Apple has made fast even quicker . The AirPort Extreme Base Station ( ) , in its first incarnation , reach unprecedented amphetamine for Wi - Fi web carry-over , topping 90 Mbps of literal throughput in ideal circumstances . Even in less - than - everlasting weather condition , the Extreme — with a latterly updated gulp variation of the 802.11n banner — beat its 802.11 g precursor .

Apple has refreshed its previous Base Station by upgrading Ethernet from 10/100 Mbps to 10/100/1000 Mbps , offer Gbit Ethernet in space-reflection symmetry with the speed rule on almost the entire Mac batting order . The lack of Gigabit Ethernet was our big carp in our last review .

This novel model run short beyond improving just the pumped-up side of the net . By adding Gigabit Ethernet , Apple took the governor off the top of the Base Station ’s railway locomotive , allowing it to shoot far above the previous model ’s limits . Apple AirPort Extreme internet adapters can now top 140 Mbps of throughput in an ideal case . As we hypothesize in our early review , intimate Ethernet speeds restricted 802.11n ’s top rate .

For this review , we go the same trial we performed previously , and we added some new ones . The ideal lawsuit essay then — as now — is with the Base Station set to use the 5GHz spectrum band , one of two choice . The other choice , 2.4GHz , is crowd with older Wi - Fi connection , Bluetooth gadget transmissions , cordless telephone set , and other interferers .

In the 5GHz band , the AirPort Extreme can apply awidechannel , employ twice the frequency as standard 802.11b and 802.11 gravitational constant channels . This enabled us to achieve a consistent charge per unit of 140 Mbps from the AirPort Extreme 802.11n web interface in an Intel Core 2 Duo Macintosh transmitting to a Gigabit Ethernet - equipped Mac attached to a local area web ( LAN ) interface on the base place .

We regain that amphetamine between two Apple 802.11n adapters remained high , but unchanged : around 90 Mbps throughput when sending a stream of packet from one wirelessly connected Mac to another , and about 50 Mbps when charge simultaneously between Macs .

( Except for the 17 - in 1.87GHz iMac and Mac mini , all Macs with Intel Core 2 Duo processors include 802.11n . It ’s a build - to - order option on the Mac Pro . Macs purchased before this summer may want to add the 802.11n enabler , which is let in on the disc that ship with the new Base Station . There is no Mac - compatible , third - company 802.11n adapter that handle 5GHz signaling , althoughQuickerTekoffers 2.4GHz 802.11n circuit card and USB dongle . )

Performance in the fussy 2.4GHz spectrum ring was wandering due to real - world over-crowding where the Base Station was tested . After achieving poor performance , an Apple product manager suggested that we manually choose a Wi - Fi channel , rather than allowing the Base Station to plunk an unused location via the nonpayment Automatic scene . ( The machine scan only for Wi - Fi networks , not other interference . )

Setting the machine to canalize 1 ( out of 11 possible transmission channel in the United States ) made it practically unusable . Even using a spectrum analyser , which can give away all sign pass on over the 2.4GHz banding , we found no continuous preventive . This presented a mystery that has remain unsolved .

Setting the Base Station to channel 11 take over the trouble , although speed were much lower than those we ’ve hear previously . We were n’t even capable to attain 50 Mbps between two Apple 802.11n adapters in one counseling , and we catch only 35 Mbps when both adapters were transport at full amphetamine in each direction .

This is another argumentation for using the 5GHz stria whenever potential if internet performance is an issue . Neither Apple nor its competitors can control the more and more grievous use of the lower - frequency dance band .

Gb Ethernet performance was as look , attain over 900 Mbps of throughput in one guidance between two figurer connected via the Base Station ’s LAN and over 800 Mbps each way when simultaneously transmitting at full speed .

We discovered one disappointment that ’s indirectly related to the new router model : We tested an Intel 802.11n adaptor against the AirPort Extreme Base Station and institute that compatibility issue limited the Intel gadget in 5GHz modality to 34 Mbps when channel data at full speed to an Apple 802.11n adapter , and to just 50 Mbps when transferring data to a wired computer on the LAN .

The grounds for this is that 802.11n is n’t complete ; it ’s a draft banner that is follow through differently by each party . Apple released a firmware update just before publishing of this critique that turns its AirPort Extreme Base Station with 802.11n into a certifiedDraft Ndevice , with testing performed by the manufacture trade group TheWi - Fi Alliance , which control the Wi - Fi name . At the time of our examination , Intel had n’t free its certified update .

Although we did n’t test filing cabinet - transfer upper from volumes shared via USB in the former review , reports indicated that the Gigabit Ethernet model had improved data file transfer . In our examination of the originally 10/100 Mbps exemplar and the current Base Station , file - transfer speed had improve by as much as 10 per centum .

Apple also improved a problem that we brought to its care in our last review . We live a slowdown in internet speed when the Base Station was connected to a flying internet via its wide area internet ( WAN ) port — specifically , when it was also being used to allot IP addresses to computers , phones , and other devices relate via Wi - Fi or through the LAN Ethernet ports . This distribution is called meshing address translation ( NAT ) , and Apple reassert at the time that microcode and hardware issue did determine the maximum speed between topically connected devices and the WAN . At that time , we reported that Wi - Fi devices could n’t remove data quicker than about 30 Mbps to the WAN , and Ethernet - connected LAN computing machine maxed out at 60 Mbps . Well - planned bureau networks would turn off NAT and use a centrally located waiter to assign destination ( completely bypassing this job ) . However , there are more and more faster networks in homes as cable and fiber - eye networks spread . Those web can reach out speeds of 35 Mbps to 100 Mbps . Testing shows that the Gigabit Ethernet Base Station has substantially improved on this front . wire LAN - to - WAN speeds now top 70 Mbps , and Wi - Fi - to - WAN speeds exceed 50 Mbps . While this is not as fast as we ’d like to see , it should address most consumers ’ business organisation .

Macworld’s buying advice

Apple has take a seemingly small-scale upgrade of the AirPort Extreme Base Station and made it into a major betterment . Owners of the first model of the 802.11n Base Station who need speed may be slightly chagrined at how far Apple has supercharge performance in just a few months . But the company has now set a in high spirits bar that it can improve on piddling with the current 802.11n and Ethernet standards underlying the Base Station ’s networks .

[ Glenn Fleishman is the source of the e - bookTake Control of Your 802.11n AirPort Extreme web(TidBits , 2007 ) . ]

EDITOR ’S NOTE : This clause was amended to correctly note that , in increase to the 17 - inch 1.87GHz iMac , the Mac miniskirt also does not send with 802.11n capabilities .