Should I buy a Time Capsule?

[profmjh]

Now that I've started buying TV shows on iTunes I've begun to think about changing how I back things up. Buying a Time Capsule seems like a simple solution, if expensive.

I have two questions:

1. Can you use it as both a Time Machine and a hard drive? My only computer is a MacBook Pro with 256GB of SSD, so I'm going to need to back up iTunes purchases manually (I presume?).

2. It's a relatively old device. Are the WIFI features still state-of-the-art? Will it perform better than my brand new Virgin SuperHub?

 

[AFEPPL]

If you are buying content via iTunes it still lives in the cloud, so backing upl "that" part/content isn't a must.
Time Machine has a very slow drive in it, while yes it does "work" and yes you can "store" other data directly on it the performance is not great to say the least. The drive also spends most of its time asleep so you also have the spin up time to contend with.

I find a NAS device a much better solution, with much better performance.
The only plus for the time machine is the time machine backups and the wifi in one device - so potential space savings.
The wifi in it is AC, so its as good as can be right now. its not the most comprehensive device, but most of the time it does just work. (with the exception of wireless extension to another apple device - i cant get that to work reliably at all).

 

[Swiss-G]

Now that I've started buying TV shows on iTunes I've begun to think about changing how I back things up. Buying a Time Capsule seems like a simple solution, if expensive.

I have two questions:

1. Can you use it as both a Time Machine and a hard drive? My only computer is a MacBook Pro with 256GB of SSD, so I'm going to need to back up iTunes purchases manually (I presume?).

2. It's a relatively old device. Are the WIFI features still state-of-the-art? Will it perform better than my brand new Virgin SuperHub?

1. Yes you can

2. The current Time Capsule supports IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac wifi which is the same as your Virgin Super Hub so you can expect similar performance.

However, as you are only backing up one machine and you already have a decent wifi AP I wouldn't go down the Time Capsule route.

For back-up you could use one or more portable drives at a fraction of the cost of the TC.

Alternatively, look at a NAS solution, e.g.Synology, which can be used for Time Machine back-up and as an iTunes media server.

 

[profmjh]

Thank you both. It seems like the Time Capsule is not the right solution for me.

 

[priitv8]

If you could/would like to take advantage of Back to my Mac, then Apple AirPort is the sole useable router there. AirPort Extremes and TimeCapsules have had very good 2-band 3-radio (ie simultaneous 2.4 and 5GHz network, 450Mbps in n-version, 1300Mbps in ac-version) wireless access points for quite some time. Would be surprising to see same level from a ISP provided device.

 

[satcomer]

Thank you both. It seems like the Time Capsule is not the right solution for me.

If you get a small self powered USB 3 Hub and then plus in another USB 3 external and USB printer! Then you can have another easy another USB printer that can be used over the network, at the same time!

 

[Swiss-G]

If you could/would like to take advantage of Back to my Mac, then Apple AirPort is the sole useable router there. AirPort Extremes and TimeCapsules have had very good 2-band 3-radio (ie simultaneous 2.4 and 5GHz network, 450Mbps in n-version, 1300Mbps in ac-version) wireless access points for quite some time. Would be surprising to see same level from a ISP provided device.

The OP has a single MacBook Pro so Back to My Mac is unlikely to be high on a list of priorities.

The OP's ISP provided router has the following specification:

• Full DOCSIS 3.0 cable modem functionality (also fully compatible with DOCSIS 1.0, 1.1, 2.0)
• Eight bonded downstreams
• Four bonded upstreams
• Four ethernet 10/100/1000BaseT ports
• Wireless b, g, n capable in 2.4GHz band plus wireless a, n & ac in 5GHz band (Dual-concurrent frequencies)
• Five internal antennas
• Up to three spatial streams in the 5GHz band
• Supports WEP/WPA/WPA2 wireless security encryption
• Supports WPS push button synchronisation
• Built-in router, DHCP and firewall which can be customised and deactivated

As such the OP isn't going to get significantly better WI-FI performance by purchasing a Time Capsule.

 

[RB1959]

I'm happy with my TC especially now it actually works properly after the last OSX update. Mind you I only use it to back up my iMac and to provide a private and a guest network, which is something my ISP's modem/router can't do. I have a three router system, the third provides a dedicated VPN for my TVs, TV satellite boxes and the Apple TVs. All media is on a QNAP NAS which runs through the VPN router so guests can't access it. All a bit complicated but it works.

 

[priitv8]

The OP has a single MacBook Pro so Back to My Mac is unlikely to be high on a list of priorities.

The OP's ISP provided router has the following specification:

• Full DOCSIS 3.0 cable modem functionality (also fully compatible with DOCSIS 1.0, 1.1, 2.0)
• Eight bonded downstreams
• Four bonded upstreams
• Four ethernet 10/100/1000BaseT ports
• Wireless b, g, n capable in 2.4GHz band plus wireless a, n & ac in 5GHz band (Dual-concurrent frequencies)
• Five internal antennas
• Up to three spatial streams in the 5GHz band
• Supports WEP/WPA/WPA2 wireless security encryption
• Supports WPS push button synchronisation
• Built-in router, DHCP and firewall which can be customised and deactivated

As such the OP isn't going to get significantly better WI-FI performance by purchasing a Time Capsule.

Back to my Mac is not so much about many Macs, but about connecting from all over the world. Name is a misnomer. You can also call your AP-connected-HDD or -printer back home, with 0 setup (except iCloud login on the AirPort and Mac).
That router spec is really comparable to AirPort's plus the cable modem thing.

 

[Apple fanboy]

I have a virgin media super hub and a TimeCapsule.
In tests I found the TimeCapsule to give better performance at the extremes of my house.
As for backups, it just does its thing in the background every hour.
Using it as a hard drive and a backup means you have no backup at all if it fails.
I also use a third hard drive for a bootable copy using ccc.