Blackbook and Airport ?

[hoffmant]

I want to replace and upgrade my several-years-old router, and I'm trying to figure out if it's worth it to spend the $ on an AEBS or another dual-band router.

I have a Blackbook (mid to late 2007, I think--I bought it used). Am I right in thinking that this could take advantage of the 5GHz wireless-N band, while my wife's laptop & my iPhone used the wireless-G band? Would I see a noticeable difference in speed, or should I just get a less expensive wireless-g (or a previous gen. AEBS) router?

Thanks in advance...

 

[dylanbrown]

Hey,

I currently use a Previous Gen 500GB Time Capsule (Doesn't have dual band support). I do notice the difference between 802.11n and 802.11g, however, I also have devices that need an 802.11g connection (iPod touch/Wii etc)

To compensate for this, I use a BT Home Hub (I use BT for my Broadband Connection), connected to the BT Home Hub via an ethernet cable is my Time Capsule, and by turning on Bridge Mode in the AirPort Utility for my Time Capsule, I am able to run 2 independent networks in my home. The BT Home Hub also acts as the modem for the TC.

Therefore, I use my BT Home Hub as an 802.11g network, and my TC for an N network. So, if you have an old modem/router kicking around and can find a cheap 802.11n previous gen AEBS - then you can run two independent networks without buying the new AEBS.

Also, I checked on MacTracker (A cool app, if you don't already have it) and if your MacBook is a late 2006 onwards, it will have 802.11n AirPort card, so you should be able to handle the 5GHz network.

I hope this helps you out.

Edit:
Also, if you buy an AEBS or TC (Including the Previous Gen models) you can use them as Time Machine backup destinations if you're running Leopard (By adding a USB hard drive to an AEBS). So thats another feature to think about that might prove to be useful.

 

[aznguyen316]

I want to replace and upgrade my several-years-old router, and I'm trying to figure out if it's worth it to spend the $ on an AEBS or another dual-band router.

I have a Blackbook (mid to late 2007, I think--I bought it used). Am I right in thinking that this could take advantage of the 5GHz wireless-N band, while my wife's laptop & my iPhone used the wireless-G band? Would I see a noticeable difference in speed, or should I just get a less expensive wireless-g (or a previous gen. AEBS) router?

Thanks in advance...

A bit lazy to double check but I do believe the mid 2007 MB's include N wireless band, previously one had to pay to "unlock" the N. You'll notice a difference if you actually use your network to transfer files etc between one comp to another, as for wireless internet signal, not sure if the N band makes it any stronger, but most internets don't go that high of N in terms of speed so don't think it's a big deal. Like for me, my DSL is 3mbps, so 10mbps wireless is fine for me.

 

[hoffmant]

A bit lazy to double check but I do believe the mid 2007 MB's include N wireless band, previously one had to pay to "unlock" the N. You'll notice a difference if you actually use your network to transfer files etc between one comp to another, as for wireless internet signal, not sure if the N band makes it any stronger, but most internets don't go that high of N in terms of speed so don't think it's a big deal. Like for me, my DSL is 3mbps, so 10mbps wireless is fine for me.

Yeah, I've been running some online speed tests, and I'm not thrilled with the results. I tested the speed via my wireless and compared it to the speed with the ethernet cable running directly from the DSL modem to the computer. The direct ethernet line was actually a bit slower!

My average speed was only around 1mbps, too, and speedtest.net claims that my ISP's average is 3 times that. Now I'm wondering if I can upgrade our modem as well as the router....

Looks like more research is in order.

Thanks!