Can my 2010 unibody support broadband speeds of 10gb-80gb

Question

Ive just moved house and Im now able to get up to 80GB download speeds. Will my mac be able to take advantage of this?

Answer 1

Welcome to Apple Support Communities.
I think you probably mean 80Mbit/sec.
80GByte/sec is the stuff of Internet 2 backbones, university research labs, and the military. But I digress...
And the short answer is, 'One MacBook? UM, NOT REALLY - BUT maybe your HOUSEHOLD can take advantage of the speed'.
It gets a bit technical, but here goes:
(And if you want a fuller picture on Ethernet specs and speeds and standards, look here: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/35431-42-speed-matters-ethernet-mbps-gbps-beyo nd)
Your 2010 MacBook supports 802.11n Ethernet capability. That's called 'Gigabit' (1000Mbit/sec theoretical maximum data transfer speed using a wired Ethernet RJ45 connection, and in the neighborhood of up-to an advertised 450Mbit/sec maximum wireless speed per device with certain routers from certain vendors, and maybe 900Mbits/sec throughput on multiple channels and multiple devices (still an advertised max of about 450Mbit/sec per device, although 150Mbit/sec on a single device is far more realistic) on WiFi.
The digital world is just beginning to embrace (and ship actual products) supporting 802.11ac standard, referred to as 'Gigabit WiFi', which will support up to 1750Mbits/sec total throughput on multiple 802.11ac-enabled devices. (Dlink claims that here 1300Mbit ac + 450Mbit n)
http://www.dlink.com/us/en/home-solutions/connect/routers/dir-865l-cloud-router- 5700 WiFi.)
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/254616/80211ac_gigabit_wifi_what_y ou_need_to_know.html
So, 1750Mbits/sec is 1.7Gbit/sec, and STILL about 1/40th of what that 80Gbit connection is theoretically capable of providing. If you have all 802.11ac-enabled devices and an 802.11ac-enabled wireless router. On a good day. When the electron gods are smiling.
What the heck does that all mean in plain language?
If you have multiple high-bandwidth-capable devices sharing a single incoming fiber optic (I'm assuming) line:
With the appropriate wired/wireless router and
a game system or two
a few high-end computers
a few wifi-enabled iDevices or Android devices
a couple of wifi-enabled DVRs
and several smart HDTV's
ALL STREAMING HD VIDEO AND HD MUSIC AND DOWNLOADING TORRENTS ALL AT THE SAME TIME,
THEN you can PROBABLY see some benefit from a really fast fiber optic connection, like 80Mbit/sec
Software update download speeds will be fabulous, except during the first weeks of release of any new product, when the available bandwidth of the software vendor will limit your effective speed.
What about all of those weasel-words I used, like Probably and Maybe and Theoretical?
An 80Mbit/sec connection ABSOLUTELY WILL WORK!
Fabulously.
As long as some contractor with a backhoe doesn't wipe out your neighborhood fiber connection, you'll never experience any buffering and no data hiccups, ever.
You'll be able to brag to everyone about your results.
But you won't be getting your money's worth.
If all the offerings are available at the exact same price, go for the top, but beware of 'promotional' prices and bundles for a limited time that suddenly expire without notice, leaving you stuck with high-end service you can't fully utilize at a high-end price.
Unless you're a in a college apartment with 5 other high-bandwidth-consuming-roommates, or a high-end retailer of computers and entertainment systems today, or you're personally uploading a gigabyte of data or more every day, a *10Mbit/sec down+1Mbit/sec upload or *20Mbit/sec download+1Mbit/sec upload connection will likely provide you with the same experience. *among the lower-cost offerings my local fiber provider has currently.
At somewhat less cost.
And if you DO upload lots of stuff everyday, maybe a *20Mbit download+3Mbit upload connection would be worthwhile.
When your needs change (newer/faster/better computers, iDevices, friends/roommates, and/or entertainment systems), you can always upgrade to a faster router and a faster connection.
Did that help???
Perspective:
I'm currently on a 3Mbit/sec download+0.5Mbit upload DSL line through um, 'Deathstar, Inc.', and I have six wireless devices connected with streaming capability on a D-Link DIR655 router using 2.4Ghz only (the more crowded wireless frequency). We can reliably stream Standard Def (simply because I don't own any HD devices yet) video on any two or three of them (two MacBooks, an iPad 2, and a Wii simultaneously with rare buffering (once or twice in half-an-hour).
My son's college apartment has 20Mbit down/3Mbit upload. He has a mid-2009 MacBook Pro, and find it more than adequate. He downloads about (obviously) about 7-times faster than I do. What takes me an hour takes him 10 minutes or less.
Message was edited by: kostby