Draft-n products flooded the market starting 2006. Broadcom’s adapters appeared in laptops. Apple’s MacBook Pro (late 2006) used a Broadcom BCM4321-based AirPort Extreme card.
| Chipset | Typical Product Name | Max Speed | MIMO | Bands | Notes | |---------|---------------------|-----------|------|-------|-------| | BCM4312 | Broadcom 802.11n | 150-300 Mbps | 1x1 or 2x2 | 2.4 GHz only | Low-power, cheap — used in many netbooks | | BCM4322 | Broadcom 802.11n | 300 Mbps | 2x2 | 2.4/5 GHz dual-band | Very common in 2008–2012 laptops | | BCM43224 | Broadcom 802.11n | 300 Mbps | 2x2 | Dual-band + Bluetooth 3.0 | Combo card, used in MacBook Pro (2011-2012) | | BCM43225 | Broadcom 802.11n | 300 Mbps | 2x2 | Dual-band | Lower cost variant | | BCM4313 | Broadcom 802.11n | 150 Mbps | 1x1 | 2.4 GHz only | Single-stream, budget laptops | | BCM4331 | Broadcom 802.11n | 450 Mbps | 3x3 | Dual-band | High-end, MacBook Pro Retina (2012) | broadcom 802.11n network adapter
The Broadcom 802.11n network adapter is suitable for a wide range of applications, including: Draft-n products flooded the market starting 2006
But chipmakers, led by Broadcom, didn't wait. | Chipset | Typical Product Name | Max
Here is a quick checklist to see if you need an upgrade:
Windows often installs a generic driver for Broadcom adapters. While this gets you online, it is rarely optimized for stability.