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I have a HP6510 notebook and I need to switch to a better Mini PCI Express wireless card. I have two antenna cables in my notebook, and I want to buy an Intel 4965 WiFi card.

Can I use a wireless Mini-PCI Express card that has 3 antennas and I only have 2 antennas?

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up vote 6 down vote accepted


The point of multi aerials is to get a better signal as they are usually spread out across different points.

Personally and just imho, I have used many different configurations and I find that the cards designed for multiple inputs are usually of higher quality, and you will get better reception using one with some empty ports than smaller cards that are full. (drivers/software aside).

Just remember to plug in 1/2 and leave 3 out otherwise you may have problems... but, I highly doubt it.

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In the off chance you have any issues @gaskopeter, antennas are pretty cheap for that application: example. –  nerdwaller Dec 18 '12 at 20:17
You will likely not get as good of a signal, but still better than the existing wifi. –  Joshua Nurczyk Dec 18 '12 at 21:53
@nerdwaller that's not the appropriate type of antenna for this application, which require internal laptop antenna, e.g. amazon.com/Notebook-Bluetooth-Broadband-Internal-Antenna/dp/… –  ernie Dec 18 '12 at 23:19
@ernie Thanks! For some reason I was thinking PCI 1x, my mistake. Fortunately, still pretty cheap :D –  nerdwaller Dec 19 '12 at 1:42
does it matter that which cable (from the available two) will I plug in in 1 and 2 on the card? can there be problem if I swap the cables, like: 2&1? –  gasko peter Dec 19 '12 at 10:49

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