I got my Mac Pro in 2009, and I was didn't need a wireless card at the time, so didn't get one for it to save a few bucks. Now I need one, and was wondering what options I have. Do I have to get the Airport Extreme card, or can I use a different one that's cheaper? Kinda like the video cards?
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Wireless Cards for 2009 Mac Pro?
- Thread starter CBell
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Take a USB stick. The internal cards are said to have a comparably weak reception, cost much more and if you're unlucky the Antenna is not present in the computer as it should (can e.g. happen on refurb machines).
Sometimes you can use the cheapest PC USB stick, even if it offers no OSX support officially. Just find out which chip is used (google the exact part number) and take a look at the chip manufacturer homepage if driver support is offered. Did this with a 54MBit-hardware from Belkin a few years ago and it worked like a charme over months...
Sometimes you can use the cheapest PC USB stick, even if it offers no OSX support officially. Just find out which chip is used (google the exact part number) and take a look at the chip manufacturer homepage if driver support is offered. Did this with a 54MBit-hardware from Belkin a few years ago and it worked like a charme over months...
There is a wide selection of Mac-compatible solutions here:
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/wireless/
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/wireless/
I used the card from a Santa Rosa MBP with a dead 8600m GT in a 2006 1.1. Same as;
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Apple/6615048K/
It had excellent reception. The 2009 MP has an upgraded dual band airport card but i think the older n ones would still work ok.
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Apple/6615048K/
It had excellent reception. The 2009 MP has an upgraded dual band airport card but i think the older n ones would still work ok.
I've never had any problems with the antenna reception in my 2008 Mac Pro. I just bought the AirPort card online and installed it myself (it's not too hard). There's no need in wasting a USB port or expansion slot when there's already a dedicated slot waiting to be used on the logic board.
I had a tiny cheapo USB stick (Airlink Wireless 101 or something) until recently where the drivers started to cause trouble. Plus the reception and the transfer rate were not great. Decided to go with a PCI card and after a little research I found that this one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833704133
was going to be recognized as an airport card. Bought it a few weeks ago and it has been working great ! Would definitely recommend it !
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833704133
was going to be recognized as an airport card. Bought it a few weeks ago and it has been working great ! Would definitely recommend it !
The Apple wireless adapter is only about $50 which isn't very expensive. The computer is prewired, so it's really just plug and play.
This is where I got mine:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/682954-REG/Apple_MB988Z_A_AirPort_Extreme_Card_for.html
This is where I got mine:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/682954-REG/Apple_MB988Z_A_AirPort_Extreme_Card_for.html
For some reason I thought they were more expensive. $50 is actually pretty reasonable. Thanks for the link, I ended up ordering one from there.
Just a heads up: Make sure you install it with the computer lying on its side, not upright. This will make things like putting the screws in much easier.