Which airport card for my eMac?
I am moving an eMac which is now connected to a router with an ethernet cable to another room and am in need of a wireless connection. I am hoping to buy a wireless card on eBay to provide the wireless capability. The specifications in various apple kb documents are confusing and appear to be somewhat inconsistent. My eMac specifications from the System Profiler are:
Machine Model: eMac
CPU Type: PowerPC G4 (3.3)
Number Of CPUs: 1
CPU Speed: 1 GHz
L2 Cache (per CPU): 256 KB
Memory: 512 MB
Bus Speed: 133 MHz
Boot ROM Version: 4.6.4f1
Sales Order Number: F9252LL/A
This unit is a variation of Order Number M8950LL/A. See http://support.apple.com/kb/SP98 for Apple specifications. These specifications state "Wireless(5): Airport Extreme ready". Footnote (5) provides further information which refers only to Airport Extreme. The statement under Communications is "Built-in antennas and expansion slot for optional 54-Mbps AirPort Extreme Card (5)". There is no mention of compatibility or readiness for the AirPort Card anywhere in the specifications.
The compatibility for the AirPort Card (see http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1621) states that "The Apple AirPort Card (Figure 1) can be installed in the following Macs: eMac" without exception. On the other hand, the compatibility for the Airport Extreme Card (see http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3024?) states, "When sold separately, the AirPort Extreme Card (Figure 1) requires one of these computers:
• eMac (USB 2.0)
• eMac (ATI Graphics) (See Note) — which reads "An eMac (ATI Graphics) computer without a SuperDrive may be able to start up in Mac OS 9. If the computer is started up in Mac OS 9, you cannot use the AirPort Extreme Card. To regain use of the AirPort Extreme Card, start the computer up in Mac OS X 10.2.3 or later.""
My eMac has ATI Graphics but not USB 2.0 (has USB 1.1).
The installation guide for the AirPort Card in the eMac (see http://manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/emac-airport.pdf) shows a built-in connector that appears to be compatible with the AirPort Card, but perhaps not with the Airport Extreme Card.
The installation guide for the Airport Extreme Card in the eMac (see http://manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/apexc.pdf) refers only to "eMac (ATI Graphics) and eMac (USB 2.0) AirPort Extreme Card", and states at page 5 "The original AirPort Card can not be used in this computer.You must use the AirPort Extreme card."
I have also checked the Apple Discussions. They seem to indicate that I need the Airport Extreme Card.
My conclusion is that the Airport Extreme Card is compatible with my eMac and that the AirPort Card will not work.
I would appreciate confirmation of this conclusion or further information. Thanks.
DLN
Machine Model: eMac
CPU Type: PowerPC G4 (3.3)
Number Of CPUs: 1
CPU Speed: 1 GHz
L2 Cache (per CPU): 256 KB
Memory: 512 MB
Bus Speed: 133 MHz
Boot ROM Version: 4.6.4f1
Sales Order Number: F9252LL/A
This unit is a variation of Order Number M8950LL/A. See http://support.apple.com/kb/SP98 for Apple specifications. These specifications state "Wireless(5): Airport Extreme ready". Footnote (5) provides further information which refers only to Airport Extreme. The statement under Communications is "Built-in antennas and expansion slot for optional 54-Mbps AirPort Extreme Card (5)". There is no mention of compatibility or readiness for the AirPort Card anywhere in the specifications.
The compatibility for the AirPort Card (see http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1621) states that "The Apple AirPort Card (Figure 1) can be installed in the following Macs: eMac" without exception. On the other hand, the compatibility for the Airport Extreme Card (see http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3024?) states, "When sold separately, the AirPort Extreme Card (Figure 1) requires one of these computers:
• eMac (USB 2.0)
• eMac (ATI Graphics) (See Note) — which reads "An eMac (ATI Graphics) computer without a SuperDrive may be able to start up in Mac OS 9. If the computer is started up in Mac OS 9, you cannot use the AirPort Extreme Card. To regain use of the AirPort Extreme Card, start the computer up in Mac OS X 10.2.3 or later.""
My eMac has ATI Graphics but not USB 2.0 (has USB 1.1).
The installation guide for the AirPort Card in the eMac (see http://manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/emac-airport.pdf) shows a built-in connector that appears to be compatible with the AirPort Card, but perhaps not with the Airport Extreme Card.
The installation guide for the Airport Extreme Card in the eMac (see http://manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/apexc.pdf) refers only to "eMac (ATI Graphics) and eMac (USB 2.0) AirPort Extreme Card", and states at page 5 "The original AirPort Card can not be used in this computer.You must use the AirPort Extreme card."
I have also checked the Apple Discussions. They seem to indicate that I need the Airport Extreme Card.
My conclusion is that the Airport Extreme Card is compatible with my eMac and that the AirPort Card will not work.
I would appreciate confirmation of this conclusion or further information. Thanks.
DLN
eMac, Mac OS X (10.3.x), internet via router
