I've been pondering an article like this for a while but the logistics of getting everything in-house and testing never really came together. After completing my last round of articles, I suddenly realized I had all of the wireless NICs in-house that come in modern motherboards and laptops, apart from the Killer 1535, which easily enough was sent over to be included after emailing Rivet Networks. Like you, I too am a member of a few tech forums, some I frequent more than others but alas many have a thread titled "best Wi-Fi for laptop" or "upgrade laptop Wi-Fi." It's no secret, not all Wi-Fi NICs are created equal - some notebook and motherboard vendors choose to take a cheaper route with 1x1 solutions while you will find the majority using 2x2 solutions from Qualcomm or Intel. Since breaking away from Qualcomm, Rivet Networks has reinvented the Killer brand to be more than a marketing slogan on a box, pushing their Prioritization engine into routers with the WRT32x.