The software itself is a considerable improvement from the previous generation of
Gigabyte's wireless network utility which we tested with their 802.11b products. It
packs the features you need into a few, easy to read screens.
Its only flaws are a system tray pop-up window which can get intrusive
(but is easily dealt with by right clicking the icon) and the
rather odd inability to select a network to connect to from the 'site
survey' screen. Instead, the user must go to the configuration screen and
change the default SSID in order to connect to the desired network.
The
software does not 'auto-associate' so all connections must be made by manually
typing in the SSID of the network you wish to connect to. On the positive side, configuring the card is made
very easy. The 'configuration' tab offers a wealth of options, allowing
you to set SSIDs, encryption and security settings and even reduce the power of
the card's signal for conserving your laptop's battery on the go. All
options were easy to access and understand. We experienced no problems in
configuring the GN-WMAG.
The GN-WMAG proved a very
stable and reliable card during our tests. We experienced no dropouts or driver
weirdness, and the card (and the laptop it was attached to)
did not require resetting at any point during the multitude of configuration changes we
made.
The card also
roamed flawlessly between the 802.11g and 802.11b networks that we had set up to
test. Its reception in our default test setup (around 20 feet from the
access point on a different floor) was considerably greater than previous
802.11b products we had tested on the same setup. In general, a joy to
use.
Wireless Benchmarks
We tested the GN-WMAG on separate 802.11b and
802.11g networks (an SMC Barricade router and a Gigabyte GN-A17GU Access point
respectively), with WEP and WPA-PSK on and off. Our setup is intended to
mimic standard home conditions, with the access point located approximately
twenty feet from the laptop and on a different floor. NetIQ was used to
test the response time and average data throughput of each setup, and a timed
transfer of an 11.8MB file provided a real world performance test.
|
802.11g
Wireless Network NetIQ Tests |
| Gigabyte GN-WMAG to: |
802.11g
Gigabyte Access
Point |
802.11b SMC
Router |
| Average Throughput |
21.5 Mbps |
5.1 Mbps |
| Response Time |
1 ms |
4ms |
| 11.8Mb Test file transfer |
~5 sec |
20sec |
| Gigabyte GN-WMAG with 64-bit WEP to: |
|
|
| WEP Average Throughput |
20.1 Mbps |
|
| WEP Response Time |
1 ms |
|
| WEP 11.8Mb Test file transfer |
~6sec |
|
| Gigabyte GN-WMAG, 128-bit WEP to: |
|
|
| WEP Average Throughput |
19.9 Mbps |
|
| WEP Response Time |
1 ms |
|
| WEP 11.8Mb Test file transfer |
~6sec |
|
| Gigabyte GN-WMAG, 152-bit WEP to: |
|
|
| WEP Average Throughput |
19.5 Mbps |
|
| WEP Response Time |
1 ms |
|
| WEP 11.8Mb Test file transfer |
~6sec |
|
| Gigabyte GN-WMAG, 128-bit WPA-PSK
to: |
|
|
| WPA Average Throughput |
17.6 Mbps |
|
| WPA Response Time |
2 ms |
|
| WPA 11.8Mb Test file transfer |
~7sec |
|
| Gigabyte GN-WMAG, ‘Turbo-G’ enabled to: |
|
|
| Average Throughput |
25.5 Mbps |
|
| Response Time |
1 ms |
|
| 11.8Mb Test file transfer |
~5sec |
|
| Ethernet Reference: |
| 10/100 Wired Ethernet (typical) |
61.5 Mbps |
| Wired Response Time |
1ms |
The
GN-WMAG showed respectable performance throughout, though
the Turbo-g benchmarks were rather disappointing given the supposed doubling
of wireless bandwidth that it offers. The card offered solid performance
with the SMC 802.11b test router, illustrating 802.11g's backward
compatibility.
If you are in the market for a wireless
card for your laptop, the Gigabyte GN-WMAG would be an excellent choice. Easy
installation and configuration, good security support and solid, trouble-free performance combine to
make this card easy to recommend.
Certainly
if you are considering buying a wireless card you should purchase an 802.11g
compatible device, and the Gigabyte GN-WMAG is a good example of
performance and backwards compatibility. The only annoyance we experienced with
the card was the inability of the included software to automatically connect to
wireless networks, instead requiring the SSID to be typed manually. On the
whole though, the GN-WMAG is Recommended.
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