, and the only "good" option is to use USB3. I know someone that bought some USB3 to Gigabit LAN adapter. It's performance was not really that great... more than 60-70MB/sec was all you could get no matter what you tried.

 

[Rilo Ravestein]

Seems like the WiFi replacement @joeschmuck mentioned would be the best affordable option so far then.

 

[Ericloewe]

I would see if the board can be replaced easily with one bought from ebay. In short, today's laptops really don't leave much of an option when your LAN port fails. My last 2 laptops have had no express slots or anything, and the only "good" option is to use USB3. I know someone that bought some USB3 to Gigabit LAN adapter. It's performance was not really that great... more than 60-70MB/sec was all you could get no matter what you tried.

I think most USB 3.0 GbE adapters use Realtek controllers, which contributes to the suckiness.
I bought one for my surface pro 3, it's Microsoft's one - it has a custom driver, so I couldn't tell what hardware was inside.

I'll benchmark it one of these days.

 

[joeschmuck]

Seems like the WiFi replacement @joeschmuck mentioned would be the best affordable option so far then.

I know it isn't wired as you originally requested however it may meet your needs. Maybe you could find a buddy who has one of these items in his laptop and you could give it a transfer to see if it works. Of course there is risk and if one of these modules is under $40, then I'd just buy it and give it a shot. Also, do a Google search for your model laptop and someone upgrading the WiFi module, you might find some cases and be able to tell what works for certain. Or just see if Dell offers the module as an upgrade, figure out what it is and buy one. Many options and I'd like to know the outcome of this venture if that is the way you go.

 

[Arwen]

My 1.5 year old Asus netbook only came with 10/100Mbps wired magnetics, (though the chip claims to do
1Gbps). Since I would only be using wired at home and this netbook has a USB 3.0 port, I bought a USB 3.0 to
1Gbps adapter from StarTech. It uses the Asix Elec AX88179 chip, (with pass through USB 3.0 port), which works
for me using Linux.

As for speed, I have gotten upto 110MBps, (and yes, that's full 1Gbps speed), using un-encrypted Secure Shell
copies. My RSyncs to my FreeNAS tend to be less, anywhere from 40MBps to 80MBps. Much better than Fast
Ethernet, (and better than USB 2.0 would allow).

I hope USB 3.0, (or 3.1), to 10GBase-T adapters come out before the end of the year. Even if I can't get full length
cable runs, (100meters), or full speed, (USB 3.0 is 5Gbps), it's still should be better since my netbook has a 1TB
flash drive with 550MBps read speed.

 

[cyberjock]

@Arwen

Got a link to the adapter you bought on Amazon, Newegg, etc?