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802.11AC upgrade

boomhower

boomhower

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Oct 21, 2011
1,570
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When that is finalized will anyone make upgrade kits? I'm new to the mac world. In the PC world the wireless cards were replaceable. It isn't always easy but you can get to them. Is this possible in the Mac world or are they soldered on? AC really really interests me. I'll do a dongle if I have to but really don't want to.
 
boomhower said:
When that is finalized will anyone make upgrade kits? I'm new to the mac world. In the PC world the wireless cards were replaceable. It isn't always easy but you can get to them. Is this possible in the Mac world or are they soldered on? AC really really interests me. I'll do a dongle if I have to but really don't want to.
Click to expand...
They're not upgradable in Mac notebooks.
 
boomhower said:
When that is finalized will anyone make upgrade kits? I'm new to the mac world. In the PC world the wireless cards were replaceable. It isn't always easy but you can get to them. Is this possible in the Mac world or are they soldered on? AC really really interests me. I'll do a dongle if I have to but really don't want to.
Click to expand...

According to iFixit, they are removable.
 

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boomhower said:
When that is finalized will anyone make upgrade kits? I'm new to the mac world. In the PC world the wireless cards were replaceable. It isn't always easy but you can get to them. Is this possible in the Mac world or are they soldered on? AC really really interests me. I'll do a dongle if I have to but really don't want to.
Click to expand...

Why are you so determined to 802.11ac anyway?

What service do you consume that will utilise the (theoretical) additional throughput?
 
GGJstudios said:
They're not upgradable in Mac notebooks.
Click to expand...

According to multiple ifixit teardown, the wi-fi card is just that, a card.

For most Mac it's not a "standard" mini pci-e, but I'm guessing if there is enough interest someone will make one, like they did for the MBA ssd.

Anyway by the time AC become widespread enough, it might be more practical to just sell your old laptop and get a new one.
 
JasonH42 said:
Why are you so determined to 802.11ac anyway?

What service do you consume that will utilise the (theoretical) additional throughput?
Click to expand...

Back-ups mainly. My router is full. So every time I want to do a backup I have to pull out the playstation or something else to plug up. Larger transfers between computers as well.
 
JasonH42 said:
Why are you so determined to 802.11ac anyway?

What service do you consume that will utilise the (theoretical) additional throughput?
Click to expand...

I am with boomhover. If this is a upgradable, I will take it any day. 802.11ac will truely replace the 1gigabit wire. I store all raw photo in my NAS. I have to use the wired network when do photo. Wireless is useless. I am hoping AC will allow me to be totally wireless. If not, thunderbolt will be my next solution. It's still too expensive for now.
 
boomhower said:
Wired is faster with lower latency, particularly important for gaming.
Click to expand...

The latency difference between a strong wireless signal and a wired connection is negligible. Do a couple traceroutes in terminal wired and then wireless. I did this test years ago back on wireless-g and the difference was like 2-4ms... so basically nothing. As far as reliability, disconnections are a thing of the past with wireless routers. Get a decent router and you'll never have to reset it. I've had my airport extreme for years and have never had to reset it. The only reason to use a wired connection nowadays is for lan transfers where that gigabit speed is actually useful. Wireless is doing a good job of keeping up with the speeds that ISPs are providing.

This is exactly why Apple is dropping Ethernet ports in their laptops. It has one use, and probably 10% of consumers know how to do gigabit transfers over LAN. 1% probably ACTUALLY use it (and for those people there is an adapter. However, 50% of people will complain about it.
 
the thing it depends on materials of the building even inside that can cause havoc with wireless signals and with 802.11 ac the wavelengths are even tighter so it might be worse than a,b,g,n for wireless throughput
 
Netgear is putting out a USB AC card for $70 in August, if you NEED it.

Who knows, maybe there will be a rMBP update in the winter or spring that will have it. I think I'll wait until then anyway, my 2010 i7 is doing good.
 
It'll be amazing if we ever get Internet fast enough to fully utilize AC. could you image getting 800mbs dl?!

I'm lucky to get 10mbs at best
 
b_scott said:
Netgear is putting out a USB AC card for $70 in August, if you NEED it.

Who knows, maybe there will be a rMBP update in the winter or spring that will have it. I think I'll wait until then anyway, my 2010 i7 is doing good.
Click to expand...

Would ISPs need to give out new routers for AC?
 
You are really limited to ISP. But, what you will get is the performance for your internal network. Local file transfer, accessing your photo, video wirelessly, that is really what i am looking for.
 
JasonQG said:
It has happened before:
http://www.ifixit.com/MacBook-Parts/MacBook-802-11n-Airport-Extreme-Card/IF185-038
Click to expand...
The difference is that the card you linked to is a Mini-PCIe card. It's a standard form-factor. Unfortunately, Apple is not using the Mini-PCIe form factor and connector any longer within the rMBP. The new card is a completely proprietary design.

The only way this is going to be upgradeable in the future is if a refreshed rMBP with 802.11ac comes out AND Apple ends up using the exact same form factor for the ac card. Since it is already proprietary, it's conceivable that Apple could change things between the current design and the next one. If that's the case, then you should be able to drop in one of those cards into your "old" rMBP, assuming you can get hold of one.

-- Nathan
 
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