[MARINEOSX]

I was wondering if anyone knows if you can upgrade the card in powerbooks or MBP with the core duo? thanks for any help.

[rpster]

in theory you could since both have the same standardized intel connector, but the pre-n (remember, it isnt official yet!) card requires 3 antennas, where as the core duo only has two antennas.

you could possibly upgrade your display case with the c2d's and enjoy some pre-n goodness.
or just jam another antenna in there. it's all u.fl connectors, itll work, somehow...

[mduell]

Originally Posted by rpster 

in theory you could since both have the same standardized intel connector, but the pre-n (remember, it isnt official yet!) card requires 3 antennas, where as the core duo only has two antennas.

you could possibly upgrade your display case with the c2d's and enjoy some pre-n goodness.
or just jam another antenna in there. it's all u.fl connectors, itll work, somehow...

<nitpick>
It's draft n, not pre-n. Pre-n was hardware from a few companies based on an even earlier version of the standard.
</nitpick>

[Simon]

These guys have put an 802.11n card into a CD MB. They claim to have achieved 8 MB/s over 802.11n with just two antennas (they used a MP card which also only has two antenna connections).



English translation here btw: Hardmac.com: How to Upgrade a Core Duo-based MacBook to Support WiFi 802.11n

[mduell]

Originally Posted by Simon 

These guys have put an 802.11n card into a CD MB. They claim to have achieved 8 MB/s over 802.11n with just two antennas (they used a MP card which also only has two antenna connections).

So they're using the BlueTooth antenna for wifi?

[inque2284]

No, I thought they were using a Mac Pro wireless card that only required the same 2 antennas that are already in the MBP CD. I was under the impression (could be wrong of course) that bluetooth wasn't affected at all by the upgrade.

[Sophus]

Originally Posted by inque2284 

No, I thought they were using a Mac Pro wireless card that only required the same 2 antennas that are already in the MBP CD. I was under the impression (could be wrong of course) that bluetooth wasn't affected at all by the upgrade.

I did the upgrade myself yesterday on my MacBook Pro 2.16GHz Core Duo. I ordered a MacPro card, part no. M688ZM/B. It has two antenna connectors and is by the look of it identical to the original in terms of layout and connectors. Swap was no problem, following the guide at Accelerate Your Macintosh! News Page - 3/2/07. It took less than 10 minutes. A tip; you do not have to remove the cable ribbon connecting the top of the MacBook (keyboard + touchpad) to the bottom. I just placed a pencil underneath so that it would stay open, like a lid. Also, remember that aluminum is soft, if you use anything to remove the top, like a spudger, make sure it is not metal or anything else that is harder than you MacBook Pro.

Airport showed up as "n" in Network utility after the swap and installing the new airport software that came with the card.

I don't have a n-compatible router yet, but tests performed by others who have done the exact same switch indicates that both n-speed and range is excellent. Why the Core2Duos have/need three antenna connectors, I don't know. The swapped wlan card and the two antenna connectors on it has nothing to do with Bluetooth by the way.

Perfect upgrade! Now waiting for AppleTV (and will probably buy me the new Airport tomorrow (mainly for the network storage feature - backup).

[Simon]

deleted

[Edit: Never mind. Sophos already mentioned BT has nothing to do with it.]