Airport express/ethernet help

Discussion in 'Mac Accessories' started by Mr Rogerss, Sep 29, 2008.

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  1. Mr Rogerss, Sep 29, 2008

    Mr Rogerss macrumors member

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    Sep 11, 2008
    #1
    Hi,

    I need some advice on my current situation here. I am at a college, and I hooked my MacBook Pro with a ethernet cord to run the internet. And it connects and I can access it and blah blah. But I noticed when I browse the internet and try to watch videos, sports, tv shows, Not so much short youtube videos. The more longer ones, they are taking a long time to load, and my video is playing faster then it can buffer.

    At my house, I use a router and I never had problems like this before...longer videos never would pause and wait to load more.

    So I am thinking, this ethernet hub, I have to use at my college is not letting me run at good speeds? Is it known these college hubs suck?

    If true, I was thinking maybe I could improve speeds by getting a airport express and running my computer that way? (Routers are allowed at my college)

    I just want to be able to watch tv shows on line smoothly and any videos fast, since I have a 2,000 dollar laptop right?
     
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  2. waw74, Sep 29, 2008

    waw74 macrumors 68030

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    #2
    probably won't help.

    A wired hub should be faster than a wireless connection.

    wired
    gigabit - 1000 Mbit/s
    100 - 100 Mbit/s

    wireless
    802.11g 54 Mbit/s
    802.11n 100 Mbit/s

    Speeds are theoretical only, not really seen in the real world, and you have a much better chance of interference with wireless signal.

    ------
    your connection is only as fast as the weakest link, so if the campus network is slow, then there is nothing you can do about it.

    at your house, you're not sharing the connection with as many people
    There is also a chance that the college is throttling certain types of data to keep the network from getting bogged down.

    -----
    going wireless shouldn't hurt your speeds, but it probably won't help


    ------
    everything assumes equipment is in working order, and setup properly.
     
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  3. Mr Rogerss, Sep 29, 2008

    Mr Rogerss thread starter macrumors member

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    #3
    But if I run my own airport express, that would be my own network right? So no one else would be on it? Its not the colleges network.

    I figured that its probably the college network and the crap hub I have to plug into..
     
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  4. msprouls, Sep 29, 2008

    msprouls macrumors member

    msprouls

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    #4
    Where do you plan to get Internet connectivity on the Airport Express? I would guess that you were planning on plugging it into the college provided network.
     
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  5. waw74, Sep 29, 2008

    waw74 macrumors 68030

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    #5
    Yes you will be your own wireless network, but that will be a (very small) part of the colleges network.
    if your roommate (or a friend) is on the same wireless network, you will have great speeds between those 2 computers, but not between either one and outside.

    won't the express still be getting it's internet service from the "crap" hub?

    one small grammar note - it would be "longer" not "more longer" that's a double superlative.
     
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  6. Mr Rogerss, Sep 29, 2008

    Mr Rogerss thread starter macrumors member

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    #6
    Oh my goodness I am so sorry for the bad GRAMMER.


    Yea, I still would like wireless capabilities to move my computer around though, so I might just go with it anyway. :)

    Thanks for the feedback guys, if i go through with this Ill see if it changes anything.

    Wait..the airport express will only work if I am in wi-fi range? Cause I cant free wireless in the college my room is to far from the router...

    I will need to use like a Linksys router or something.
     
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  7. waw74, Sep 30, 2008

    waw74 macrumors 68030

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    #7
    oh, and a small spelling note... it's grammar :)


    Since you are in college, figured you might be up for an English lesson.
     
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  8. Mr Rogerss, Sep 30, 2008

    Mr Rogerss thread starter macrumors member

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    #8
    Haha I spelled grammar wrong on purpose. That's why it was in caps. :)
     
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  9. dual64bit, Sep 30, 2008

    dual64bit macrumors 6502

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    #9
    Oh boys...
     
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