Best wireless: PC Cardbus or AirPort card?

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
Have people found wireless surfing to be better using the PC card slot of your PB or the built in Airport Card?



The downside of the PC card slot I suppose, is if you need to download photos from a CF Card.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 5
    I hear that the AirPort reception of the new AlBooks is pretty good (at least compared to the old TiBooks) I would just go for the AirPort card, you won't ever have to worry about it, beyond the installation at least. Like you said, you may have to remove a PC card eventually for one reason or another,
  • Reply 2 of 5
    From personal experience in a 15" TiBook, and a 12" AlBook a PCMIA wireless card gets much better reception. The metal Ti and Al cases are natural insulators to wireless signal - no matter where they put the antennae, and how the position the little holes the antennae get their signal through, it will never be able to compete with a card which isn't surrounded by metal.



    I also have found Apple's base station (at least the 802.11b version) to have much worse range than third party solutions (again with external antennae). Form doesn't always follow function at Apple...
  • Reply 3 of 5
    ast3r3xast3r3x Posts: 5,012member
    I have a D-Link 614+ wireless router and it works very well with my AirPort card.



    It only gives me problems when I try to go through 3 walls (one brick), or my metal garage door. Other wise it is very good, and going though just one wall I can get almost 100 yards away from my house before I loose my signal.



    I can't imagine with a wireless card how awesome it would be to be able to go even further!
  • Reply 4 of 5
    regreg Posts: 832member
    The reception on my old Ti 500 was terrible about 1/2 of what I get now with a PB 17. I prefer the airport card because I don't like having to take the pcmcia card out to put your laptop back into its sleeve or case. I have a work laptop ( dell ) and I have to take the card out to transport it around. But it is still easier than having to be limited by a ethernet cable.



    reg
  • Reply 5 of 5
    rbrrbr Posts: 631member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by The Pie Man

    From personal experience in a 15" TiBook, and a 12" AlBook a PCMIA wireless card gets much better reception. The metal Ti and Al cases are natural insulators to wireless signal - no matter where they put the antennae, and how the position the little holes the antennae get their signal through, it will never be able to compete with a card which isn't surrounded by metal.



    I also have found Apple's base station (at least the 802.11b version) to have much worse range than third party solutions (again with external antennae). Form doesn't always follow function at Apple...




    Actually, you might have said that form seldom follows function at Apple. Just look at all of the junky cases that Apple has produced...I can hear the screams of people saying how great their Power Macs look compared to a PC case...the truth, as much as it might hurt to admit it, is that most of the cases Apple have produced are very lacking in functional capability. My G4 tower, if competently designed, would have a great deal more expandability and flexibility in its configuration. It looks like it was designed by a moron...perhaps it was. Just what kind of idiot puts a tiny little speaker right in the middle of what should be useful space for storage of drives and so on? Don't even start me on the airport slot/bus design.
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