I know it's chump change, but hey I'm curious... Do you think it's just a waste of money? Or does it actually come in handy? Is it useful to you?
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Is a wireless card in a MP a waste of extra $?
- Thread starter AppleWorking
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I've never once used the wireless built into my Mac Mini, I have ethernet cables running through my house, but you never know. For the extra £30 or whatever it was, I got one in my config.
Shame it's extra (I mean, it really should be included, considering how much I'm already spending), but the card is 802.11n, so future proofed, and you just never know when it's going to come in handy.
Shame it's extra (I mean, it really should be included, considering how much I'm already spending), but the card is 802.11n, so future proofed, and you just never know when it's going to come in handy.
They can't just include it, because many government and private labs and such do not allow wireless networking hardware, even if it's turned off. Same reason they'd be out of their minds to build a camera into the 30" Cinema Display.
That having been said, I wouldn't have a problem with it being a deletable option, so you can REMOVE $50 from the machine price by deleting it.
I can see them doing that and raising the price of the machine $50, so they still make money!
before i bought my mac pro, i thought it was a waste....
until i needed a wireless connection. then it was a HUGE hassle to track down the card, since i have the original mac pro and the card wasn't in stock anywhere. I swear I found the only Apple Authorized Shop in the Minneapolis area that had it. $50 for the card, and $60 for the install.
In hindsight, I should've just forked over the extra $50 when i bought the machine.
until i needed a wireless connection. then it was a HUGE hassle to track down the card, since i have the original mac pro and the card wasn't in stock anywhere. I swear I found the only Apple Authorized Shop in the Minneapolis area that had it. $50 for the card, and $60 for the install.
In hindsight, I should've just forked over the extra $50 when i bought the machine.
You paid someone 60.00 to stick a card in a slot?
it's not readily easy to get my hands on the card in the first place, especially since it was not even being produced anymore. I had to find a shop which had new old-stock. They wouldn't sell me the card straight away. It was the only place that i could actually find the card. it's not a user-installable part. meaning that if i did it, my warranty could have been void. if i needed service and took it in, and the apple store manager was having a bad day, he could have proclaimed my warranty void.
edit: just wanted to add that i never did need service, and since i'm doing a processor upgrade today, my applecare is going to be void anyway! didn't know that then, and the fact remains that it was literally the ONLY place i found that actually had the card.
Actually, no, that's not how it works.
1. Apple Authorized Service Centers have contracts with Apple which specifically say they may not sell you service parts unless they install them. That's why they wouldn't do it.
2. If you managed to get one somewhere and install it yourself, your warranty is NOT void. HOWEVER, if the computer were damaged in the process of it being installed OR you used non-genuine parts that could be shown to have caused a failure, then that part of the warranty would no longer be valid.
Just because someone installs an Airport card doesn't mean their PSU no longer has a warranty, etc.
i never use wireless with my imac so i didn't order wireless with my mp 09... with my imac, i use the aztech homeplugs (ethernet over power) which provide more reliable/stable connections
with the airport, i frequently get lags/disconnections when i'm playing world of warcraft... something which doesn't happen when using the homeplugs
with the airport, i frequently get lags/disconnections when i'm playing world of warcraft... something which doesn't happen when using the homeplugs
Why? Theres no way your home broadband can saturate G's speed unless you work for Nasa. However N's range and dual band compatibilities make it desirable. You never know when you'll need it, even if your internet goes down and you need to hijack your neighbors wireless.
You paid someone 60.00 to stick a card in a slot?
It's not quite as simple as sticking the card in a slot. I bought one from FastMac and installed it myself. You have to remove drive bays 1 and 2 to get enough room to work. Then you find and attach the two airport antenna wires to the card (a royal pain), insert the card into the slot on the logic board and secure it with screws. Not exactly plug and play, but it works fine.
my ppc g5 had an external screw-in antenna that i think was for the airport card (which i installed myself very easily), though maybe that antenna was for bluetooth now that i think about it.
It took me about 10 seconds to install an airport extreme card in my G5 last year. It just slides right in, then you plug the antenna into the little slot. There is nothing to screw in. The little antenna you plug into the back doesn't screw in either, you just pop it in like anything else. Maybe it was a bluetooth antenna that you had to screw in for your G5.
I'm really surprised they turned such a simple install into such a pita. And I'm not sure if the airport extreme was user installable in the G5s, but an apple service center had no problem providing me with the card in it's plain white cardboard box for me to install.
I'm really surprised they turned such a simple install into such a pita. And I'm not sure if the airport extreme was user installable in the G5s, but an apple service center had no problem providing me with the card in it's plain white cardboard box for me to install.
If you have any of using it I would just get one. In my experience getting one afterward was a pain, all the local stores that sell them "have" to install it for you, which left me to find a place online. For what you are originally paying for the machine it's not much more and of all the parts they do over charge IMO it is not one of them.
I am forced to use wireless I am no where near an ethernet cable connection. But the wireless on the Mac pro is top notch. I am able to torrent and play COD4 at the same time all over wireless. My old dell couldn't even play Counter strike over wireless. So i would def. recommend the wireless card.
Wireless 'n' wasn't created for internet use. I use it to connect to a home network which includes a server and hard drives. Try running apps or video over wireless g.
I use the wireless/n with my MP and its great. Although I think my Airport Extreme has been giving me issues with downtime and needing to restart constantly.
Other than that, the wireless is fast and secure. Apple even recommends that using the wireless card is "more secure" than ethernet. Who knows how true it really is, but I love mine.
A local Apple authorized store sold me the card without requiring the installation labor. The antenna pins were a PAIN in the butt to get in, but it works great.
Other than that, the wireless is fast and secure. Apple even recommends that using the wireless card is "more secure" than ethernet. Who knows how true it really is, but I love mine.
A local Apple authorized store sold me the card without requiring the installation labor. The antenna pins were a PAIN in the butt to get in, but it works great.