Thunderbolt ethernet or wifi?

Question

Hi
I have a 2011 macbook air running mavericks 10,9,4 and a 2012 thunderbolt display with a wired ethernet cable attached, my question is should I turn off the wifi on my MBA when connected to the display or does the MBA automatically select the fastest internet connection method.
The reason for the question is that I have just purchased a new airpot time capsule and have been told that the wifi on the time capsule is far superior to the 5 year old one that I presently have.
Please keep the answers simple as my computer knowledge is limited
Thanks in advance

Answer 1

I was under the impression that the macbook air went for the fastest signal and would switch back and forth on its own,
Not as it applies to the particular interface, no. It will use the first available one in the service order. If it is not available, it will proceed to the next one.
For that reason it may be beneficial to assign a relatively higher priority to an interface you don't use very often. For example if you usually use Wi-Fi and don't normally use Ethernet, but you would prefer to use Ethernet if you plug in a network cable, then drag Ethernet above Wi-Fi.
Network conditions are constantly changing so it would be a waste of time and resources to have the Mac constantly searching for a connection that's faster than the one it's using. It selects the first available one in the order you specified, and it's done.