Networking with various Airport Extreme/Express devices

[propelhat]

Currently, I have an Airport Extreme (AExt) 2nd generation and an Airport Express (AExp) 1st generation. The latter as a bridge, extending the network.
I'm going to upgrade the AExt for increased performance for my new 2012 MacBook Air.
My questions:
1) Does the use of my current AExt and AExp (as bridges for extension of the new AExt's network) have a negative impact on network performance, so I'm better off ditching my old hardware?
2) Will it have a negative impact on network performance, if I use my existing AExp for AirPlay wirelessly, so I'm better off upgrading my AExp as well?

Thanks in advance.

 

[blevins321]

The first generation Express was only wireless G, so that will be slower compared to everything else. If you want to only use it for Airplay, reconfigure it to Connect to your wireless network instead of bridging/extending it. Then it won't have a detrimental effect on the network. Your Extreme is at least wireless N, so that will be a decent speed connection to use as an extender.

 

[propelhat]

So an acceptable network would be:
Extreme 5th gen as "backbone" with 2nd gen extreme as extender and Express 1st connected as AirPlay device? Or am I better off with completely new devices generally?

 

[blevins321]

So an acceptable network would be:
Extreme 5th gen as "backbone" with 2nd gen extreme as extender and Express 1st connected as AirPlay device? Or am I better off with completely new devices generally?

I'd get a 5th Gen as the backbone definitely. The 2nd gen only has draft N versus the final spec, so that might have a difference speed-wise. Also, the 5th gen has a new antenna configuration that I've heard a lot of people comment extends their range by a large percentage. You might be able to get by with only the 5th Gen backbone and the Express connected as an Airplay device.

 

[mmomega]

Also keep in mind that wirelessly extending your network almost cuts the bandwidth in half so if possible you would want to connect any extra Airports with an Ethernet cable. CAT5e or CAT6 at least.

With most Internet speeds you won't tell much of a difference between wired and wireless extended but when transferring between computer you will see the difference.

 

[propelhat]

Thank you all. I have just set up my new Extreme, and it's much faster than my previous.