AirPort Extreme 802.11n 1GB ethernet vs earlier model
I have an original APE ...n I planned to set up on a home (apartment) network but have been holding off until all my macs had the n cards. Now that has happened, and there will be 4 machines on the net. Is there any good reason to go up to the 1GB Wireless Base Station. My connection is via Roadrunner (and they have never been a Mac friendly-- or WiFi friendly for that matter--outfit), so I can expect no help from them. Any suggestions? I plan to make a new iMac 24" the set-up machine.
Comments
If you plan to move massive amounts of data (e.g., HDTV movies) between computers, then the gigabit ethernet might benefit you, but only if you use a regular cable. It won't do anything for a wireless connection.
The 1Gb ethernet is for hard wiring only. It's not going to make your internet or wireless connections any faster. The limiting step will be your internet connection unless you are transferring files between computers.
If you plan to move massive amounts of data (e.g., HDTV movies) between computers, then the gigabit ethernet might benefit you, but only if you use a regular cable. It won't do anything for a wireless connection.
Thank you very much for the info. It is hard to know until you try-- in my case, at least! Most appreciated southerndoc
It will make exactly zero difference for wifi connected devices.
That's not necessarily true. If you have a slow Internet connection, and a slow wi-fi connection, then mbit or gbit routing will make no difference. But your network could be fast enough to hit a bottleneck inside the router, and that bottleneck is pretty much guaranteed to be wider in a gbit router than a mbit router. This bottleneck is the WAN-to-LAN speed, also known as the NAT speed, and for a typical 802.11G 100mbit router, this bottleneck is somewhere between 30 and 70 mbit. I have no idea what it is in the 802.11N Airport router.
If you have a fast Internet connection, there is a good change you can hit this bottleneck. And if you connect two 802.11N networks using two Airport routers, you will also risk hitting it, since the internal network speed is going to be high.
I've actually recently started a new thread in this forum asking if anyone knows what this bottleneck might be in the 802.11N router. (I read somewhere that it is 40mbit, which I'm hoping is a joke.) http://forums.appleinsider.com/showthread.php?t=78011
True, routers can have various bottlenecks. But gigabit support has exactly zero effect on wifi performance. None.
This means you think all the Airport routers (not just the draft-N version) NAT/route internally at a speed which is >1gbit/s. While I applaud your optimism, I do not think you are in perfect compliance with actual conditions.
This means you think all the Airport routers (not just the draft-N version) NAT/route internally at a speed which is >1gbit/s. While I applaud your optimism, I do not think you are in perfect compliance with actual conditions.
How the hell did you get that from my statement?
Rest assured, wired ports running at 100MB or 1000MB will have zero affect on wifi performance. Don't make me pull out my credentials.