Thunderbolt To Gigabit Ethernet Adapter - Worth It?

Pulsedriver · 14 May 2013 at 17:49

Hey guys,

For the new Retina MBP they do not have an Ethernet port so I just wondered, is there actually a noticeable difference using one of the Apple Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet adapter over the built in Wireless option?

I would imagine for transferring large files via a LAN the wired version would be far superior, but what about day-to-day file downloading/browsing/uploading files?

Thanks

Shawy · 14 May 2013 at 18:17

I get pretty much identical performance using airport as using the built in ethernet on my MBP. I've also found the wireless much easier to setup/use than on windows.

Si105 · 14 May 2013 at 18:30

Never noticed any signification performance drop for internet on my macbook pro, always within 1-3Mbs of max net in speedtests.

miikeeyy92 · 14 May 2013 at 19:06

Same here, speed is the same for me, wireless was easier to set up also.

kitkat9933 · 14 May 2013 at 22:27

I'd get a USB3-Gigabit adapter, buy a cheap one of amazon or something. Keep your thunderbolt ports free.

theheyes · 14 May 2013 at 23:35

I very much doubt your wireless connection will be your bottleneck for internet related tasks.

GeX · 15 May 2013 at 08:08

theheyes said:
I very much doubt your wireless connection will be your bottleneck for internet related tasks.

Mine does if I'm upstairs in the office. For this reason I've run a cable up form the router and use a Gigabit ethernet adapter.

Beasty · 15 May 2013 at 09:05

Mine streams 1080p pretty happily from the HTPC over air.

GeX · 15 May 2013 at 10:44

Which USB3 adapters are people using? I'd actually quite like to replace my Thunderbolt one with a USB3 one so that I can use the second DisplayPort connection instead of the HDMI.

kitkat9933 · 15 May 2013 at 12:35

GeX said:
Which USB3 adapters are people using? I'd actually quite like to replace my Thunderbolt one with a USB3 one so that I can use the second DisplayPort connection instead of the HDMI.

I got a cheap startech one of amazon for £9.99 a while back, after you install the drivers works flawlessly through a USB3 hub.

GeX · 15 May 2013 at 12:46

Does it work when the machine is in 'Power Nap' mode? Mine backups up normally when napping and it needs to be done over the cable.

oli356 · 16 May 2013 at 08:02

kitkat9933 said:
I got a cheap startech one of amazon for £9.99 a while back, after you install the drivers works flawlessly through a USB3 hub.

The startech ones seem to be like £20-30 I wonder if the cheap omes woek 100% of the time.
Interested in this as I will need an rj45 Ethernet port when I get my rMBP in a few weeks, work in networking so it's a needed port.
Will be using 1/2 of the thunderbolt ports for monitors.