New Router Worth It?

[jcschlic]

Hi All,

I have been using the Airport Extreme Gen 2 since it came out and it's been rock solid. For about the last year I have considered upgrading it to something else (either a current Extreme or similar router) because of the fact that the Gen 2 is getting pretty old and I am always getting the upgrade bug with everything.

My question is this: what are the benefits of upgrading? Is a newer dual band really going to be worth it considering everything below? Or can I get by for a while until the next truly worth it thing comes out?

Here is what I have using the network in my house:

Ethernet attached:
-Macbook
-PC Laptop
-NAS that is mainly used for backup and Plex streaming
-Apple TV Gen 2

USB attached:
external HD

Wireless:
-iPad 4 (daughter plays games, sometimes used for Airplay to aTV)
-HP Touchpad
-Roku 2 XS (mainly Netflix and Plex streaming)
-Nokia Lumia 920 (wife uses Facebook)
-Nokia Lumia 920 (me)

 

[drsox]

Hi All,

I have been using the Airport Extreme Gen 2 since it came out and it's been rock solid. For about the last year I have considered upgrading it to something else (either a current Extreme or similar router) because of the fact that the Gen 2 is getting pretty old and I am always getting the upgrade bug with everything.

My question is this: what are the benefits of upgrading? Is a newer dual band really going to be worth it considering everything below? Or can I get by for a while until the next truly worth it thing comes out?

Here is what I have using the network in my house:

Ethernet attached:
-Macbook
-PC Laptop
-NAS that is mainly used for backup and Plex streaming
-Apple TV Gen 2

USB attached:
external HD

Wireless:
-iPad 4 (daughter plays games, sometimes used for Airplay to aTV)
-HP Touchpad
-Roku 2 XS (mainly Netflix and Plex streaming)
-Nokia Lumia 920 (wife uses Facebook)
-Nokia Lumia 920 (me)

I had an older Extreme (3rd Gen - dual band) that I replaced with a new Extreme (6th Gen). Almost all of my stuff is on the 5Ghz band so speed is faster plus the range is better even without any 802.11ac devices in use. Since it does have the new 802.11ac when I get a new MBA or MBP it will be even faster than the current 802.11n connections. Very stable.

I have 4 WiFi devices on the AE as well as 3 LAN devices.