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Agere ORiNOCO USB Client Adapter Gold
Author: Tim Higgins Review Date: 7/17/2001
Model: 848623856
Pros:
- 64 and 128 bit WEP encryption - Good performance vs. range - Excellent client utility with profiles and helpful signal strength utilities
Cons:
- 20% throughput decrease with WEP enabled.
Review Updates
7/23/01 Corrected Antenna connector info.
The Basics
Indicators:
Transmit/Receive
Power
Comes with:
Driver and Utility CD
Printed "Getting Started" Guide
USB cable
Chipset:
Agere Systems (formerly Lucent)
Other:
Internal antenna
Introduction
The ORiNOCO USB Gold Client adapter has the same great features as its PC Card cousin. In fact, the resemblance is not just coincidence as you'll see...
Details
Inside the "shark fin" case that looks like it's styled to match the RG-1000 Gateway product, the USB Gold actually contains an unlabeled ORiNOCO PC Card Gold, plugged into a small board that provides the PC-card-to-USB adapter function. There are a couple of good points to this design. First, you get the superior performance of the ORiNOCO Gold card. Second, since the Gold card has a connector, it's possible (although not part of the intended design) to attach a "booster" antenna, if you're willing to open the case and drill a hole. And third, if you decide you'd rather have a PC Card adapter (and don't mind violating your warranty), you can just open the case, uplug the card and go!
Update 7/23/01 The Antenna connector type is proprietary to ORiNOCO. See this page for information on obtaining adapters.
Managing the Client
The Client Manager is covered in detail in the PC Card review, so hop on over there to see why I like it so much!
Comments: The data shows consistent throughput performance over the tested range. Signal fluctuation seemed high, but this didn't appear to affect performance.
SNR readings for Conditions 2 through 4 were better than measured for the PC card, and were reflected in better data transfer speed for Condition 4. This is a direct result of the better antenna orientation (vertical vs. horizontal) and placement of the USB's antenna vs. the PC card's.
I found the same approximately 20% throughput degradation with 64 bit WEP encryption applied as I found for the PC card.
Summary
If you've been envious of the folks who are using ORiNOCO PC Card Gold's (or Silver) in their laptops, but didn't want to hassle with using a PCI or ISA adapter to get one into your desktop, then your solution has arrived! The USB Gold provides the same solid performance and excellent utilities, and has the added benefit of being two products in one (as long as you don't mind kissing your warranty goodbye)! We're happy to add it to our PracticallyRecommended list!
76.0% | 
24.0% | out of 25 reviews 
