I am about to order; Need feedback!

B

bobsaget

Supreme [H]ardness
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Jan 24, 2004
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My family is about to get 1.5mb/sec cable internet. We want to share that among two desktop pc's and one laptop (getting that in the near future). Is this all I will need for just the two desktop pc's for now? (down below)


One of these:

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=33-122-011&depa=5


And two of these (one in each computer):

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=33-315-015&depa=0

We will be getting a cable modem from out provider.


Is this all I need to share a cable connection among 2 PCs?



thanks
 
That'll do it. But I've heard of some issues with wireless. I have a router and snaked some cat5 around the house real stable and quick.
 
Yes, that should work fine.
However, I really recommend the USB wireless adapters, even for fixed location PCs, such as this:
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=33-122-107&depa=1
Look around, should be able to find them cheaper, I got mine for 20 after rebate.

The reason being, sometimes the location a PC is sitting is not good for the wireless connection, such as near too much metal, etc. With these, connected to the included USB cable, you can move the adapter around to get the best signal strength.

Also, why not go 802.11G? You can usually get a router for just a little more than the one you're looking at, if you wait a few days for a good deal.
 
well, i think that the 11mb/sec will be fine, since we are only sharing internet. One question though, is the range on wireless G longer. Our house is only about 100 ft wide and 30 ft long. Will the B reach to all corners of my house?
 
Range on G is about the same.
B should do fine for your place. Just as an example, I have an 802.11B system in my apartment. My friends 2 floors up and 1 unit over get 85-95% signal strength. I have been quite impressed with the system.

The reason I suggested G is that it is getting pretty cheap, and the speed is better as long as you have a good signal. For internet sharing it wont make much of a difference, but if you want to transfer something big (like a movie or folder of music) you'll wish you had G.
 
Sure thing, its just like any other ethernet LAN, just without the wires. Just have to config the LAN on the 2 machines, usually just need to set them to the same workgroup for ease of use.
 
thanks for all the help darkstar! :D

is configuring the lan for 2 machines easy?
 
Well, I've never really used XP home, but I think the workgroup functionality is the same as pro, just can join a domain with home. You just want to go into the properties of the "my computer" icon, go to the computer name tab, and hit the change button. Put them both on the same workgroup (not required, but its easier this way). That should pretty much do the trick.

I set my workgroup and SSID on the wireless router to the same thing, just for simplicity's sake.
 
No problem. Bored and stuck at work to make sure our network and servers dont catch on fire or explode or something.
 
Or, goto my network places and launch the user-friendly home networking setup wizard. I use 802.11g with my desktop (wired), other desktop (wired), and my laptop (wireless.) Both runs at 108mbps. Laptop works in all corners of our house (two stories, about 2900 sqft) without losing much signal. Works great.
 
If you have the items at opposite corners of the house, like I do, you MAY have problems with signal strength.

My cable internet comes into the basement at the NE corner of the house, so thats where my D-Link DI-614+ wireless router is located. My wife's PC is at complete opposite end of the house - SW corner on the second floor. With all the walls and floor in between, her D-link DWL-520+ card was getting poor signal. I bought a 6 DB antenna with a wire extension to replace the native 2 (4?) db antenna and have had good signal strength ever since.

There are lots of aftermarket antennas out there that can hook up to the card if you need to. Or you can make your own. Just look up "Cantenna" in google.

I wouldn't recommend a USB link - I have one of those on my son's machine, and it seems spotty, it frequently dropped signal when playing games across the network for a few seconds at a time. PCI cards seem to work better.

BB
 
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