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Panini

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 12, 2012
204
0
Palo Alto, CA
I've no need for a TC at the moment, but the Time Machine software looks very attractive. If I do buy a router, it will likely stay for a good 2-3 years.

Question is, is it a good idea to buy now or wait until a 802.11ac model comes out? Any idea on when this may happen?

Thanks.
 

nuckinfutz

macrumors 603
Jul 3, 2002
5,536
398
Middle Earth
Probably should wait for the TC with 11ac.

Chances are it'll be out in 2013. You have no immediate need and you can start backing up to Time Machine with a standard HDD.
 

\-V-/

Suspended
May 3, 2012
3,153
2,688
Probably should wait for the TC with 11ac.

Chances are it'll be out in 2013. You have no immediate need and you can start backing up to Time Machine with a standard HDD.

This. Good things come to those who wait.
 

WesCole

macrumors 6502a
Jul 1, 2010
756
14
Texas
Well unless you have clients supporting 802.11ac it won't make a difference.

This. If you are holding out for a router with ac, you might as well hold out for computers that support ac...otherwise, the technology will just be wasted on current Macs.
 

madsci954

macrumors 68030
Oct 14, 2011
2,725
658
Ohio
Well unless you have clients supporting 802.11ac it won't make a difference.

The thing I find with the 802 wifi standards is that it's a "chicken and the egg" situation, one begets the other but where does it start? Do you get the router and wait for the clients, or get the clients and wait for the router? I can see AC coming next year, and TBH, I would not be too surprised if the new iPhone has a draft AC option. If not, more likely the 2013 iPad.

As for the OP, if you need a TC now, get it. If you can hold off another year, wait.
 

Panini

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 12, 2012
204
0
Palo Alto, CA
Since wifi standards don't change that often I think it's a good enough reason to wait to buy both clients and router in 2013 since I can hold out with buying just a 2012 MBA.

Another question: Is there any way current clients may benefit from a 2013 802.11ac router? Are there any features that may support 802.11n devices?
 

whsbuss

macrumors 601
May 4, 2010
4,176
995
SE Penna.
Since wifi standards don't change that often I think it's a good enough reason to wait to buy both clients and router in 2013 since I can hold out with buying just a 2012 MBA.

Another question: Is there any way current clients may benefit from a 2013 802.11ac router? Are there any features that may support 802.11n devices?

Not really. Check out smallnetbuilder.com where you can read reviews on the new 11ac routers.
 

eric44

macrumors member
May 18, 2008
71
0
I struggled with what to do too.
Just bought a rMBP and then my series 1 TC died.
I thought it over and bought an airport extreme gen 5 with a NAS attached on an Ethernet cable.
The performance is excellent, the rMBP regularly gets 450mbps and the rest of time around 270mbps.
The access to the NAS is very fast and time machine works very well.
Overall an excellent solution.
I know that ac will be better but I've no complaints.
 

potatis

macrumors 6502a
Dec 9, 2006
839
291
there's also a 802.11ad standard on the horizon, so you might just as well wait for that if you want to wait.
 

jahr5150

macrumors newbie
Sep 4, 2012
2
0
RI
Here is where I am confused, the 802.11ac standard won’t be issued till early 2013, yet I am seeing 802.11ac products on the market claiming they are 802.11ac – even though they can’t be ‘Wi-Fi CERTIFIED’ since the 11ac standard isn’t finalized yet.

I would love 802.11ac now, but some of the reviews of these first 802.11ac product mention that they are based on a first draft of the 802.11ac spec, and might have some performance issues with products that are based on the final 802.11ac spec

This article has more info on this:

http://pusz4frog.wordpress.com/2012/08/03/the-newest-802-11ac-routers-dont-have-wi-fi-certification-and-why-you-should-wait-till-q2-of-2013-to-buy-a-11ac-router/

I feel it is best to wait on 802.11ac, since I have waited this long, another 6 month shouldn’t kill me.

Am I crazy for wanting to wait till early next year to buy an 802.11ac router?

If I get a Win8 smartphone, will it work on an 802.11ac network?

Are the Win 8 phones going to be 802.11ac?
 

Mr. Retrofire

macrumors 603
Mar 2, 2010
5,064
518
www.emiliana.cl/en
This. Good things come to those who wait.
Yeah, like natural disasters.

----------

Here is where I am confused, the 802.11ac standard won’t be issued till early 2013, yet I am seeing 802.11ac products on the market claiming they are 802.11ac – even though they can’t be ‘Wi-Fi CERTIFIED’ since the 11ac standard isn’t finalized yet.
The situation is normal (compare this with Draft-N).

wikipedia.org said:
802.11n

802.11n is an amendment which improves upon the previous 802.11 standards by adding multiple-input multiple-output antennas (MIMO). 802.11n operates on both the 2.4 GHz and the lesser used 5 GHz bands. The IEEE has approved the amendment and it was published in October 2009. Prior to the final ratification, enterprises were already migrating to 802.11n networks based on the Wi-Fi Alliance's certification of products conforming to a 2007 draft of the 802.11n proposal.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.11#802.11n
 

iAppl3Fan

macrumors 6502a
Sep 8, 2011
796
23
There no time like the present. Buy now. Even with the .ac standard you would need Mac/PC that have that card in order for it to work anyway.
 
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