Well , it took a while , but Apple has finally resolved whatever job was causing wireless file transfer using its unexampled 802.11ac MacBook Air and Time Capsule to be so dull . If you have n’t already update to OS X 10.8.5 , do it now .
When Ibenchmarked the raw routerlast June , I observe that real - reality file transference were much slower than the WiFiPerf benchmark indicated they should . WiFiPerf was reporting TCP throughput of more than 450 megabits per second ( mbps ) at close range of a function , but transferring large files and big groups of files ( 10 GB in each scenario ) happened at less than half that fastness .
Once I update the MacBook Air with the former translation of OS X ( 10.8.5 , which includes a patch to AirPort Utility ) , and the Time Capsule with Apple ’s newest firmware ( edition 7.7.1 ) , real - world wireless file - carry-over speeds more than doubled .
With the old software system , copying a 10 GB collection of small file cabinet from the mechanical knockout cause in an iMac hardwired to the router , to the SSD in a MacBook Air over the wireless web call for more than 16 minute to complete at 84.8 mbps .
With the newfangled software and microcode , the same task require somewhat less than nine instant because the file cabinet transfer occurred at 164.3 mbps . The speed at which those files were study over the wireless meshing ( that is , simulate back to the iMac from the MacBook Air ) also more than doubled , from 132.1 mbps to 309.1 mbps .
The speed at which I could copy asingle10 GB file from the iMac to the MacBook Air jumped by an even freehanded margin : from 134 mbps to 482.1 mbps . An operation that previously required more than 10 hour could now be finished in less than five . Copying that file back to the iMac took position at 551.4 mbps , compared to 163.5 mbps before the updates .
As I report in my earlier critical review of Apple’s802.11n AirPort Extreme , some non - Apple routers deliver better performance than Apple ’s ware , but they miss the Apple - specific features that make Apple ’s router so loose to apply — at least with Macs . Since I compared the AirPort Extreme to an Asus RT - N66U 802.11n router in that story , I determine to compare the 802.11ac Time Capsule ’s performance to an Asus RT - AC66U 802.11ac router this time ( neither Asus model has an interior knockout effort ) .
Since router execution can be greatly influenced by atmospheric and environmental weather , I always melt down fresh bench mark for each router compare I conduct , ideally testing all router I ’m going to write about on the same day ( after updating the router ’s microcode and the atomic number 8 on the client and host ) .
That ’s what I did in this case , using AccessAgility’sWiFiPerfto measure TCP throughput . As you may see in the benchmark charts , the Asus RT - AC66U delivered good TCP throughput at most locations inside my abode . I suspect the Asus ’s higher performance stems from its use of external dipole antenna aerial that can be put to attain the best response .
After testing the updated 802.11ac Time Capsule , I went back and compare its performance to the numbers I recorded in July . The router ’s public presentation in the tightlipped - stove mental test ( with the MacBook Air and the Time Capsule in the same elbow room , about nine feet apart ) was approximately the same : 458.1 mbps now compared to 451.9 mbps then . And its TCP throughput was somewhat fast when the client in the kitchen , about 20 foot from the router : 405.95 mbps now compare to 387.2 mbps then .
Curiously , I measure much grim transmission control protocol throughput this sentence when the guest was in my home theater ( 35 feet from the router ) and in my home spot ( 65 feet from the router ): 73.7 mbps now , compared to 100 mbps then for the menage theater ; and 53 mbps now , compared to 167.8 mbps then , for the home office . ( If you ’re wondering why the phone number for the place office are high than they are for the home plate theater , despite the longer distance , it ’s because the home field of operations is double - walled and double - insulated to raise its acoustic properties . )
I duplicate these tests several times to ascertain I was n’t find out an anomaly , but the results were coherent . fortuitously , the 802.11ac Time Capsule delivered splendid public presentation just about everywhere else in my house ( see the instance of my home ’s base architectural plan for item ) . I do n’t lie with if the new operating organization and router firmware are responsible for for this decrease in throughput .
I suggest in my original review that Apple would solve the wireless file - transfer issues with a software package update , and that expected value was baked into the 802.11ac Time Capsule ’s account , so nothing change there . I ’m glad they did n’t make everyone hold back for Mavericks to do it .
AirPort Time Capsule 2TB (802.11ac)
