How to Upgrade a Core Duo-based MacBook to Support WiFi 802.11n
2007-02-19par Lionel
Procedure and Tests
Introduction
With the introduction of AirPort Extreme 802.11n base stations, Apple announced that the majority of its current machines are compatible with the draft of that standard via a drive update. On the other hand, the MacBook and MacBook Pro Core Duo aren't likely to get compatible Airport modules. For Apple, these machines are condemned to always remain at 802.11g.
This is even more annoying if you buy one of the new base stations and decide to run in a mixed g and n wireless mode, because in this instance the performance in g will be degraded. Being in this exact situation, we decided to look at the possibility of placing a 802.11n card in a MacBook Core Duo. Though there was one problem: The Core 2 Duo models now have 3 antennas instead of the 2 in the preceding models. We were worried about having problems as a result of finding a module with 3 antenna connections and leaving one vacant.
So we were shocked to find that the MacPro's Airport card which is also 802.11n compatible had only 2 antennas.
The module on the right is from a MacPro, and the one on the left comes from a MacBook Core Duo.
As you can see, the two modules are both PCI Express 1x, with the same size and the same connections.
There's nothing left to do except to dismantle the MacBook to see if the switch will work.
With the introduction of AirPort Extreme 802.11n base stations, Apple announced that the majority of its current machines are compatible with the draft of that standard via a drive update. On the other hand, the MacBook and MacBook Pro Core Duo aren't likely to get compatible Airport modules. For Apple, these machines are condemned to always remain at 802.11g.
This is even more annoying if you buy one of the new base stations and decide to run in a mixed g and n wireless mode, because in this instance the performance in g will be degraded. Being in this exact situation, we decided to look at the possibility of placing a 802.11n card in a MacBook Core Duo. Though there was one problem: The Core 2 Duo models now have 3 antennas instead of the 2 in the preceding models. We were worried about having problems as a result of finding a module with 3 antenna connections and leaving one vacant.
So we were shocked to find that the MacPro's Airport card which is also 802.11n compatible had only 2 antennas.
The module on the right is from a MacPro, and the one on the left comes from a MacBook Core Duo.
As you can see, the two modules are both PCI Express 1x, with the same size and the same connections.
There's nothing left to do except to dismantle the MacBook to see if the switch will work.
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