Just ordered the new 13" MacBook Pro which comes with 802.11ac wife capability. I still have the older Airport Extreme router that does not support 802.11ac and I was wondering if I should make the investment in the new version that has that capability. Does it make much difference?
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Does 802.11ac makes much difference?
- Thread starter MN7119
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Not for Internet use, but makes local LAN traffic (e.g. if you have a NAS or Time Capsule) faster.
As others stated, it's faster...but...well it depends.
Honestly, for most people, I think the biggest benefit isn't so much the overall increase in maximum bandwidth. It's the increase in range that AC provides over N.
The signal quality(and then related speed) falls off exponentially as you get further away or encounter more interference(electrical or physical). AC has some technology implemented now that helps overcome some of the interference issues. This means it won't make a huge difference in signal if you're sitting 10 feet away in an open room. You probably already have max signal. But if you're on the edge sometimes of the coverage area, with half bars, and bouncing around 25-35Mb actual throughput, you may see a HUGE increase in signal quality and accompanying throughput. Also if you have a lot of electronics or multiple devices just talking to it(meaning connected but not using the bandwidth), you can see a performance increase too.
Also, this first revision of AC also has pre-scheduled upgrades. They already have ideas of how to improve it, that will probably show up in a year or so in new routers. Mostly it'll again help with interference, I don't believe top speed at all. So if you need a new router, I'd feel comfortable buying one now. That said, if yours is already operating fine, or you aren't pushing the signal limits of you 802.11n setup, I'd save my money.
Honestly, for most people, I think the biggest benefit isn't so much the overall increase in maximum bandwidth. It's the increase in range that AC provides over N.
The signal quality(and then related speed) falls off exponentially as you get further away or encounter more interference(electrical or physical). AC has some technology implemented now that helps overcome some of the interference issues. This means it won't make a huge difference in signal if you're sitting 10 feet away in an open room. You probably already have max signal. But if you're on the edge sometimes of the coverage area, with half bars, and bouncing around 25-35Mb actual throughput, you may see a HUGE increase in signal quality and accompanying throughput. Also if you have a lot of electronics or multiple devices just talking to it(meaning connected but not using the bandwidth), you can see a performance increase too.
Also, this first revision of AC also has pre-scheduled upgrades. They already have ideas of how to improve it, that will probably show up in a year or so in new routers. Mostly it'll again help with interference, I don't believe top speed at all. So if you need a new router, I'd feel comfortable buying one now. That said, if yours is already operating fine, or you aren't pushing the signal limits of you 802.11n setup, I'd save my money.