Airport Extreme (newest) okay for my pc laptop?

Okay, bear with me as I don't really quite know what I am asking about - lol. In addition to my 1 year old imac, I just got an Acer laptop/notebook for my kitchen area for expediency when not being in my home office (am I apologizing?). House is pretty large and U-shaped so current wireless router is not giving me a great signal at all here in the kitchen - typically one bar for the signal strength, slow downloads ... "page not found," etc. It's been recommended that I get the newest Airport Extreme router to replace my current router in the office for a "much better/stronger signal". I see that it's rated as: 802.11a/b/g/n. My P/C stats show that it is rated: 802.11b/g. So, my question is since my PC doesn't have quite the same rating, will I still get the added benefits of the new AE router or would I be wasting my money since my PC is not fully compatible with the router and couldn't fully benefit?

The Airport Extreme is just a standard WiFi router, albeit an outstandingly stable one. Definitely will work with Windows or any other WiFi capable device.

Difficult to give a short answer but I'll try. First - you're right - you're not likely to see additional benefit by replacing your current router with the Airport Extreme since you only have a 'g' capable laptop. You could however, use both, setting either one up as an Access Point or sometimes referred to as a "bridge". So there is a good reason to get a second device to extend your coverage. Until you get an 'n' device - you won't be able to utilize any of the 'n' features which include improved data rate and some range improvements.

I'm curious though - you posted this in a Mac forum. Do you have any Mac computers, or is it because you're considering the AE? Most of the newer Macs, and probably PC's for that matter, do have 'n' capable chipsets.

Thank you both for replying. Schweb, I know that it is compatible with a PC but my new laptop is not rated with the 802.11a/b/g/N which the A. Extreme IS. My pc is 802.11 b/g (no N designation) which I understood to be all important as far as speed & range is concerned. If that's the case, there's no point in spending all that extra money for the A. Extreme if I can't utilitze the specific speed and range since it's for my pc in the kitchen and not for my iMac is there?

Brian: not sure I understand your response. I'm curious though - you posted this in a Mac forum. Do you have any Mac computers, or is it because you're considering the AE? Most of the newer Macs, and probably PC's for that matter, do have 'n' capable chipsets. I mentioned that I had an iMac plus my stats show what I have. When I looked up the pc I have (laptop), it doesn't have the N designation (as you appeared to understand). So, I want to know if there's any benefit in buying the (quite) expensive A. Extreme in my case.

There would be no reason to spend the extra money for the extreme. But, you could get a cheaper router, set it up in your kitchen to extend your current network. You don't mention what your current router is, but if it is an older extreme, then you could just get an express to extend your network.

Newbie2mac said:

Thank you both for replying. Schweb, I know that it is compatible with a PC but my new laptop is not rated with the 802.11a/b/g/N which the A. Extreme IS. My pc is 802.11 b/g (no N designation) which I understood to be all important as far as speed & range is concerned. If that's the case, there's no point in spending all that extra money for the A. Extreme if I can't utilitze the specific speed and range since it's for my pc in the kitchen and not for my iMac is there?

Brian: not sure I understand your response. I'm curious though - you posted this in a Mac forum. Do you have any Mac computers, or is it because you're considering the AE? Most of the newer Macs, and probably PC's for that matter, do have 'n' capable chipsets. I mentioned that I had an iMac plus my stats show what I have. When I looked up the pc I have (laptop), it doesn't have the N designation (as you appeared to understand). So, I want to know if there's any benefit in buying the (quite) expensive A. Extreme in my case.

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Ha!! So you did!! I can see why you didn't understand my response - it's not your fault I can't read!! :Blushing: Sorry about that.

So - ignore that part of my response - the rest of it still holds true. You won't get advantages of 'n' (as you already recognized) - but you can still use it to extend your 'g' network. Personally, I'd get an 'n' router if you're thinking of adding a second one - since you'll probably eventually have 'n' capable devices in your house.

It doesn't necessarily have to be the AE if cost is an issue. I just added a Linksys 'n' router myself. As the other poster suggested - you could also just grab another 'g' router and do the same thing. If you do this - I can link you to a couple of threads that discuss some of the setup considerations.

So - to summarize:

• You can use the AE to extend your network coverage - assuming you relocate the second router
• You won't see 'n' speeds - but you will get 'g' speed improvements due to greater signal strength
• Will require you to get Ethernet to another location in your house (several ways to do this)
• You can do the same with an additional 'g' router should that be more cost effective for you
• Adding an 'n' router now starts building your infrastructure for when you do have 'n' capable devices

My 2cents our co. set up a U shaped office building using an Airport Extreme(new one)
in the south end or middle of the u and added an Airport Express (new ones) on each wing about the
midway point (it will accomodate up to 4) it gets complete coverage not to mention remote printers can be added for added conveience plus sterring of iTunes from station to
station plus they all can be rebooted at the same time.

My son (has only pc's) says I should get the A.Extreme if for no other reason than I WILL get the advantage of DISTANCE with it due to its being so well built. He also said that most "decent" higher-priced routers (a lot of brands) now all have the "N" capability but the A.E. has the added advantage of the extra distance over and above most others. Does that sound right? I was hoping to just be able to use the A.E. alone without the current one now, a Linksys that's prob. less than a year or so old.

BTW, my office with the mac and router is at one end of the U-shaped house and my kitchen with the pc laptop is 3/4 of the way around the U, but not quite to the opposite end - so they are catty-corner from each other, you might say.

Newbie2mac said:

My son (has only pc's) says I should get the A.Extreme if for no other reason than I WILL get the advantage of DISTANCE with it due to its being so well built. He also said that most "decent" higher-priced routers (a lot of brands) now all have the "N" capability but the A.E. has the added advantage of the extra distance over and above most others. Does that sound right? I was hoping to just be able to use the A.E. alone without the current one now, a Linksys that's prob. less than a year or so old.

BTW, my office with the mac and router is at one end of the U-shaped house and my kitchen with the pc laptop is 3/4 of the way around the U, but not quite to the opposite end - so they are catty-corner from each other, you might say.

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Whether or not the AE get's better range than the Linksys - I cannot conclusively say - as I don't have any data to support that, nor do I have any against that. It's certainly true that not all routers are built the same - and vendors can discriminate themselves by improved antenna performance and other exotic schemes that are not part of the standardization process in order to separate themselves from the pack. The output power will be the same for all of them - but it's possible that the AE is a better performer - certainly. How much that will really translate to range and performance - again - there's no way to know without side-by-side testing. With all due respect to your son - unless he's actually tested the two side-by-side - I'm not sure that he can make that conclusive statement regarding range either.

I have heard nothing but good things about the AE - so like I said before - it feels like a win/win. You plan to get a new one anyway - get the AE and try it - if it's giving you the additional range you need - great - if not - use them both - and extend your coverage. The best performing solution is the dual router solution as it will allow you to implement denser coverage to keep you from operating at lower data rates.

It's also possible that you could just relocate your existing router (or the new one) to the center of the U. Lots of possibilities - depending on your environment and what you're willing to tackle.

Thank you, Brian, for your extensive replies.

Newbie2mac said:

Thank you, Brian, for your extensive replies.

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You're welcome.