I have a AirPort Extreme 802.11n (2nd Generation.) It is at least five years old. Is there any advantage in purchasing the newer model with dual frequency?
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AirPort Extreme: Update Time?
- Thread starter aaronvan
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It really depends on how fast your internet is. Open up Network Utility and under the "Info" tab select "WiFi" in the drop down menu and look at the "Link Speed", and see how it compares to your internet provider's speed. If your internet is slower than your WiFi speed, then you won't see an improvement by getting a faster router - your ISP is the bottleneck.
(For example, my link speed is 144 Mbit/s, and I have 10 Mbit/s internet, so buying a faster router would not help me)
On the other hand, if you use your Wifi network for transferring files or streaming media, it may help. Also keep in mind your computer's capability to utilize the dual band, because if it can't it really won't help. Unless you are really dissatisfied, I would just keep the current router until it dies and get a new airport down the road when they are even faster.
(For example, my link speed is 144 Mbit/s, and I have 10 Mbit/s internet, so buying a faster router would not help me)
On the other hand, if you use your Wifi network for transferring files or streaming media, it may help. Also keep in mind your computer's capability to utilize the dual band, because if it can't it really won't help. Unless you are really dissatisfied, I would just keep the current router until it dies and get a new airport down the road when they are even faster.
I think you're doing fine. I have a 2nd gen AEBS as well and it's been a rock for many years. I pay for 30Mbps down, 4Mbps up and I get all of that and more through mine.
Unless you're having problems with it, I say keep it and save some cash.
The newer generations benefit from dual frequency (2.4GHz & 5GHz) as well as increased power output. I believe the 5th gen model may also have more internal antennae than your model, though I am not certain on that point. So if you are having coverage issues in your house (i.e., weak signal or dead spots), the increase in mW may get you better, more consistent coverage throughout your home.
As others have noted, this may not lead to increased download speeds, but will almost certainly yield faster file transfers over your local network. This is especially true if you stream HD media. I live in a average-size home (~3000sq.ft.), and just moving from the 4th generation to the 5th generation AEBS made a huge impact on the quality of streaming 1080p content through the home. If, however, you are mainly concerned with increasing your wireless download speed, you'd be best served by taking COrocket's advice and seeing whether or not you're saturating your current wifi setup.
As others have noted, this may not lead to increased download speeds, but will almost certainly yield faster file transfers over your local network. This is especially true if you stream HD media. I live in a average-size home (~3000sq.ft.), and just moving from the 4th generation to the 5th generation AEBS made a huge impact on the quality of streaming 1080p content through the home. If, however, you are mainly concerned with increasing your wireless download speed, you'd be best served by taking COrocket's advice and seeing whether or not you're saturating your current wifi setup.
My WIFI link speed is also 144 Mbit/s and Xfinity says I am downloading at 15.80 Mbit/s (that seems not so great?) so I guess from the internal respect I am OK. However, I recently purchased Apple TV which is the ninth device on our home network. Since I am going to stream movies and such with the ATV I was wondering if I might want to upgrade. I guess I'll wait for a while and see how my present configuration works. Thanks for all the good advice, folks.
I stream to two Apple TV's with my 2nd gen and I've never experienced any problems.