Correct Airport card for a Mac Pro

[CubeHacker]

I'm running at Mac Pro 2008 (3,1) machine that was never upgraded to wireless. Well, its almost 2016 and its about time I do so. I've been looking online trying to find the right card to purchase, but it seems more complicated than the Powermac days of Airport and Airport Extreme cards.

I'm finding several cards on the 'bay dated between 2006 and 2009, ones with two, three, and even four antenna ports, and some that appear to be "non OEM" cards but claim to work in a mac pro. Which is the best one for a 2008 model, and do some models have advantages over others?

For the record, the mac pro already has bluetooth installed so thats a non issue.

 

[Kaspin]

You can get newer one that has 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.0 that supports the new features like Handoff and continuity.
Reference this thread: https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...working-on-mac-pro-2010-keep-updating.1748061

Look for BCM94360CD and you'll need a mini pci-e adapter. Since you have a 3,1, you won't need to mess with the extra USB wires for the bluetooth part like the 4,1 and 5,1 needs.

 

[CubeHacker]

Thanks for the information Kaspin. I don't plan on running Yosemite or higher any time soon, so I don't currently have a need for Handoff, nor do I have a router that supports 802.11ac. I would be fine with standard N.

 

[Kaspin]

apple# MB988Z/A (BCM94322MC) will do N