The only reason this card gets 2 stars is because it does work on my old sony vaio fxa32 laptop running windows 2000, but the best throughput i ever got was about 30mbps, even with the super-g router DI-624 (hardware version C).

Stay clear of h/w version B3, which is stamped on the outside of the box.

I'm not making this up... see for your self at the D-link website (they only have 1 driver for version A and C while version B has 4-5 updates). Also, just type "D-Link DWL-G650" in google groups and you'll see at least 100 posts about the same problem.

By the way, I'm getting the Linksys card. I have their router and WiFi game adapters and everything works the first time!!

Third DLINK product I've bought, third satisfactory result from them. I've also used a total of 6 wireless cards and 3 wireless routers/access points. Although DLINK isn't at the bottom of the heap, it sure hasn't performed at the top. Checkout 2WIRE (hard to get retail) or Netgear's equipment.

Installed this D-Link card and not only was the laptop now connecting immediately, but we were was able to receive the signal throughout the house and upstairs (router in basement) (about 45 feet away with many walls and other obsticles) Good job D=Link

I get great performance, and even maintain acceptable performance on the floor below where the signal must find it was way through several walls and doors. In the same room as my router I get lightening fast performance that appears to be as fast as my wired connections.

DLink provides a nice status and config tool as part of installtion, and that really eased the way into verifiying that all was operating properly. You can see signal strength and check on which wireless mode you are operating in.

One suggestion, you should enable WEP to add security and encrpytion to your wireless network. It requires changes to both your router and the wireless card(s), but its pretty simple and I did not notice a big performance impact.

If you are thinking about going wireless, this is a great card to select.

In general, the Wireless Configuration utility software that came with the DWL-G650 works fine. However, I do have some problems after I install it on my WinXp laptop due to the interference of the Wireless Zero Configuration service that comes with WinXP. Fortunately, I found an article at the DLink Technology Knowledge base to show me how to disable the WinXp service and use the utility software that came with Dlink. It's much better. It gives you broader control and better configuration with a signal strength meter. In case you run into problems with the installation of the utility, make sure your check the Dlink web site for Knowledge Base. And most importantly, upgrade to the latest firmware.

The default broadcasting channel is #6. If you have 2.4 GHz wireless phone, you might want to try either the #1 or #11 channel instead (change the setting on the router admin page). However, for the Super G mode, it only gives you the Channel #6 option. I also tried this card on my son's toy laptop (Pentium 233). It gives me the same speed as of the regular LAN Ethernet card (10/100). On my Compaq Presario laptop(PIII_1.3GHz), I can watch streaming video of news from Taiwan in my family room on the first floor. Isn't that impressive?

Then, first the router stopped working (It rebooted every 5 minutes or so) and was replaced. We had another fine week before the card started losing connection this time; The signal strength became weak and often goes to no-connection. (We have another wireless card from Lucent which is working fine, so the router is not the problem.) I called the tech support and got the following recommendations:
* Disable super-G because super-G is unstable;
* Don't update Windows because the latest Microsoft virtual device driver does not work with this card; Talk to Microsoft because this is a Microsoft problem;
* Don't move around;
* Don't use a wireless phone with the same frequency; Neighbors' wireless phones can also interfere;
* If you don't like these recommendations, just return it to the store because we can't do anything about it.

I followed their recommendation and returned it to the store.

Here is the best alternative I sware. *************Microsoft************
Yeah I was skeptical too. I haven't been the biggest Microsoft fan, but I will say that they got my vote. After this purchase I have a new respect for them. I am talking about the Microsoft BaseStation MN-700. We are talking about $same price$ and **10 min. setup**. 10 minutes is all it takes to set up the laptops and computer. For those of you who have a built in wirless card, it will work with the Microsoft. It had many problems with the D-link. D-link would work for 30 seconds, then the net shut off. Then again, and again, etc. Plus only one laptop was allowed on at a time with D-link. I call that useless. The basestation also allows you to print directly from a laptop to a printer wireless and transfer files from PC to PC. It comes with software and easy easy easy installation. It is fast. I am using it to write this review on my laptop.

Go Microsoft. Don't waste your time on D-link, there are better things to do. I heard Linksys, Netgear, and Belkin had problems. Netgear just has terrible support from what my next door neighbor told me. If you do go with D-link against my review, then don't upgrade the firmware. Good luck :)

However, the software which comes with the card, AirPlus -- to find a network and configure the card is pretty bad. One has to be logged in as an administrator all the time to use it. If you have pre-configured a profile for a particular network (having logged in as an administrator), the card will work when you are logged in as a regular user. However, there is no way to see to which network you are connected, what is the signal strength or if you are connected at all!

This is on top of the fact that the software is shipped on a CD with a virus (Dropper.Netbuser.A in autorun.exe file).

Yet the hallmark of D-Link is its tech support: a characteristic combination of incompetence and rudeness. Once you get in through a busy line, as soon as you ask them something they don't know -- and they don't know much -- they simply hang up. Happened to me 3 times. The supervisor, whose name is Joe, just tries to compensate his lack of knowledge with agressiveness.

The bottom line is -- why buy D-Link products and suffer if there are excellent products from other companies on the market?

However, I want to give readers an important tip. I was originally using a Linksys WPC54G cardbus adaptor. It worked well for a couple weeks, then stopped working all of the sudden. The reason - I don't know for certain - but my guess is ESD, Electro-Static Discharge. So be careful when handling your cardbus adaptor - treat it like you would a memory chip or PC card.

I can't give this 5 stars - too soon to tell if it is as sensitive as my old Linksys adaptor.

I can also use the software to search for active wireless access points among my location. This is helpful for when I am in an airport, or simalar hotspot.

The signal strength is always 50% or above in my home which doesn't effect my download speeds at all. I've also dropped this card a couple times and it has (knock on wood) always worked. Very Solid.

But now the speeds are even faster thanks to D-Link. All I had to do to get double the speed I used to is download and install the latest drivers. I did this and I was able to transfer files from my desktop to my laptop in half the time. I transfer files (video and MP3s) quite a bit and this extra speed for free is a great perk.

Overall this card has caused me zero problems on my XP laptop.
I'd recommend it to others who either already have a DI-624 (D-Link router that supports new fast speeds) or is looking to get an 802.11g setup.

After downloading and installing the new drivers you will notice that the card is very stable, has good signal range, and causes no problems with windows.

I have tried several other wireless cards, like us robotics, not as good as this one.