2014 Mac mini AC Wifi ROUTER speeds?

[dannys1]

Hi guys,

Anyone with the 2014 could test and chime in for me would be fantastic. I want to see how, if you use it to share the internet connection via Wifi its speeds stack up compared to the Airport Extreme AC router.

I know two flaws are distance and security, neither of which i'm bothered about in my situation - I only need wifi for a distance of about 1 meter, and its basic security will more than suit my needs. I'm mainly concerned about if I can get away with not getting the full router as I plan to run OS X Server for DHCP etc and a gigabit switch as most devices will be hard wired, but its just my mobile devices (iPad, iPhone, Watch) and occasionally a Macbook that'll be using AC and id like to know that it would be able to feed them at gigabit AC speeds from a close distance.

 

[Celerondon]

Try It! I Did A Similar Thing With Older Hardware

I cannot give you the comparison that you want but I did try with the previous versions a few months ago. I first used the 2012 mini and then tried a 5th generation (A1408) Airport Extreme base station (AEBS). With my setup, connections with the Airport Extreme were faster, more versatile, and more reliable than with the Mac mini.

For me, using the 2012 mini was a stopgap measure. Perhaps I needed to fiddle with the setup more to improve performance. Once I got the base station, the Apple TVs and other WiFi connected devices worked much better with an Airport Extreme running things.

With a 6th gen AC AEBS, features like dual-band operation and Guest network can enable a mixed group of devices like yours to work together at a higher level of individual performance while maintaining maximum security for your WLAN.

 

[drsox]

Hi guys,

Anyone with the 2014 could test and chime in for me would be fantastic. I want to see how, if you use it to share the internet connection via Wifi its speeds stack up compared to the Airport Extreme AC router.

I know two flaws are distance and security, neither of which i'm bothered about in my situation - I only need wifi for a distance of about 1 meter, and its basic security will more than suit my needs. I'm mainly concerned about if I can get away with not getting the full router as I plan to run OS X Server for DHCP etc and a gigabit switch as most devices will be hard wired, but its just my mobile devices (iPad, iPhone, Watch) and occasionally a Macbook that'll be using AC and id like to know that it would be able to feed them at gigabit AC speeds from a close distance.

I have a 2014 mini next to (<1m) a new AE running 7.7.3. According to the Mini the WiFi is going at 450 - according to the AE the WiFi is also at 450.

 

[Celerondon]

I have a 2014 mini next to (<1m) a new AE running 7.7.3. According to the Mini the WiFi is going at 450 - according to the AE the WiFi is also at 450.

I think that the OP wants a comparison between a mini sharing a connection with no router and a router based system.

 

[drsox]

OK then.

 

[dannys1]

I wanted to see how the Wifi ac speed holds up against the Airport ac speed. I know the Airport does more distance and more security, neither of which are needed by me.

The 450 connection you mention would suggest you're connecting at N speeds and not gigabit wifi, it should be a gigabit connection.

Anyway i'm certain that my Macbook would connect to the Mac mini and show it as gigabit but I just wonder how the actual throughput might compare to the Airport router doing it. I guess i'm just going to have to take a punt and buy it and see for myself. I'm just hoping to not have to buy a router as well and in all honest as the ac devices will likely be my iPhone and iPad saturating their network speeds shouldn't be too difficult really.

 

[drsox]

I wanted to see how the Wifi ac speed holds up against the Airport ac speed. I know the Airport does more distance and more security, neither of which are needed by me.

The 450 connection you mention would suggest you're connecting at N speeds and not gigabit wifi, it should be a gigabit connection.

Anyway i'm certain that my Macbook would connect to the Mac mini and show it as gigabit but I just wonder how the actual throughput might compare to the Airport router doing it. I guess i'm just going to have to take a punt and buy it and see for myself. I'm just hoping to not have to buy a router as well and in all honest as the ac devices will likely be my iPhone and iPad saturating their network speeds shouldn't be too difficult really.

Yes, I didn't understand why it was only 450. I'm currently sitting 3m from the Mini and 3m from the AE with my 2014MBA (think thin isosceles triangle) and the MBA connects to the AE at 867.

Just thought of the reason - there's a glass surface between the Mini and the AE. I'll move the Mini and test again.

No change - still 450.

 

[dannys1]

Strange - I wonder if the Mini will only share N speeds and not AC speed, hmmm.