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Wireless Routers
- Thread starter Newbe
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When I turned on the 5Ghz in settings, I left the original supplied name which was my selected SSID followed by (5GHz). I always have my MBP and media center attach to the 5GHz radio and that is how it is reported in the log with the 5GHz behind it. I have done nothing special (other than now that I think about it have the settings to 5 GHz N only for one radio and the other to b/g/n, settings recommended for my household by the 2nd tier Apple specialist supporting AEBS only). I surveyed my area and chose everything for setup manually to insure that I didn't get interference and crosstalk from saturation within my development (I have no less than 11 available routers show up at any given time and am amazed at how many people don't even change the stock passwords and SSID's).
Okay, so the AirPort Extreme is superior because it allows devices to connect to the network at their fastest speed without slower devices slowing the rest down.
What about Time Capsule? It has the same capabilities, correct? So wouldn't it be an even better deal, since it does the same thing and also backs up automatically with Time Machine? I think that would be pretty handy for MacBook owners. Right now, I'm vacillating between sticking with the AirPort Express and picking up a Time Capsule or AirPort Extreme.
What about Time Capsule? It has the same capabilities, correct? So wouldn't it be an even better deal, since it does the same thing and also backs up automatically with Time Machine? I think that would be pretty handy for MacBook owners. Right now, I'm vacillating between sticking with the AirPort Express and picking up a Time Capsule or AirPort Extreme.
I use a Linksys E3000 router with Tomato USB firmware to unlock some of the advanced settings and it works really well, good range on both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands in my home and the connection is quite solid.
Prior to using Tomato USB I was using DD-WRT, which showed some wireless throughput issues. The default firmware seems to be OK in terms of stability and throughput for the most part and is a lot better in comparison to the firmware shipped on their older routers.
My reason for using third part firmware is simply because I was accustomed to using DD-WRT when I purchased it as my last router was a WRT300N v1 which ran DD-WRT firmware perfectly for most of it's useful life.
I've also heard great things about Apple's own AirPort Extreme, and would have likely purchased one myself but for a small home network of a few computers I couldn't justify the cost in comparison to the Linksys E3000 which I picked up for $99 CAD.
Best of luck and have a great day!
Prior to using Tomato USB I was using DD-WRT, which showed some wireless throughput issues. The default firmware seems to be OK in terms of stability and throughput for the most part and is a lot better in comparison to the firmware shipped on their older routers.
My reason for using third part firmware is simply because I was accustomed to using DD-WRT when I purchased it as my last router was a WRT300N v1 which ran DD-WRT firmware perfectly for most of it's useful life.
I've also heard great things about Apple's own AirPort Extreme, and would have likely purchased one myself but for a small home network of a few computers I couldn't justify the cost in comparison to the Linksys E3000 which I picked up for $99 CAD.
Best of luck and have a great day!
I use an airport extreme. There is nothing about it that particularly impresses me but I am terrible with networking and I appreciate the ease of use. I also like the fact that it is accessed via the Airport Utility as opposed to using a browser like other routers, any errors bring the Airport Utility up automatically. If you are familiar with routers there is probably better for your money in terms of value and features for the power user but the airport extreme is unlikely to disappoint and also doesn't seem to have as high a tax as other Apple products.
i just got a refurbished airport extreme to replace my linksys g which was driving me bananas. i had to reset my router multiple times a day and my internet speeds would be fine at first then would slow down or drop until i reset it. I even restored it to factory settings and the speeds would still drop (didn't drop when mbp was plugged directly into modem so it wasn't my isp). pain in the butt when watching movies and the quality keeps changing due to dropped speeds. Anyway i've only had the Airport Extreme for 2 days now but its been the happiest 2 days of my internet life One little green light has never made me so happy. It just shines its greeness at me saying "Hi I'm working!" and I just smile. (note: it does not actually talk )
you can pick up a refurbished airport extreme for $129 (currently out of stock but just keep checking) which isn't that much more expensive than some of the prices quoted here for other routers.
One little green light has never made me so happy. It just shines its greeness at me saying "Hi I'm working!" and I just smile. (note: it does not actually talk )you can pick up a refurbished airport extreme for $129 (currently out of stock but just keep checking) which isn't that much more expensive than some of the prices quoted here for other routers.
As stated by others, the router section is essentially the same in both, just the TC has a built in hard drive. With the price of drives dropping, one can get an external 2TB for $90 and less these days, and upgrade as needed (with TC there is no upgrade path, other than an external, which brings you back to the Extreme so why pay the premium). If the TC drive goes bad, you lose the entire router (meaning if you take it into Apple for repair/ replacement you lose the router as well as the hard drive), not so with the Extreme. To some it may not be a big deal, but I prefer modularity to alleviate issues of losing router. IF drive connected to Extreme goes bad, then just disconnect and move on and reconnect a different drive without network interruptions. These are my opinions, but I don't think you could go wrong with either. For me, I personally wouldn't pay the premium for the little bit of ease in setup, but them I am very tech savy, which some might not be and the price may be well worth it.
Another vote for the Netgear WNDR3700. This this is amazing. Touted as the best router out right now.
However, I went to BestBuy and picked up the new Linksys E4200 (BestBuy exclusive for now, think it's being released publicly next month though) and GOD DAMN that this is amazing. I got better throughput everywhere in the house with it. The downside...the price. At $180, I couldn't justify the extra $60 (bought the WNDR3700 from NewEgg for $120), PLUS the extra shipping etc to ship the WNDR3700 back to NewEgg (a total of some $75 extra if I wanted to stay with the E4200).
My vote: If you need a router now, grab the WNDR3700. If you can wait a month until the E4200 is released, or even a better till summer so the price drops, I'd do that.
The Linksys E4200 is a BEAST, capable of 450Mbps utilizing the 3x3 MIMO of the MBP.
EDIT: The Linksys E4200 will be "released on May 1, 2011" according to amazon. Oh yea, forgot to mention, the device is damn sexy, too. No annoying front lights to blind you, like most other routers (including the WNDR3700).
However, I went to BestBuy and picked up the new Linksys E4200 (BestBuy exclusive for now, think it's being released publicly next month though) and GOD DAMN that this is amazing. I got better throughput everywhere in the house with it. The downside...the price. At $180, I couldn't justify the extra $60 (bought the WNDR3700 from NewEgg for $120), PLUS the extra shipping etc to ship the WNDR3700 back to NewEgg (a total of some $75 extra if I wanted to stay with the E4200).
My vote: If you need a router now, grab the WNDR3700. If you can wait a month until the E4200 is released, or even a better till summer so the price drops, I'd do that.
The Linksys E4200 is a BEAST, capable of 450Mbps utilizing the 3x3 MIMO of the MBP.
EDIT: The Linksys E4200 will be "released on May 1, 2011" according to amazon. Oh yea, forgot to mention, the device is damn sexy, too. No annoying front lights to blind you, like most other routers (including the WNDR3700).
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Too bad it won't last a year.
I purchased the WNDR3700 and it is now dead after only 9 months and Netgear refuses to replace it! Terrible customer support. All the recent reviews say the same thing. So I went and purchased the new Cisco Linksys E4200. It was working fine for a week, now I have weak WIFI signals and now it's dropping my internet. I disconnected it and reconnected my old D-Link Gamers Lounge Router (forget the model) and no issues at the moment. I want to get my devices back on a N network though so I am returning it today for a Airport Extreme and hoping for the best as I am sick of buying routers that are worthless junk. Per the reviews many are having the same issues too and switched and now are happy.