USB 3.0 gigabit ethernet adaptor for a rMBP?

[pastrychef]

The top 4 cable broadband providers in the US provide top tier speeds of at least 50Mbits/second, with Charter, Cablevision and Cox offering 100, 101 and 150 Mbit/second speeds. That's a fairly large footprint.

How many of the customers opt for 100, 101, or 150Mb/s speeds? With real world 802.11n speeds being 6-10MB/s, users can expect to get 48-80Mb/s. Enough for the majority of users broadband needs.

The power users who opt for 100, 101, or 150Mb/s speeds should use the gigabit ethernet adaptors.

The point is it should be integrated into such a system.

I don't think it's needed by most users.

You mean the 802.11ac that isn't available on any of the MacBook Pros yet? Yes, the refresh is coming soon, but according to analysts it's been coming soon since June.

It will still lack integrated Gbit ethernet. It's an ugly solution, and I expect better from Apple for the premium price.

I was speak of moving forward. As I said above, with the advancement of technology, compromises will continue to diminish.

When I look at a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro, I see elegance. If you see them as ugly solutions, perhaps you need a desktop.

 

[pastrychef]

Look at it again. Here's a picture of the Thunderbolt to gigabit ethernet adaptor. I don't see what the fuss is about.

It's only a problem if you want to run two Thunderbolt displays. Do you? If you do, I think your decision to purchase a MacBook Pro was a bad one.

 

[rmwebs]

Blimey guys you've successfully managed to turn a simple query into a debate on why laptops are or aren't better than desktops. Chill out

For the curious, having been on an iMac before, I didn't want another one for a number of reasons.

I work from home and last year built an office at the bottom of the garden, and wanted to be able to use my computer in there, and bring it in at night. Given that most of my work is programming, I didn't need fancy graphics cards anymore, so ditched my Mac Pro and got a rMBP 15" instead.

The only real thing I need out of it is support for USB 3 and dual screens - I have no need for Thunderbolt. It just so happens that I expected Apple to better support the hardware they provide, with regards to the HDMI port. I planned on leaving 1 thunderbolt port free 'just incase' and using the HDMI port for the second screen.

However Apple's non existent support for several monitor types meant that wasn't possible.

Do I regret getting the rMBP? Not at all - it's a fantastic machine, and does exactly what I need it to do. I can use WiFi, however when you've got a NAS setup and gigabit ethernet coming into the room it makes sense to take advantage of it. Especially given we've got 120MB broadband (fairly standard in the UK now, as Virgin Media offers 30, 50, 100 and 120mb at very decent prices). I appreciate that as one poster from NYC said that most people are on much slower speeds, and maybe they are in NYC, but I'm not looking to increase the network speed for my broadband, just for my LAN.

In any case, thanks to those that have offered up possible solutions. I'll leave it until Mavericks is out as I'd be a bit worried about picking up a USB 3 one and have the manufacturer not release drivers for the latest version.

Once I get one I'll report back here so that anyone else looking for one in the future has an idea which one to/not to buy.

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How many of the customers opt for 100, 101, or 150Mb/s speeds? With real world 802.11n speeds being 6-10MB/s, users can expect to get 48-80Mb/s. Enough for the majority of users broadband needs.

The power users who opt for 100, 101, or 150Mb/s speeds should use the gigabit ethernet adaptors.

Many EU countries (the UK included) are rolling out Fiber to the Cabinet, and some are even doing Fiber to the Home (or in the case of cable operators, Coax between your home and the cab).

The largest provider in the UK's slowest offering is "upto 38Mb", rising to "upto 76Mb" for a larger package. My own ISP (Virgin Media) offers 30Mb as standard, with 50Mb, 100Mb and 120Mb plans being offered at decent rates.

WiFi really doesn't cut it anymore. On 802.11n you still cant take advantage of those kinds of speeds. Especially in built up areas (my wifi speed is lucky to hit 1Mb due to there always being at least 3 other routers on the same channel).

Whilst NYC may be stuck at 6-10Mb/s, its not the case for everyone, hence why many would likely prefer wired networks.


(Sidenote: Why the heck has nobody come up with 'Mini-Ethernet' ports yet It'd make things so much easier for laptops)

 

[pastrychef]

Here in New York City, I have the option to get 300Mb/s broadband at a cost of $215/month. 150Mb/s at $135/month. Both still a bit restrictive in terms of cost.

6-10MB/s = 48-80Mb/s. Therefore, it should accommodate Virgin Media's 30, 50, and perhaps 100Mb/s. But your transfers to your NAS will take a severe hit on performance if you transfer lots of data. For small files, it shouldn't matter much at all.

On my personal network, I see up to 20MB/s transfers over 802.11n 5GHz to my NAS. On gigabit ethernet, I get up to about 38MB/s to my NAS (the bottleneck is my NAS, it is slow). Gigabit ethernet itself has a theoretical max transfer limit of 125MB/s. In the real world, gigabit ethernet gets about 50-75MB/s (maybe higher). Link aggregation will double that.

 

[hallux]

(Sidenote: Why the heck has nobody come up with 'Mini-Ethernet' ports yet It'd make things so much easier for laptops)

I somewhat agree. Consider this, rolling out a new standard would require new crimping tools (those ends get on those cables SOMEHOW), and the port would be no narrower, those 8 wires are about as close as they can be. The tool manufacturers would be happy but the people needing to buy them wouldn't be. Also, wiring from the wall to the computer would no longer have a universal standard, you'd need an adapter or a different cable to match up a 'mini-ethernet' cable to a 'regular ethernet' computer (or vice-versa).

FWIW, my 802.11N has NO issues hitting my 30 Mb/s download speed in a location where I can see at least a half-dozen networks, but I'm on 5 gHz.

 

[John Kotches]

Hallux:

Its nice that you can hit a sustained < 4 MB/sec.

Some of us do more than surf the internet through a broadband connection on our systems.

That others don't see the forest for the pretty tree in front of them are free to disagree.

It was a mistake of omission on Apple's part.

 

[pastrychef]

Hallux:

Its nice that you can hit a sustained < 4 MB/sec.

Some of us do more than surf the internet through a broadband connection on our systems.

That others don't see the forest for the pretty tree in front of them are free to disagree.

It was a mistake of omission on Apple's part.

If you need a gigabit ethernet port and you buy a computer that doesn't have one. Who's fault is it??? Who's the one who can't see the forest?

You need a pipe, but bought a straw then complain about the company who made the straw...

 

[John Kotches]

If you need a gigabit ethernet port and you buy a computer that doesn't have one. Who's fault is it??? Who's the one who can't see the forest!

You need a pipe, but bought a straw then complain about the company who made the straw...

I can't help your confusion. I wasn't aware that the design was above reproach

Some of use these for more than web surfing and having Gbit built into the chassis is one less thing to deal with.

 

[rmwebs]

Just to update this. I went with a Digitus white USB 3.0 Ethernet adapter in the end.

Basically any USB 3.0 Ethernet adapter that uses the AX88179 chipset will work fine.

It works fine on Mavericks.