General Discussions

[jasonhe54]

So I have an HP laptop with an AMD A8 5550M and I want to upgrade the WiFi card so it supports 802.11ac but I’ve been told it won’t work but based on looking through more forums, it says that the cpu has nothing to do with whether or not a NIC would work. So I’d like to ask if anyone knows if I will be able to use an Intel WiFi card in a AMD A8 5550M system.

the laptop is a pavilion 17 e020dx.

[elstaci · Accepted solution]

You need to open a HP Support ticket and ask them whether you are able to upgrade with an Intel WiFi card on your laptop or not.

From what I have read Intel WLan Wifi may not be compatible on AMD systems. This was mentioned in several other Forum threads.

Found this recent HP Thread concerning your laptop and upgrading the WiFi card in your laptop: https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebook-Wireless-and-Networking/Can-an-HP-expert-talk-to-me-regarding...

From above link this other link another User (expert) mentions the WiFi cards that may be compatible with your Laptop model: https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebook-Hardware-and-Upgrade-Questions/Possible-Intel-WiFi-cards/m-p/...

[leyvin]

I tend to be quite wary of the Intel Products., as they have a habit of locking them to only support Intel Chipsets / Processors.
This is especially true for Laptops that then to be highly "Optimised" (diplomatic way of saying each Producer has their own Standards that are incompatible with anything NOT from them) approach to their designs.

What I'd suggest is getting a USB WiFi Adapter.

Netgear Ac1200 Wi-Fi Usb Adapter High Gain Dual Band Usb 3.0 (A6210-100Pas): Amazon.co.uk: Computers...

That's the one I have for my Mobile Devices that don't support / have terrible WiFi.
It's excellent either if you're using it far away from the Router (say through a few walls) or in a heavy WiFi Traffic Area (say like the Train / Plane / Bus / etc.) retaining a great signal strength and speed.

It's also quite compact and robust (which is another plus for Mobile usage)., and comes with an extension adapter & caddy if you're in a stationary position (College Dorm, Office, etc.), so you can optimise where you have it.