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How do I shop for an adapter by chipset.


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I just successfully installed my first build using a retail 10.6 DVD following a guide I found on the Internet. The process went pretty smoothly until now that I am trying to find a wireless ethernet adapter.

 

I have been looking through this forum, the wiki site and Google all day long trying to get one and this seems to be a lot more complicated than the everything else so far, combined.

 

Here are the general problems for a beginner like me.

 

  1. Manufacturers brand devices with different chipsets under the same model name. One example of this is Broadcom F5D7050. I went to the local electronic store and found one. On the box, there was no way for me to tell whether it's a v2000 which is compatible, or v3000 which may not be. I asked the salesman and he was completely clueless on what I was talking about.
  2. No online stores that I use let me search for a product by chipset.
  3. So I went to Google and started typing things like "rt2700 wireless." Not only are usefully results scarce. When I find something, and go back to the manufacturers website, I would find that multiple versions of the device is available and not necessary use the same chipsets. (This took me back to #1)
  4. I found a topic that talked about Edimax being a good aftermarket wireless device manufacturer for Macs. I went on there website, searched through the products and for the first time, found officially stated support for Mac OS on product details page. But by then I have browsed enough of this forum to know that devices are not always backward compatible, that Edimax's stated support for 10.5.4 does not necessarily mean it would work for 10.6.

Any suggestion on how I should proceed? Such as point out a model that does not have multiple versions or all the versions are based on supported chipset?

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