Wireless Card for G5 Tower ....?

[fab5freddy]

i have to get a wireless Wifi card or wireless USB stick for
my 2.5 Quad G5 Tower.

What are the best options for me ?
Should i get a USB wireless stick from OWC
or should i get an internal Wifi Card ?

Can i use the latest PCI Express Extreme WiFi card on an old G5 Tower ?

thanks for any tips...!

 

[JG271]

I'd get a pci card if i were you, and you have a spare slot. Buy any one with the broadcom chipset and that'll work natively under mac osx(it sees it as an airport card).

 

[wbgallagher]

Hello fab5freddy,

In July, I purchased this:
NewerTech MaxPower 802.11n/g/b PCI ADPT Newer Technology MAXPower 802.11n/g/b Wireless PCI Adapter with external antenna base S/N: 3810666 1 1 $49.99

from OWC. It works, but... I need to start the program each time, and select the channel I want.. Not very convenient. So,...

I'd recommend you pay attention to JG271 comment about the broadcom chipset if you can. Wish I had had his advice before buying...

Respectfully,
B.Gallagher

 

[fab5freddy]

thanks for the advice .

 

[4np]

Just a question; why would you want a WiFi card for your PowerMac? If you have wired devices (like a server, a SAN or a NAS, a wired network, etc) wired is still much faster and it's more secure (using WiFi makes it much easier for hackers to enter your network). Especially if you're able to use Gigabit ethernet. So if you really really really do not have the possibility to use a proper UTP cable you could try to use WiFi instead.

 

[OrangeSVTguy]

You can use an Airport Extreme card. I took the one out of my dead iBook G4 and it works great. You will have to buy an external antenna as the aluminum does kill the reception unless you have your side panel off. I have a ghetto-rigged antenna that I made and works excellent, just until I can get a real OEM antenna. With the antenna and APE card, it will cost you around $40-$50. It might be cheaper to go with a PCI card as mentioned above.

 

[Earl Urly]

PCI card won't go into his Quad G5, PCI-Express slots only

 

[zmttoxics]

You can use an Airport Extreme card. I took the one out of my dead iBook G4 and it works great. You will have to buy an external antenna as the aluminum does kill the reception unless you have your side panel off. I have a ghetto-rigged antenna that I made and works excellent, just until I can get a real OEM antenna. With the antenna and APE card, it will cost you around $40-$50. It might be cheaper to go with a PCI card as mentioned above.

You can't in the PCI-E G5s. You need a run-way card and special mounts. The cost with all parts in total after tax and what not is around 200 (I've been looking for one for a while).

A better solution may be to get an external wifi access point and use it as a relay with a direct Ethernet connection to your G5. Or one of those USB sticks.