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Converting household to Mac

M

Mr. Michael

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 8, 2012
5
0
I know there's been a few of these topics before, but now I've got some additional questions regarding routers, wireless, etc...
Currently, my only Mac products in the house are two iPhone4's. I've got a windows laptop and windows desktop that I'll probably be replacing soon. So, to get my whole house linked up via Apple, here's my plan. Let me know if this will work please.

Replacing my outdated desktop with a new iMac, maybe a Mac mini, connected to my IP's modem, connected to an Airport Extreme.
That should let me stream itunes, files, etc (as long as the iMac is on? asleep okay?) to my upstairs Apple TV (hooked to my stereo system and TV), and also, still let me watch my Roku in a different room? I'll have my iMac and Xbox hooked to the Extreme via ethernet cables. Also, maybe a MBP and a wireless Canon printer in the mix. Should all this work flawlessly?

I currently have a Netgear dual band router that seems to drop my connections more and more often. This should be a thing of the past with the new setup, right?:D
 
I just got an Airport Extreme because my dropcam and another web connected device only work consistently on channel 1, but the iPhones/iPads seem to do best on channel 11, and drop all the time on channel 1. Now I've got the AE hooked up to the modem, and the netgear hooked via ethernet to the AE. The AE is on ch 11 and the netgear on ch 1.

I keep everything but those two devices on the AE, and everything on that network works great, while the other two devices do their thing all alone on the netgear.

My 2008 iMac does best on the 2.4 ghz band for some reason. I pull about 50% better on speedtest.net when connected to 2.4 than I do connected to the 5 ghz band.

I get much better range and more consistent connections from the AE than all the other routers I've gone through in the past 6 years (d-link, netgear and linksys). I can walk another 30 feet into my yard before I lose signal now (which means that the signal now reaches my hammock :) )
 
Why not get a Time Capsule instead of the Airport Extreme and use it to back up everything? Otherwise, your set-up should work well. We use an iMac as an iTunes/ATV media server to TV's and an audio system. I have a home office and back up using Time Capsule which is also my WiFi router. My iMac is connected via ethernet cable. WiFi printers are wonderful. Our iPads/laptops sync and, in the case of the laptops, backup seamlessly.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I was unaware that the Time Capsule served as a router. I'll have to look into that. Thanks.
 
peeaanuut said:
careful on the current time capsules as there has been some overheating issues.
Click to expand...

Haven't heard about that nor do the reviews on Apple's show that to be an issue. I think that Time Capsule is a very slick device that flies a little bit under the radar.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Been running a TC for the past year and have never had any issues with it. By far my best investment for my home network. I haven't had any overheating issues.
 
My TC stopped working after 3 1/2 years - hard drive quit and the wireless router started dropping several times a day. I didn't replace it with another TC, opted to buy an Airport Extreme Base Station and plug in an external drive.
 
Dornblaser said:
Haven't heard about that nor do the reviews on Apple's show that to be an issue. I think that Time Capsule is a very slick device that flies a little bit under the radar.
Click to expand...

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4110902?start=0&tstart=0

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3733999?start=0&tstart=0

I was just saying that their have been some issues with it overheating in some cases. Trying to be a helpful member. I have had 3 time capsules over the years and am currently using one. I love the device but there have been problems.
 
peeaanuut said:
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4110902?start=0&tstart=0

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3733999?start=0&tstart=0

I was just saying that their have been some issues with it overheating in some cases. Trying to be a helpful member. I have had 3 time capsules over the years and am currently using one. I love the device but there have been problems.
Click to expand...

Those two threads hardly sound like TCs have a serious overheating problem given how many TCs Apple sells. One of the threads even refers to the previous gen TC. FWIW - I think TC is a very slick device unless you need to back-up more than 3 GB.
 
Every device, TC, iMac, MacAir, etc., has issues. The two threads that you posted, one with one reply, the other with three - five?, and with the last reply in the summer, hardly indicates that the TC's have a systematic problem.
 
where did I say anything about a systematic problem? I said SOME, do you know what that word means? It means part of a whole. Not all of them, but SOME. Those were 2 simple links, I could link more. Simply offering the OP some information available instead of over glorifying it as you have.
 
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