Chosen Solution
My MacBook tends to get rather hot, and has often very unreliable WiFi connections. I’ve read that other people had similar problems, and that they went away when they put in a new AirPort card. It seems that there are some cards that go bad without completely failing, resulting in more heat and unreliable operations without complete failure. So in an effort to improve the situation, I’m willing to try replacing the card. Obviously, Apple has had a variety of cards over the course of various models, but most seem to be standard PCIe cards, and thus should be possible to use interchangeably. My quest is of course for the card with the best performance and the lowest power consumption, rather than for a one-to-one replacement with the same model. I can’t seem to find an overview of what cards Apple shipped with what models, which require two and which three antenna leads, and if there are any known incompatibilities with using a newer card in an older laptop. Any input or link to relevant references would be very helpful.
Try this, 5 times faster than a g card: http://fastmac.com/ncard.php
if you can provide the serial number for the machine, I can tell you the exact part number of the airport card. Also, I would rec. looking at usb wifi cards, you can get a N card for around 20-40 bucks. Much easier then opening the machine and you can use it on any USB machine. I believe this is the breakdown: The airport card 661-3890 was used in the original Macbook Pro Core Duo 2.0/2.16 machines The airport card 661-4058 was used on the Macbook Pro Core 2 Duo 2.2/2.4 Late 2007 Models The airport card 661-4594 was used on the Macbook Pro Core 2 Duo 2.5/2.5/2.6 Early 2008 models Update just to clarify, I think the airport extreme card from apple is the best option. However, it’s not the only one and I was just giving an example of another option.
Look for this PCI-E card: Assembled in China Model: AR5BXB112 FCC ID: PPD-AR5BXB112 IC: 4104A-AR5BXB112 OS X Lion supports this card. This is the card found in the Apple iMac 27" (2011). If this is not the newest card that Apple uses, it is very close to being the newest. It does not matter that the wireless card is much newer than the computer, so long as you are running OS X Lion or newer, and you have a system with three (3) antenna leads for 802.11n. If you search the usual places, including iFixit, you will find it at a decent price. I know what I am talking about. I just installed an AR5BXB112 in my MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo Late 2006. I should also add that I could not have done it without the excellent guide on iFixit: Installing MacBook Pro 15" Core 2 Duo Model A1211 Airport Extreme. Thanks for all the great help on this site!
