D-Link DWL-G520 Wireless PCI Adapter, 802.11g, 108Mbps

Other products by D-Link

Product Details

Product Manual [2.70mb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 2.1 x 4.5 x 0.3 inches ; 1 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B00007LTBI
• Item model number: DWL-G520
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (82 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: December 10, 2002

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

D-Link, the industry pioneer in wireless networking, introduces another performance breakthrough in wireless connectivity--the D-Link AirPlus Xtreme G series of high-speed devices capable of transfer rates up to 54Mbps.

The D-Link AirPlus Xtreme G DWL-G520 PCI Adapter is a wireless PCI adapter featuring the very latest in advanced wireless silicon chip technology to deliver incredibly fast data transfer in the 2.4 GHz frequency. The DWL-G520 also works with 802.11b standard wireless devices and when used with other D-Link AirPlus Xtreme G products delivers throughput speeds capable of handling heavy data payloads, including real-time MPEG video streaming.

The D-Link AirPlus DWL-G520 also includes a configuration utility to discover available wireless networks and create and save detailed connectivity profiles for those networks most often accessed.

In addition to being the industry’s fastest wireless network solution, it includes management settings and policy-based content filtering for advanced network management. Filters can be set based on MAC address, IP address, URL and/or Domain Name. The D-Link Xtreme G DWL-G520 with 108 upgrade is ideal for creating a fast and affordable wireless network, delivering the industry’s fastest wireless network performance. D-Link Xtreme G is also the only 802.11g solution with 108Mbps mode that remains fully interoperable and compatible with all 2.4GHz devices, capable of creating one homogenous network environment for the multi-vendor environment.

Packet Bursting: The packet bursting technique puts more data into a single transmission, allowing more raw data to be stuffed into each packet and as a result not only delivers much more data, but also executes this process with less traffic on the network. Packet bursting transforms lengthy binary code into simple equations, resulting in an overall reduction in the number of 1s and 0s being sent over the network. It is also the technique defined as one of the methods for performance improvement in the IEEE 802.11e QOS draft standard. Fast Frames: The fast frames technique enhances data throughput by increasing the number of bits sent per data frame and accelerating the timing of a data frame with a dynamic transmit optimizations. This technology enhances the Packet Bursting capability synergistically to provide accelerated performance results. The fast frames technique is also based on the 802.11e QOS draft standard.

• Hardware Compression and Encryption: Xtreme G uses the Atheros AR5002 chipset which employs special engines to compress and encrypt data. These hardware engines operate in real-time to enhance throughput by implementing standard algorithms and compressing data prior to transmission and after reception.
• Multi-Channel Bonding: Multi-Channel Bonding embraces two radio channels simultaneously. It collapses the available channels from 12 to 6 for increased bandwidth on the available channels. Single and double channels are not run at the same time. This technology senses single channel and dual channel frames and negotiates time-based solutions with priority on single channel processing.
• Select Mode: Select Mode gives users the option of locking the Xtreme G products into a Static mode (instead of the default Dynamic mode) for even higher performance within a complete D-Link 108Mbps Xtreme G environment.

The DWL-G520 is a powerful 32-bit PCI adapter that installs quickly and easily into desktop PCs and when used with other D-Link AirPlus Xtreme G products automatically connects to the network. Like all D-Link wireless adapters, the DWL-G520 can be used in ad-hoc mode to connect directly with other 2.4 GHz wireless computers for peer-to-peer file sharing or in infrastructure mode to connect with a wireless access point or router for access to the Internet in your office or home network.

Product Description

The D-Link AirPlus Xtreme G DWL-G520 PCI Adapter is a wireless PCI adapter featuring the latest technology to deliver data transfer rates up to 108Mbps in the 2.4GHz frequency. The DWL-G520 also works with 802.11b-compliant devices and when used with other D-Link AirPlus Xtreme G products delivers throughput speeds capable of handling heavy data payloads including real-time MPEG video streaming. Plus, the DWL-G520 also includes a configuration utility to discover available wireless networks and create and save detailed connectivity profiles for those networks most often accessed.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed long-time user of D-Link wireless products, September 30, 2005

By	William A. Huber (Rosemont, PA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Usually you should discount reviews complaining about problems with a computer add-on: they say more about the reviewer and their systems, perhaps, then they do about the product you are trying to evaluate. I think, though, that some aspects of my experience might be generalizable, maybe even applicable to your situation.

I have been a satisfied user of D-Link wireless products for over three years now. I upgraded to the 802.11g products (WAP and PCI cards) a year ago to a run a network of up to five computers, usually three Win XP or Win 2000 workstations and two notebooks. As I look around my office, though, I see boxes full of failed or problematic routers, WAPs, and cards. It seems, although I have only just realized the extent of it, that these D-Link products all fail with remarkable regularity. In the past, I have just routinely replaced them: that's how much I have liked their ease of use and their performance.

Well, that's over with my latest purchase: the DWL-G520 adapter (my second). It taught me two disturbing things about D-Link wireless. First, the adapter can really screw up your system. This one's driver (regardless of the update version) consumes 90+ percent of a very high-powered CPU. (Windows XP Home, all the latest updates, etc.) It has brought an essential machine to its knees by hugely slowing down everything it does. Disabling the adapter (which solves the problem, at the price of disconnecting me from the world) brings on the fabled Blue Screen of Death. The second disturbing thing is that D-Link support simply has not responded to e-mail messages, period. Their Web site lies when it promises 36 hour response. I can cope--I have a strong background in computing and can devise temporary workarounds--but I shudder to think how uncomfortable this behavior would make most people feel.

Those are the proverbial three strikes: consistently short times to failure, occurrence of really bad driver behavior, and hopelessly bad support. My relationship with D-Link is over; I will have to try some other vendor's offering. If you don't mind the risk of having a similar experience, and think you can cope with absolutely no support, then by all means consider this product. I hope and trust, though, that you (and I) can do better with a different vendor.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Light-Years Better Than Linksys, March 31, 2004

By A Customer

This card is just super!

I spent some frustrating hours with two -- count 'em, TWO -- Linksys Wireless-G PCI cards, trying to get them to talk to another Linksys product, a Linksys Wireless-G Router. No luck. The second one was a replacement for the first, and the insert that came with it said it had passed Linksys quality control. Maybe, but neither one played nice with my Win2000 machine.

Finally, I gave up on the Linksys PCI card, and probably shouldn't have tried it at all, given the mediocre reviews it received here on Amazon. That's when I sat down and diligently read the reviews for D-Link and figured I had nothing to lose by trying one more PCI card (one that's received rave reviews, BTW).

The D-Link card and driver installed without fuss in the Win2000 machine. It's two rooms away from the router and the wireless signal passes through a bathroom, with the attendant metal pipes and wires, etc., and still gets a 86-90% signal. It's set up to communicate with the router using a WPA-Pre-Shared-Key (WPA-PSK), the router does not broadcast an SSID, and the router only accepts wireless communications from this single wireless client. Browsing the Internet is as fast as, if not faster than, the original wired connection. Now I can get that ugly cat-5 cable off the door-jambs and baseboards.

I'm sold. Don't fool around with the Linksys PCI card. If it works, count yourself lucky, but D-Link seems to have the wireless communication network stuff figured out. Strange, my Linksys Wireless-G Router (WRT54G) is running flawlessly, handling the traffic for both a wired and a wireless connection. But don't waste time on a Linksys PCI card. Get a D-Link card.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wireless isn't easy, no matter whose card you buy, November 22, 2004

By	S. Ziggy "A regular Amazon Customer" (USA) - See all my reviews

OK. This card would get a 5 star rating, but for the fact that no card/wireless system deserves it. First, every company designs their own products only to work with their own company's proprietary devices -- This, in spite of their all using the same IEEE 802.11 configuration standards. VERY annoying. But, OK, every company wants you to buy EVERYTHING just in their brand. Secondly, to set up a wireless network takes more than just plug and play skill -- There are basics that the consumer just has to know when setting up, and then INEVITABLY troubleshooting when the network goes down. (All networks go down from time to time, no matter who supplies the hardware). So, then, what about D-Link? The signal is strong, travels well through insulated, and sound-proofed walls, communicates very well with the 624 router and affords extremely fast data transfer rates. I am VERY happy with D-Link; it has lived up to its other consumer reviews, as found in PC Magazine, and other sources. Just read carefully BEFORE installing, just as you will have to do before installing ANY wireless network system.