Which Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC cards is supported by motherboard w/intel i7-6500u

[Elddo]

Hi,

I need support here, I have a Dell Inspirion 5559 laptop with motherboard w/intel i7-6500u s

1. My original Wi-Fi card is intel dual band wireless ac3160.

I want to upgrade the Wi-Fi card to the newest and the best that is supported by this motherboard and will have the fastest Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. 

2. I Also notice that with the LAN cable my internet speed is very much slower that with Wi-Fi! believe it or not.

So I need another advice about what should I replace in my laptop to make the internet connection faster.

Thank in advance

Eldd

[n_scott_pearson]

It depends upon whether you have the 3160NGW or 3160HMW card...

• If you have the 3160NGW card, then the top replacement would be the AX210 card. In addition to Wireless-AX, WiFi 6E and BT 5.2 support, this card can give you up to 2400Mb/s throughput.
• If you have the 3160HMW card, the the top Intel replacement would be the Wireless-AC 7265 (the 7265HMW card, that is). This would up your possible throughput to 867 Mb/s.
• If you have the 3160HMW card and are willing to consider third-party cards, there are some available that utilize Intel's AX200 or AX210 silicon and drivers. Here are examples: Third-party AX200 HMW Card and Third-party AX210 HMW Card. 

Now, this all depends on whether or not Dell has placed any obstacles - such as exclusion or inclusion lists - in the way of you upgrading yourself.

As for your Ethernet throughput issues, they don't make much sense. I would first be looking for a driver issue (try uninstalling and then reinstalling). If that doesn't work out, you could try adding an PCIe Ethernet card. For example, TP-Link TG-3468 Gigabit Ethernet PCIe Network Card or Realtek RT8111C Gigabit Ethernet PCIe Network Card.  

Hope this helps,

...S

[Elddo]

Thank you so much,
About the Intel Centrino Wireless-AC 3160 + Bluetooth 4.0 card, how may I know which type is it -
3160NGW? Or 3160HMW?
As for the Ethernet, it is much slower, see the details from @megan3000 answer.

[megan3000]

Regarding the low speed with Ethernet, when I checked online for this laptop model Inspirion 5559 I can see it just comes with a "fast ethernet" controller (10/100Mbps)... so comparing this with the Max speed of the AC 3160 (around 400Mbps) it would explain the difference in speed... And thus, I think this doesn't look like a driver issue...

https://downloads.dell.com/manuals/all-products/esuprt_laptop/esuprt_inspiron_laptop/inspiron-15-5559-laptop_reference%20guide_en-us.pdf

Because this is a laptop, it won't be possible to install the PCI Express Network Card, but, your laptop has one USB 3.0 port, so you may use it to plug in a USB to Ethernet Adapter. Look for one that is 1.0Gbps (1000Mbps) or 2.5Gbps... There are a variety of options out there. As an example, I'm sharing the first result I got searching one of these on amazon

https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Ethernet-UE306-Foldable-10-11-10-15/dp/B09GRL3VCN/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=usb+ethernet+adapter&qid=1656116597&sprefix=USB+et%2Caps%2C157&sr=8-3

Remember, to achieve Ethernet gigabit speeds, your network cable needs to support it. Although it is said that "good quality" UTP cables cat 5e should do the job, I would go for a UTP cable cat 6

Here, you may learn more about UTP categories

https://www.firewall.cx/networking-topics/cabling-utp-fibre/112-network-cabling-utp.html

Megan ♥

[Elddo]

Thank you Megan for your answer !
Is your solution for the USB to Ethernet Adapter is because the Ethernet came on the motherboard ?
Maybe a silly question but should I replace to a newer motherboard (?) is that possible ?

As for the wireless card (my internet package speed is now 1GB), I read today from an answer in *2018-20 that I should use Wireless-AC 8265 or 9260 / or the AX200.

Ty

[n_scott_pearson]

Megan is correct; I totally missed the 10/100-only Ethernet. I assumed (poorly) that with GB Ethernet shipping for a couple of years beforehand, no solution, however cheap, would stick you with only 10/100 support. Me bad.

From what I can see, you have the 3160NGW. Your choices for upgrade include, AC7265 (866Mb/s), AC8265 (866Mb/s), AC9260 (1733Mb/s), AX200 (WiFi 6, 2400Mb/s) or AX210 (WiFi 6E, 2400Mb/s). My personal opinion? These are all priced pretty much the same; you might as well go for AX200 or AX210.

...S

[Elddo]

Thank you.

If possible I will replace the Motherboard for fast Ethernet also (I'm not a hardware man), that instead of an external Ethernet Adapter.

[n_scott_pearson]

Frankly, you are likely looking at the purchase of a new laptop. Replacing the laptop's motherboard - especially in a 7-year-old laptop - is likely out of the question.

...S