airport extreme wifi card

[jetjaguar]

im looking into installing one of these in my mac pro and i have question ..
normally i get my stuff from macsales but they want 89.99 for it.
I searched ebay and they have a bunch for like 20 dollars that are
802.11n as well .. whats the difference ?

example

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Apple/6615048K/

and

http://cgi.ebay.com/Apple-Airport-Extreme-WiFi-Card-802-11N-MacBook-Mac-Pro-/180536478383?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a08d00aaf

i want decent speed but would rather not pay 90 dollars if i dont have to

 

[666sheep]

This from OWC is AP/BT combo for Macbook. It might not work with MP, because MP has separate BT board with its own connector. Besides, BT antenna plug in 4.1 is located at opposite side of logic board (to AP mini PCIe slot).

Second one is AP only for 1.1, 2.1 MP. It could be incompatible with 4.1 you have, but I could be wrong here.

You need this: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/682954-REG/Apple_MB988Z_A_AirPort_Extreme_Card_for.html

 

[jetjaguar]

thank you

 

[CaptainChunk]

From what I've gathered, the AP card used by 2006-2008 Mac Pros are not compatible with the 2009 Mac Pro.

But in any case, the appropriate part number for your Mac Pro would be MB988LL/A. Your local Apple Store or AASP should be able to install one, for a fee.

 

[jetjaguar]

i have no problem installing it myself .. just needed to know which one to get

 

[eponym]

Just an FYI: as far as I know, it's not a user-installable option. Doing it yourself voids the warranty.

 

[CaptainChunk]

Just an FYI: as far as I know, it's not a user-installable option. Doing it yourself voids the warranty.

It never voided the warranty on my 2008 MP - and it's been in for service a couple of times. In fact, the only reason I even installed an AP card myself was because the Apple Store refused to order the card when I tried to get it done "the right way". So, I bought it from a 3rd-party supplier (J&R, if I recall) and cursed for a couple of hours getting the antenna wires to attach to the tiny connectors. But everything worked out just fine in the end.

But yes, this is a gray area. You can potentially void your warranty if you screw up and break the fragile antenna wires that need to attach to the mini-coax connectors on the card. Proceed at your own risk.

 

[jetjaguar]

i just dont feel like lugging the mac pro in .. i think they charge like 50-80 dollars for installation and then whatever the cost of the card from them

 

[666sheep]

Installation is easy - unless you got big hands
See attachment.

 

[CaptainChunk]

i just dont feel like lugging the mac pro in .. i think they charge like 50-80 dollars for installation and then whatever the cost of the card from them

I'm not sure Apple charges (if anything) to install an AP card. All I know is that about a year prior to installing my AP card (which I was forced to do myself, per my previous post), I took my brother's 2006 quad-core 2.66 into the Apple Store and they installed the AP card for free. I just had to pay the $45 for the card.

It's best to call and ask.