Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

pfstark

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 19, 2009
1
0
I am curious from anyone who has used the Airport Extreme Base Station. Right now I could get a previous generation Airport of TC for a fair savings over the current generation. I am planning to use this in my condo and I wanted to know if anyone thought the extra benefits of a guest network and dual wifi is worth it. Would there be a benefit if I don't really need a guest network?
 
Unless you have multiple devices connecting via b/g & n, I would say save your money. The new one is great, it's what I have. It's nice not having the AEBS throttling down while I'm surfing the net or gaming the moment a b/g device connects.

The guest network is a great feature, there are numerous uses for it. If you have roommates you can have them use the guest feature while keeping your personal machine safe from them. Not saying they would do something intentional - more along the lines of "hey what happens if..."

My roommates share the guest network and they have no clue. My guest network is the only one that broadcasts the SSID as well. There are other reasons you may want to have this feature, that's only one example.

Ultimately decide what you NEED, then decide if the higher price for the "other" things will be worth it in the end.
 
You mentioned that you are in a condo. Do you know if there are a large number of access points in range? I have about 15 routers in my area that lead to a lot of interference with my APE in the 2.5ghz range. This brought my throughput on "n" down to "g" speeds. To work around this limitation, I set my APE to 5ghz and "n" only and use a second router for my "g" devices.
Unless you are getting a major savings, I'd opt for a new dual band.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.