Different firmware versions needed on network

[psamuels]

I am working in a school environment with several different models of Dell laptop computers. The newer computers work best with the latest version of our 3COM 7760 firmware (v. 1.6.41), but the majority of our computers work best with the original version of the AP firmware (1.6.34). (I tried updating the wireless adapter firmware on the older computers, but this made no difference.) The current solution is to have one AP in the vicinity of the newer computers running version 1.6.41 of the AP firmware, but all other 10 AP's running version 1.6.34. This works, but the trade-off is a significant drop in speed for the older machines. Should I just accept this drop in speed, or is there hope that the access points can run different versions of the firmware and the computers can be forced to deal with this without compromising speed?