Setting up home network in new condo

[Tanuki]

The problem with a wifi extender is that it doubles the traffic on your network. It has to receive, then retransmit. Powerline adapters are a much better solution.

Well, not across the entire home network. The wifi extender does a dual role for sure. I've used powerline ethernet a couple of times and found it to be rather unstable, with connections getting dropped at times. I wouldn't say either of these are optimal solutions, just workarounds. My condo is old and has the wire runners on the walls, so I could use direct wiring to all the important devices. You win some and you lose some...

[x9200]

Having said all the good things about the powerline adapters I would still put all the efforts to make the network based on the existing hardwired cables working. It is the most robust and reliable option and it would be a big shame not to utilize such infrastructure.

Powerline adapters are great but they are not free from problems, namely interference form other power receivers / line quality and although my overall experience with them is good there were always some problems.
I used TP adapters 200 and 500 series and hardly any time they have been working "green" with the rates exceeding 200-300kB/s. I also used Aztech homeplugs and had to change all the adapters to TP after we moved to another place as they did not work between two storeys of the flat. How sensitive this things are to the interference or bad wiring can be seen by plugging the adapter into an extension cord. The effect is often dramatic.