Airport Express vs. Extreme

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i am thinking of buying either Airport Express or Airport Extreme for my appartment. there will only be my two computers and my roommate's laptop.

does anyone know the advantages of buying one over the other, or which you would suggest? thanks!
 
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I have an extreme and love it. I believe it provides better signal and you can get an external antenna. The express is good from streaming itunes.
 
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I would buy an Extreme if you're going to buy either. It's more robust and has a greater range.

You could also go with a regular router that is cheaper, but the Airport makes everything so simple and in typical Apple fashion, it just works...
 
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Airport Extreme for a house, but saying room mate makes me think this is a dorm, If this is a dorm, you will not have to worry about range or number of computer it can support. I would get the express if it is a dorm simply becaues its easy, just plug it in somewhere and your done.
If you are in a house, or more then one room, I would go with the Extreme it has a large amount of power and a great range. I use both and love them.
 
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I'd go with a Linksys, Dlink or Netgear wireless router. I have both an Extreme and Express, but I needed/wanted a wireless print server, wanted wireless music to the stereo, and with a 2 story house I wanted to make sure range wasn't an issue. The Extreme and Express are expensive, relatively speaking, but with the print server/music capability they are competitive considering a standalone print server is $50 to $100 itself.

Absent the first two issues (printer and music), any wireless router would have worked fine (my old Linksys 11b router worked fine with Intel iMac and ibook until I wanted to upgrade). For your purposes, any decent 11g wireless router should be fine, and the Apples will see them and set them up with no problems.
 
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woah woah woah.... There is some incorrect info in here.


The Extreme and Express have the SAME exact signal strength an range! Call Apple and they will tell you the same thing!

I called and talked to 2 different reps when I was shopping for one.

Advantages of Extreme:

*56K V.90 modem for dialup connections
*Supports upto 50 users
*Includes an external antenna port

Cons of Extreme:
Does not play iTunes music over your wireless network


Advantages of Express:
*Plays iTunes music over your wireless network to your home stereo

Cons of Express:
*Only supports upto 10 users
*No 56K (Who cares?)
*No external antenna port

The express is a MUCH better choice for someone that lives in a home with less than 10 people who want to acces the wireless network.

Which is probably everyone here! The Extreme is made more for schools and large facilities...


You may try and reason.... "well you can add an external antenna on the Extreme."

My response to that is "fogetta 'bout it"

You can nearly buy 2 Express airports for the price of 1 Extreme... If you really need the range get 2 Express airports and bridge them!

I hope this helps!
 
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Yup I just confirmed on the website... They both have the same signal strength and range.


Read for your self:

Express:

* 50-foot range from the base station in typical use at 54 Mbps data rate (range depends on building construction)
* 150-foot range from the base station in typical use at 11 Mbps data rate (range depends on building construction)


Source:
http://www.apple.com/airportexpress/specs.html





Extreme:

AirPort Extreme provides a range up to 50 feet at up to 54 Mbps and up to 150 feet at up to 11 Mbps for AirPort Extreme-enabled computers.


Source:
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APP...re.woa/wo/1.RSLID?mco=D0D3169D&nplm=M8799LL/A
 
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I would point out as a user of both that the Express actual range appears less than the Extreme -- I assume this has more to do with the Express residing low on the wall plugged into the outlet and partially blocked by furniture.
 
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Good call wakerider017 - this is a case in which more expensive doesn't necessarily mean better.

The extreme is better in large settings (office buildings, schools, large houses) as it is slightly more flexible as it can have its range extended with antenna and supports more clients.

The express is better suited to small apartments, normal-sized houses and the like. It "only" supports 10 users, but has the advantage of wireless music streaming.

The theoretical range of either should cover you easily.

I say get the express.
 
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Aptmunich said:
Good call wakerider017 - this is a case in which more expensive doesn't necessarily mean better.

The extreme is better in large settings (office buildings, schools, large houses) as it is slightly more flexible as it can have its range extended with antenna and supports more clients.

The express is better suited to small apartments, normal-sized houses and the like. It "only" supports 10 users, but has the advantage of wireless music streaming.

The theoretical range of either should cover you easily.

I say get the express.

Couldn't have said it better myself!
 
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Here is a quick photoshop of an ideal network setup:

(This is what I want to end up with)
 

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  • Network copy.jpg
    Network copy.jpg
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