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AirPort Extreme 5th gen and 2nd gen question

thenumbersrbad

thenumbersrbad

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 9, 2008
423
35
Hey everyone, saw a thread was kind of similar to this but it was over a year old so I didn't want to bump an old thread, but if I should have please move this to that thread.


So my question is this - I have a 5th gen AE hooked to my modem in my loft and in my basement I have a 2nd gen AE that's connected wirelessly to the 5th gen and is repeating the 5th gens signal.

I have a device that has gigabit Ethernet hard wired to the 2nd gen AE, would I notice a performance boost if I replace the 2nd gen AE with another 5th gen AE or 6th gen AE?

Thanks in advance
 
Last edited:
thenumbersrbad said:
Hey everyone, saw a thread was kind of similar to this but it was over a year old so I didn't want to bump an old thread, but if I should have please move this to that thread.


So my question is this - I have a 5th gen AE hooked to my modem in my loft and in my basement I have a 2nd gen AE that's connected wirelessly to the 5th gen and is repeating the 5th gens signal.

I have a device that has gigabit Ethernet hard wired to the 2nd gen AE, would I notice a performance boost if I replace the 2nd gen AE with another 5th gen AE or 6th gen AE?

Thanks in advance
Click to expand...

Maybe, but unless you are doing heavy lifting file transfers or the like then I would just leave it.

Run Speedtest.net from connected to the loft Extreme and then one on the basement computer.
 
Thanks for the reply!!

It's a playstation 4 that I have in the basement that is hard wired to the 2nd gen AE

So I would potentially be downloading games which would run the 20-40 GB range.

I ran the speed test that's built into the PS4 and get anywhere from 17-29 down and 3-6 up. I used the browser on on the PS4 and got 18Mbps down and 8.7 Mbps

Do you think that a newer AE would help?
 
thenumbersrbad said:
Thanks for the reply!!

It's a playstation 4 that I have in the basement that is hard wired to the 2nd gen AE

So I would potentially be downloading games which would run the 20-40 GB range.

I ran the speed test that's built into the PS4 and get anywhere from 17-29 down and 3-6 up. I used the browser on on the PS4 and got 18Mbps down and 8.7 Mbps

Do you think that a newer AE would help?
Click to expand...

Go to a device connected to the other Extreme and do a speed test. If it is faster then you should wire your home, or get a newer wireless bridge system. If this Extreme is set to Extend the Network, simply take your iPhone or other smartphone/iPod and run the Ookla Speedtest App and compare the speeds between the two base stations.
 
Okay, sorry I'm a totally noob.

The 2nd Gen AE is repeating the 5th gens signal, how can I tell which one I'm using with my iPhone or ipad?


I can hardware my iMac to the 5th gen and run the test, but I don't have anything other than the PS4 to hardware to the 2nd gen
 
thenumbersrbad said:
Okay, sorry I'm a totally noob.

The 2nd Gen AE is repeating the 5th gens signal, how can I tell which one I'm using with my iPhone or ipad?


I can hardware my iMac to the 5th gen and run the test, but I don't have anything other than the PS4 to hardware to the 2nd gen
Click to expand...

Stand next to each base station and turn Wi-Fi off and back on to ensure it is connected to the right base station.
 
Ran the tests on my iPhone 5s

5th gen - 56.98 down and 11.51 up 16 ping
2nd gen - 37.76 down and 11.52 up 17 ping

What do you think?
 
What do you mean?

Run cable from my loft down to my basement?

Is the ping the interference?

Is the 5th gen worth getting for $50

Also, if I have a second AE in the basement repeating the wifi signal does it help any to have my PS4 connected to the second AE by Ethernet or would wifi work just as good?

I appreciate your time and willingness to talk to me
 
thenumbersrbad said:
What do you mean?

Run cable from my loft down to my basement?

Is the ping the interference?

Is the 5th gen worth getting for $50

Also, if I have a second AE in the basement repeating the wifi signal does it help any to have my PS4 connected to the second AE by Ethernet or would wifi work just as good?

I appreciate your time and willingness to talk to me
Click to expand...

Ethernet is the best method of data transfer. In a perfect world, you would have the loft connected to the basement via an Ethernet wire. It may help to connect the PS3 to the 2nd gen AE in the basement.

Ping is the latency on the network. Latency is the amount of time that it takes for the request to reach the destination. Low Ping times are better. Yours do not get worse by any sizable amount so I wouldn't worry about it. The lower the ping the better for gaming and video services.

It is up to you whether it is worth it for a 5th gen. They are powerful routers, but as I said earlier, an Ethernet run is your best bet!

No need to thank us here. We are all here to help each other out!
 
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