Customer Reviews

Belkin F5D8000 Wireless Pre-N Desktop Network Card

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

I went completely Belkin PreN - Router, Desktop card, Notebook card, and Print server.

It was hell when I tried installing the PreN Desktop Card (this is in place of having an antenna) into the PreN PCI CardBus adapter on my new Dell Win XP SP2. The instructions tell you to install your Card "label side UP, into the PreN PCI Adapters' CardBus". Well, both sides have labels, so I took it to mean the words 'Belkin' and two small LED's as the 'UP' side. The Computer would not recognize the card. After multiple attempts, I thought I would have to return the PreN Desktop card due to incompatibility. I tried surfing the net one more time and came across a forum message with someone having this same problem. They spoke with Belkin tech support and were told that the Belkin installation guide is wrong. The card needs to be inserted facing 'DOWN'. I tried it and it immediately was recognized. As frustrating as it gets, I guess it just takes a little perseverance versus giving up.

So, aside Belkin's Topsy Turvy joke, I'm glad I got it to work because it's a screamer.

I purchased this PCI card with the Belkin Pre-N router and both have worked flawlessly together. The installation was a breeze, as I followed the included instructions. The signal strength is definitely much better than regular A/B/G access points, and the speed seems to be considerably faster. I'm running Windows XP Professional on my Compaq Desktop and was able to easily configure the access point with WPA. I also set the closed network option and entered all my MAC addresses of computers I would use to protect it from any outside intrusion.

Overall, I highly recommend the Belkin Pre-N products over Linksys and Netgear. I have heard from other colleagues that the Linksys is more expensive, yet does not perform as well as the Belkin and the Netgear product has some flaws that prohibit it from working efficiently.

Even though this network card works amazingly well when everything is configured properly and it's a great bargain, Belkin is doing everything within its power to make you buy the N card and router instead. The day the Belkin N router was introduced at my local Staples and Bestbuy stores last year, the Pre-N cards and router mysteriously disappeared from the shelves and no one could explain why. Now Vista has been out for months, yet Belkin is still unable/unwilling to deliver Vista compatible drivers for most of the older Pre-N cards. All you get is a "coming soon" note on their web site with the implied message that they hope you run out of patience with your old, useless Pre-N network card and upgrade to N.

For over a year I have been freeloading wireless internet from people in my building with a D-Link usb adapter. The best I could get was "low" or "very low", and it was extremely slow because of the distance and interference. I got fed up and finally dished out the $$ for Belkin with the PCI card to insert it into my desktop. The Belkin arrived today , and wow what a diffrence! I'm getting 4-5 bars which I could never get before. I'm actually submitting this review via a connection to a neighbors "linksys". That "linksys" was always forbidden to me. I couldn't get byte of that apple. Now I'm chewing away megabytes...

Our household uses both 11g USB and Belkin Pre-N Network cards fed from a Belkin Pre-N router. The signal to all three computers go through three house walls (distance from router to computers 40-50 ft). The signal for the Pre-N Network cards (internal to a desktop and plug-in for a laptop) are far superior to the 11g. With the Belkin Pre-N we consistently get four bar signal strength vs 2 bars for the 11g.
The only reason we don't have a Pre-N on the third computer is that it has no slots available and must use an external USB 11g. I see where Netgear now has a Pre-N USB and plan to get one (we'd buy a Belkin if they had one).
My wife and I are very happy with this Belkin product(and the Belkin router).

I purchased this to pair with my Belkin Pre-N Wireless Router. Our router is upstairs and our desktop is tucked away in a far corner of our finished basement. The main contributor to the excellent range we've received ("Very Good" both with this card and our previous D-Link PCI card) is, of course, the router. But the card has boosted the speed throughput to remarkable levels.

How fast? Our desktop with the Belkin card now shares the internet wirelessly at the same speed (approximately 6000 kb/sec) as our *wired* computer. That's almost 3 times faster as our previous PCI card that was a traditional wireless-G (around 2000 kb/sec). That's also 3 times faster than running my notebook with a regular wireless-G card right next to our router. And network transfer times are similarly impressive.

Because we use WPA-AES, we use the Windows Zero Configuration Utility to manage the wireless adapter. We've had no problems with that configuration---neither the adapter nor the router has had any drops. We allow the router to choose the channels automatically, do not broadcast our SSID, and use MAC address filtering.

I highly recommend this card, especially pairing it with the Belkin Pre-N router. Note that this card is simply the Belkin Pre-N PCMCIA notebook card plugged into an adapter for the desktop. This means that you could actually pull it and use it on your notebook if you're travelling.

Also note what has been mentioned by others: in most circumstances, the card will be inserted face-side down (contrary to what the installation manual says). The best thing to do is look at the *photograph* of the card inserted into the adapter. In other words, observe in what direction you are inserting the PCI bus into the computer, and make sure that you insert the card to match the photograph.

I had a problem installing this device. If the card is
plugged into a laptop, the card plugs in with the indicator
LEDs up, but when plugged into my Dell desktop it plugs in
with the indicator LEDS down. It doesn't have a key to
prevent incorrect installation.

Easy setup. However it is only slightly better on reception than a laptop with "g" standard. The desktop computer had to be permantely repostioned near a window to get "good" reception (Belkin Pre N router is in another building) Same problem could occur in a large house so be prepared to rearrange furniture. The Belkin Pre N router was actually used as an access point 70 feet from an old Netgear wireless router and signal passes through 4 walls. On computer bootup the laptop with "g" standard will automatically tie into the Belkin Pre N signal at a position 60 feet from the Belkin and on the other side of a wall 10 feet from the Netgear router. Belkin should sell a desktop card with a cord attached antenna or an external card that can be moved around so the furniture does not have to be rearranged to get a signal.

Bought the pre-n to replace a malfunctioning 802-11b system. I am very impressed with the speed and range. Well worth the price!

Finally able to connect the basement computer with the router on the second floor. Failed repeaters and other type routers and cards were the norm.