MgB 2 precursor wires were prepared using powder in tube technique by Institute of High Pressure PAS in Warsaw. All samples were annealed under isostatic pressure generated by liquid Argon in the range from 0.3 GPa to 1 GPa. In this paper, we show the effects of different processing routes, namely, cold drawing (CD), cold rolling (CR), hot isostatic pressure (HIP) and doping on critical current density (J c), pinning force (F p), irreversible magnetic-field (B irr), critical temperature (T c), n value, and dominant pinning mechanism in MgB 2 /Fe wires with ex situ MgB 2 barrier. The results show that medium pressures ($0.35 GPa) lead to high J c in low and medium magnetic fields (0 T-9 T). On the other hand, higher pressures ($1 GPa) lead to enhanced J c in high magnetic fields (above 9 T). Transport measurements show that CD, CR, and HIP have small effects on B irr and T c , but CD, CR, HIP, and doping enhance J c and F p in in situ MgB 2 wires with ex situ MgB 2 barrier. Transport measurements on in situ undoped MgB 2 wire with ex situ MgB 2 barrier yield a J c of about 100 A/mm 2 at 4.