Extreme for small apartment?

[richard13]

Okay. Finally our new connection became a reality, and I could run some tests.

<snip>

Obviously, there is a huge difference between the three - even on my old Mini. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm guessing that my router actually is too old, and hopefully an Extreme would give almost the same speed as directly lan through my Mini? And can the router be worse on the wi-fi-connection (pic 1) than through ethernet (pic 3), 'cause that one it handles pretty well - though not as good as lan directly to the Mini.

What type of connection is this? I think you said FIOS? What is your rated speed? Meaning, what is the internet provider committed to supply you with? 50Mb/s is nothing to sneeze at.

As far as getting an AirPort Extreme goes, you could get it and it may improve things. I don't think anyone can give you a direct yes or no answer given just the information in this thread. You seem pretty anxious about this so why not just go ahead and try it? You can always return it within Apple's return policy if it's not what you want.

Personally, I have an AirPort Time Capsule (current generation) and an older one, I think it's 2nd Gen. Yes, they last that long. Anyway, I got the new one for it's AC capabilities but I think my N devices are also benefitting although it's hard to prove with raw numbers. The new one has newer hardware with more antennas placed for better performance. This translates into more stable connections. I notice that I don't get any hiccups using Netflix on my XBOX 360 which is on the completely other side of the house and on a different floor like I used to. It's also great that I have twice the storage capacity from the original Time Capsule. So, overall I would say it was a good purchase.

 

[xraydoc]

Okay. Finally our new connection became a reality, and I could run some tests.

On my MBA, 2013 on wifi I get:

Image

On my Mac Mini, 2007 with lan directly without router:

Image

However, if run ethernet through the router (plugged into "lan 1) on the router and to my Mini I get:

Image

Obviously, there is a huge difference between the three - even on my old Mini. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm guessing that my router actually is too old, and hopefully an Extreme would give almost the same speed as directly lan through my Mini? And can the router be worse on the wi-fi-connection (pic 1) than through ethernet (pic 3), 'cause that one it handles pretty well - though not as good as lan directly to the Mini.

The wifi and wired speed differences are real, though your wifi speed is still quite good.

The difference between your two wired tests is virtually none. The difference is likely secondary to variations in ISP to ISP transfers. Run those tests 100 times and you'll uncover the actual differences. While a better router might make a little difference, I suspect statistically they would be the same.

 

[Lukewarmwinner]

Thanks for your replies. I went down yesterday and bought an Extreme. And guess what - I'm getting exactly the same speeds as through cable, and it's noticeably faster!

So, the Extreme actually was a great investment