Amazon.com Product Review
 | The NETGEAR WG311 Wireless-G PCI Adapter offers: - 802.11g wireless networking capability.
- Backwards compatibility with 802.11b wireless networks.
- A built-in stub antenna for better reception.
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The NETGEAR WG311 Wireless-G PCI Adapter makes it easy for you to provide wireless internet access to your desktop computer, letting you surf the web, check email, and chat online without the need for cables.
The built-in antenna provides excellent reception. View larger. |
Easy Setup The WG311 is a PCI adapter and requires a Pentium 3 class PC with an available PCI 2.2 slot for installation. It supports Windows Vista and is also compatible with Windows XP, 2000, 98SE, and Me. Setup is as simple as inserting the adapter into a PCI slot and installing the included software. A built-in stub antenna helps you receive as strong a signal as possible for the fastest possible speeds.
Fast and Secure The NETGEAR WG311 supports the 802.11g protocol standard for speeds up to 54 Mbps and a longer range than previous-generation 802.11b adapters. With a good connection, you'll notice the difference right away as you'll be able to stream high-quality music without any hiccups and load videos much faster. Downloading files is up to five times faster than it was with 802.11b. Since 802.11g is also interoperable with 802.11b, you don't have to worry about whether or not you'll get a connection elsewhere if you move your computer around; the WG311 will automatically detect the network and allow you to connect to it at the highest speed possible.
The adapter supports 40/64-bit and 128-bit WEP encryption for security so you don't have to worry about anyone eavesdropping on your emails or stealing your passwords. The included software makes managing different WEP passwords a breeze as you can set up different profiles for each wireless network you connect to, saving yourself the trouble of having to type in encryption keys each time.
The NETGEAR WG311 Wireless-G PCI Adapter is backed by a 1-year warranty.
What's in the Box WG311 Wireless-G PCI adapter, installation guide, resource CD, warranty/support information card
Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review
(101 customer reviews) 78 of 81 people found the following review helpful
Change Install Method For XP SP2,
November 27, 2004 Dirk Patton "proudcelt" (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: NETGEAR WG311 Wireless-G PCI Adapter (Personal Computers)
First of all, this card is a great product and better than any of the competitors, to include Linksys and D-Link. With the deployment of SP2 you will need to change the install procedure for the V2 card so that it works without causing your system to reboot constantly. DO NOT install the utility and drivers ahead of time as the instructions in the packaging tell you to. Rather, install the card, then boot up and let windows detect the hardware. Instead of installing the drivers automatically, use the "I Will Select" the hardware option then through the hardware wizard browse to the XP Drivers folder on the disc and let windows install ONLY the driver, not the utility. XP has a very good wireless management utility and you will give up nothing by not having the Netgear utility installed. The card will finish install and you'll be up and running.
30 of 35 people found the following review helpful
Windows XP SP2 issues are resolved...,
September 9, 2004 35-year Technology Consumer "8-tracks to 802.11" (Mid Atlantic, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: NETGEAR WG311 Wireless-G PCI Adapter (Personal Computers)
Update: mid November 2004:
This was originally a 1-star review. Netgear issued updates for this card allowed work fine Windows Home SP2, which I confirmed during the build of a new machine two months after the original review.
My rant in September 2004 was valid then based on the state of their support for XP SP2.
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Original early September review:
Once installed and working: 4 stars. The single star is for the overall experience in Windows XP Home Service Pack 2 environment. This eventually required a rollback from SP2 *and* an operating system reinstall. This might not be worth it for most people seeking just a little faster data throughput...
If your are considering purchasing this --or **any other wireless network adapter**-- check carefully for compatability with Windows XP Home SP2. After over 4 hours of my own troubleshooting, and another hour on hold to speak with Netgear tech support, I...Read more
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Had to replace this thing...,
October 13, 2005 Tomleaf (San Francisco, California United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: NETGEAR WG311 Wireless-G PCI Adapter (Personal Computers)
I'd like to start off by saying this is the only Netgear product I ever had a problem with.
I actually have the older WG311v2 edition of this product and it seemed to work for a while. The problem occured when I started getting constant dropping after a few minutes of being connected. I investigated and found that of every 10-15 pings I sent to the router (both a Netgear MR814 802.11b and the WGR614 I decided to upgrade to), it would lag once for up to 1 whole second which is bad when it comes to network connectivity between a system and the router. I tried disconnecting 2.4GHz phones, switching channels, moving the router, moving the computer, replacing the router, changing the PCI slot the card sat in, using Wireless Zero Config, using the latest Netgear util. Nothing worked. To top it off ping testing with other computers wireless on the network showed no dropping. The WG311v2 would drop/lag and I would have to manually make it work again with enable/disabling of the...Read more
