AirPort Extreme or AirPort Express as a wireless router?

[ravenvii]

I currently have the AirPort Extreme as a wireless router. I had it for close to two years now. I also have an AirPort Express that I bought shortly after release. I used it as a ethernet-to-wireless adapter for my PC and my game consoles. But I've sold off my PC, and I no longer play online with my consoles. So I'm wondering, which one should I use as a router? The pro with the Express is that it's very small. But I'm wondering about the signal strength of them? I have only three users, so the 10 users limitation is of no concern to me.

 

[mad jew]

Their specifications say they have exactly the same signal strength so there's really nothing in it. Maybe just set up the Express for WDS and have an extra large wireless range.

 

[ravenvii]

Same specs, huh. Guess the only thing to do is test it out. The Extreme is on a table, but if I use the Express, then it would be near the floor, plugged into a power socket. So I'll see how good the signal is.

Thanks!

 

[mad jew]

No problems.

If you've got both, why don't you just put them on the same network? Or are you wanting to sell one? Personally, I'd go for the Express since it's smaller and it's got AirTunes.

 

[ravenvii]

Yep, I want to sell one. I don't really have a use for a enlarged network, since all the computers in the house are stationary

 

[mad jew]

Fair enough.

By the way, I'd be really interested to see which one ends up with the better real-life range if you end up testing them.

 

[wwooden]

Side question: How did you set up the express so that it was a wireless ethernet adapter for the computer and game council? We have an old iMac g3 600mHz that doesn't have a wireless card. We had 2 Airport Express and it would be nice to get this computer on the network as well.

 

[Billicus]

I own and have used both an Airport Extreme Base Station (with Antenna Port) and an Airport Express. I can tell you that in my experience the Extreme Base Station has been a lot more reliable and less happen to lose the connection. I used the Express some this year and it always would just lose the signal forcing me to unplug the Express and restart it by plugging it back in. I would recommend that you sell the Express and keep the Extreme for reliablility purposes...

 

[ravenvii]

Side question: How did you set up the express so that it was a wireless ethernet adapter for the computer and game council? We have an old iMac g3 600mHz that doesn't have a wireless card. We had 2 Airport Express and it would be nice to get this computer on the network as well.

It was pretty simple, IIRC. I only set it up once, and it works with all ethernet-enabled hardware. Just hook it up to your computer, then go to AirPort Admin and fiddle around. It was pretty obvious from what I remember. Your main router has to have WDS capability for it to work I think.

Sorry for the uncertainity in the post, it has been so long since I configured it.

 

[ravenvii]

Well, I set up the network with the Express, and it works beautifully. No reliability issues (in my limited experience of 3 days ). But I ended up deciding to stick with the Extreme because of the LAN port it has. I have a PC that doesn't have a wireless card, and I honestly don't want to deal with Windows and wireless, so I just used an ethernet cable to connect it to the AirPort. Works fine, so I'm inclined to leave it alone.

Thanks guys for the input.