Upgrade AC WiFi - Intel 7260

hi there

i'd be interested to know as well for my Aspire below. i hope Acer can find an answer.

At very least can they tell us if this would void the warranty if we try to upgrade ?

802.11 AC is the newest and latest wifi protocol.

you may be thinking of 802.11a which is older but AC is newest.

The reason AC is gaining more in popularity is 2 folds: more bandwitdh to transfer files (up to 867mbps right now on intel's 7260ac wifi card vs 450mbps N card) and the larger spectrum meaning more channels so that there is less interference with other ac enabled routers, such as the netgear R6250, R6300, R7000

802.11a and 802.11ac are not the same thing. A precedes N but AC follows N.

np, it's a wise man he who knows to wait. i'm using windows 8.1 as listed below and with Start8 from stardock it's a good improvement over windows 7, i'd even go so far as to say win7sp2 lol. it's the same but with added tiles (i hated them at first too and i don't use them that much but still nice to have) , has better copying/replacement window and added back the explorer toolbar with useful functions (we lost that after xp).

Just to clear something tho, N may go farther but who needs that when you have larger bandwitdh ? That is the whole point of AC, more spectrum less distance.

Consider this: say you live in the city, house or apartment. your wifi N goes say 300 feet. Most yards are only 100 feet by 100 feet.

Now consider you neighbors also all have N at 300 feet at 2.4ghz, you only get 11 channels, considering you have on average 8 neighbors around your house (count them, even the corner ones that means channel overlapping and cross-talk = big interference

Why do you need your wifi to go 3 times further than what you need ?

 

With AC some routers don't send 300 feet true, but considering the scenario above they are being "good neighbors" by not sending your wifi over the fence for nothing.

Plus it has the added benefit of giving larger bandwidth since you don't need to throw far you can throw more at closer range.

Even more useful if living in an apartment building where everyone has a wifi router of their own and channel overlap happens. AC is built to address those issues.

i can't wait to see Wi-Fi 802.11ad (up to 7000Mbps) - Frequency: 60GHz (short range)

Dude it's gonna be 7gigabits !

Looks like i may have been mistaken when i said the ac doesn't go as further, i figured they boosted the signal strenght and that took away from distance, well glad to know that's not true.

 

From securedgenetworks.com

 

"Another big gain offered with 802.11ac is range. Now to clarify this I don’t mean that my 802.11ac signal can go further than 802.11n (by the way this is a terrible measure of access point performance) rather my 802.11ac signal provides better throughput at the same distance as 802.11n.

 

In our 802.11ac vs. 802.11n info graphic we show two clients connected to an access point at 75 feet. The 802.11n connected client at 75 feet nets a 200Mbps connection while an 802.11ac connected client nets a connection at 400Mbps at the same distance.

 

802.11ac is a revolution in wireless networking where 802.11n was an evolution. It definitely has much to offer in improving our overall wireless experience. In fact, even without the use of 802.11ac clients it has been noted that 802.11n clients connecting to 802.11ac access points are showing improved performance over connecting to 802.11n access points. "

So if you're on a 300 Acre ranch you're covered lol it just usefull to have that 5ghz bandwidth and more channels so that your wifi doesn't get congested by your neighbors, and the other neigbor and the other neighbor, count em there's 8 each with a wifi of his own lol