Airport or Airport Extreme card for G4?

Question

Airport or Airport Extreme card for G4?

I have a Power Mac G4 - 1.25 GHz Power PC G4 (Memory 768 MB DDR SDRAM), grey/silver finish.

I've recently bought a MacBook Pro and would like to wireless on the G4 too.

For the G4, do I need an AirPort card or an AirPort Extreme card?

If it's the older version AirPort card (rather than the Extreme), is this the correct one?:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Apple-Airport-Card-Network-adapter/dp/B0000899ZD

Many thanks.

Power Mac G4, MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.3.x)

Posted on Mar 23, 2008 2:52 AM

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Answer 1

japamac

Level 7

24,400 points

Mar 23, 2008 4:00 AM in response to Stockwelllion

Hi-

Welcome to Discussions!

The linked card is the standard Airport card, which the MDD G4 can use. However, if your MDD is a FW 800 model, the FW 800 is Airport Extreme compatible. Please see this document to confirm the model.
One other note, the standard Airport card is the slow 802.11b. On a wireless network, when used with faster 802.11g and 802.11n capable computers, the slower device will slow down the other devices. It would be better to consider a wireless PCI adapter that is 802.11g or 802.11n compliant for use in the MDD. This card and this card are great options.

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Answer 2

Mar 23, 2008 2:56 PM in response to japamac

Hi Japamac,

Many thanks for your advice; that's very useful.

Just to be clear regarding the wireless PCI adapters you suggest; would I need one of these AND an Airport/Airport Extreme card? (Apologies for the naive question!)

Thanks.

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Answer 3

japamac

Level 7

24,400 points

Mar 23, 2008 3:09 PM in response to Stockwelllion

Hi-

Just to be clear regarding the wireless PCI adapters you suggest; would I need one of these AND an Airport/Airport Extreme card?

No, this is in lieu of the Airport card.
The only other thing needed is a wireless router....

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Answer 4

Mar 23, 2008 4:11 PM in response to japamac

Great, thanks for clarifying. Much appreciated.

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Answer 5

Mar 29, 2008 5:28 AM in response to Stockwelllion

japamac,
I am considering seriously purchasing a pci wireless card, you suggested earlier. Working to a 1.25 Ghz MDD and a DG834 G Router. What about the signal strength ? I assume that it will show up on the status bar. Thanks for the clarification.

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Answer 6

ashism

Level 1

0 points

Mar 31, 2008 5:04 AM in response to japamac

Hi, sorry another question for a newbie. I already have a wireless network set up at home for my PC laptop, can I just add the G4 to this network if I get a wireless card for the G4, without having to buy an Apple Base Station? Thank you.

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Answer 7

Mar 31, 2008 6:03 PM in response to ashism

yes. any of the pci adapters will simply require you to install some software, shut down, install the card and reboot. I personally use the max power from newertech. It has been great for the price. The only downside i have with it is that it does not show up in the menu bar like an airport card would. its not a big deal by any means but it is worth noting for those of us who like things to look right 🙂.

on the other hand I have heard of people using generic broadcom chip based pci cards which are a bit cheaper. as seen here. http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?from=R40&_trksid=m37&satitle=pciwirelessbroadcom&category0=

I haven't used these but I have heard they work. Be sure to check with the seller for sure before diving in. 🙂.

Hope this helps a bit!

Billy

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Answer 8

Apr 1, 2008 1:08 AM in response to Billydelp4

Billy,
Does that help ? Admirably.
As I live in Mauritius and those products are a luxury and are not ready available here, I am indebted for this kind of information.
Thanks for responding

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