[Drakon]

Hey guys, i'll be getting Comcast High Speed Internet next Wed and depending on the speeds and service i'll make a permanent switch from Earthlink DSL. If i do decide to keep it, my mom wants to share the connection so she can drop crappy AOL. Plus we got 2 mths free service. Now the technicians mentioned that we can buy a router and set it up so she can get the internet too. Now my pc is in my room which is on the 2nd floor and her's is on the 1st. What kind of connection would be best for us, Wireless or Wired? Depending on which connection u guys recommend, could u also recommend the necessary (good) hardware i need to get and any info about setting it up. Thanks guys...

[Necrosis]

Of course wired is always best if you care to snake cables around. How much were they asking to charge you for setup? It also would help to know how much you're willing to spend for a router too plus wireless cards too.

[Drakon]

well from what i saw on the website it was going to be an extra $10 a mth, plus i had to rent or buy the necessary equipment and a technician had to come install everything which would have been an additional fee. also i don't know the price ranges for a router and cards, but i'm looking for something that performs pretty good, but isn't too expensive.

[Necrosis]

What are the specs. on your current system, and your mother's? OS, and what not. BTW, do you live in a house and/or apartment? What experience do you have with networking?

[No_Style]

Just for your info, you don't need to pay your company the extra $10 just so you could share the internet access in your home. You could just purchase a "router"/switch and share the connection yourself. I'm not sure how that works over there. Some ISPs don't mind it, yet some ISPs are pretty anal about you using a router without them knowing. Over here, it's no big deal. I highly suggest wired, unless it's a huge hassle to get the wiring through.

[Vampyromaniac]

1st floor - to - 2nd floor sounds like a pain for Ethernet. I'd just go wireless.
unless this is a house and you have a handy person who can run it down between walls....

[Drakon]

Originally Posted by No_Style

Just for your info, you don't need to pay your company the extra $10 just so you could share the internet access in your home. You could just purchase a "router"/switch and share the connection yourself. I'm not sure how that works over there. Some ISPs don't mind it, yet some ISPs are pretty anal about you using a router without them knowing. Over here, it's no big deal. I highly suggest wired, unless it's a huge hassle to get the wiring through.

Yes No_Style the technicians that came to install our cable told us to go to best buy, buy a router and necessary cards etc and share the connection instead of getting it from Comcast. My mom and I agreed to doing that, so that's why i am asking for recommendations for the necessary hardware as well as info to setting everything up.

What are the specs. on your current system, and your mother's? OS, and what not. BTW, do you live in a house and/or apartment? What experience do you have with networking?

My System:

Asus A7N8X2.0 Deluxe Mobo
Athlon XP 2700+
1GB Corsair XMS pc2700 DDR
20 GB HD + 80 GB HD
Win XP Pro
SB Audigy2 ZS
Raedon 9800 Pro

My mom's system (Dell ):
500 mhz celeron
128MB RAM (i think)
10GB HD
Win 98 SE
SB 64
Onboard Graphics

We live in our own house. I have no experience with networking. It's my first time so be gentle with me...

1st floor - to - 2nd floor sounds like a pain for Ethernet. I'd just go wireless.
unless this is a house and you have a handy person who can run it down between walls....

No vampy we don't have anyone who can run the wires down between the walls, so i guess wireless would be a better choice.

So what wireless router/ desktop cards do u guys recommend?

[No_Style]

Originally Posted by Drakon

Yes No_Style the technicians that came to install our cable told us to go to best buy, buy a router and necessary cards etc and share the connection instead of getting it from Comcast.

So what wireless router/ desktop cards do u guys recommend?

I love technicians like that. Honest.

Bestbuy usually carries those Linksys Wireless PCI NICs and Linksys Wireless routers.

They usually do get the job done.

The hardest part about home wireless networking, is probably getting the encryption key in. Home networking is simply just plug and play. Very little configuration required. You don't even need to put a key, but it is a good idea so people don't get into your network and use your precious bandwidth

Update:

Toms Networking Review of the above router. By the looks of it is a solid router, just don't expect it to go extremely far and get good rates still, but that shouldn't be a problem in a typical home.

[Drakon]

thanks for the suggestions, No_Style. so how many PCI NICs do i need to get? also i'm assuming the router/nics come with instructions to setup the network, right? do u have any more recommendations for routers/nics? not that i'm trying to be a pain, but i do like to shop around...

[No_Style]

You can try looking at DLINK products. However, I don't know any off hand. You'll need 1 NIC per computer.

[Necrosis]

I currently use D-Link myself but have used just about every brand there is. Netgear edges out Linksys, and D-Link but not by a whole lot. Belkin isn't bad either but from what I've personally seen with them they don't offer many options router (web interface) wise.

I would recommend you setup the cable modem/router with your mother's computer. It will cut down on the cost for wireless cards; I don't have any experience with wireless networking /w Win98SE.

Talk to your mom, and ask her how much she is willing to spend. I'm sure we can come up with something that doesn't cost too much but works well.

Another question.

How many walls, obstacles is there between your mom's computer & yours? Do you also have any cordless phones, and what type?

BTW, something I've found that helps if you buy a wireless pci card with a stationary antenna. If you can afford it get a nice antenna you can move around so you can get the best signal.

[Drakon]

Originally Posted by Necrosis

I currently use D-Link myself but have used just about every brand there is. Netgear edges out Linksys, and D-Link but not by a whole lot. Belkin isn't bad either but from what I've personally seen with them they don't offer many options router (web interface) wise.

I would recommend you setup the cable modem/router with your mother's computer. It will cut down on the cost for wireless cards; I don't have any experience with wireless networking /w Win98SE.

Talk to your mom, and ask her how much she is willing to spend. I'm sure we can come up with something that doesn't cost too much but works well.

Another question.

How many walls, obstacles is there between your mom's computer & yours? Do you also have any cordless phones, and what type?

BTW, something I've found that helps if you buy a wireless pci card with a stationary antenna. If you can afford it get a nice antenna you can move around so you can get the best signal.

Well thanks for ur help, Necrosis. But why do u recommend that i setup the cable modem/router to my mom's system instead of mine? Why will it cut down the costs for wireless cards?

Also we have a few walls (not sure of the exact amount) between our computers. mine is in my room which is directly above the den where my mom has her pc.
Yes we do have a cordless phone. It's a Uniden 900 MHz cordless phone.

[Necrosis]

I recommend you set her's up with the wired side because you won't have to buy a wireless card for it. You also have to think about the specs of that computer /w the OS a wired connection would just work better. I imagine since you've already have DSL that one/both computers have a ethernet card. If not ethernet cards are much less costly than wireless cards. The last reason is I really don't know how well it would work having the router higher then your mother's computer.

It sounds like to me you shouldn't have any problems with walls being in the way. However, you will need to limit the amount that 900MHz phone gets in between the router & your mother's computer.

[Drakon]

Originally Posted by Necrosis

I recommend you set her's up with the wired side because you won't have to buy a wireless card for it. You also have to think about the specs of that computer /w the OS a wired connection would just work better. I imagine since you've already have DSL that one/both computers have a ethernet card. If not ethernet cards are much less costly than wireless cards. The last reason is I really don't know how well it would work having the router higher then your mother's computer.

It sounds like to me you shouldn't have any problems with walls being in the way. However, you will need to limit the amount that 900MHz phone gets in between the router & your mother's computer.

Hmmm, well now u got me sorta confused, necrosis. so u're saying that i should let the technician hook up the cable modem to her computer. get a router, hook that up to her's as well and just buy a wireless pci nic for my pc, right? anyways only my pc has an ethernet card since i have the DSL. also what do u mean by this:

However, you will need to limit the amount that 900MHz phone gets in between the router & your mother's computer.

Sorry for all the questions, i'm new to this, but thanks a lot for ur help so far...

[Geminiwave]

There could be a problem...

if the router doesnt work through the ceiling, that could be trouble. Just be careful with wireless. Also know that even though wireless throughput is higher than what your cable connection will be, your speeds will never be as good as wired. You'll get probably anywhere from 150kbps-200kbps if its going through a floor\ceiling or several walls. Maybe less maybe more. So wired is always better since you dont have to worry about RFI so much. I dunno..depends on what you want. If its your moms computer getting the wireless I wouldnt see a problem(web browsing and email is all she does right? cause for gaming there could be problems, but if its just web browsing and email she will NEVER notice)

[Necrosis]

Originally Posted by Drakon

Hmmm, well now u got me sorta confused, necrosis. so u're saying that i should let the technician hook up the cable modem to her computer. get a router, hook that up to her's as well and just buy a wireless pci nic for my pc, right? anyways only my pc has an ethernet card since i have the DSL. also what do u mean by this:

Sorry for all the questions, i'm new to this, but thanks a lot for ur help so far...[img]images/smilies/big%20grin.gif[/img]

Yes, that is what I'm saying. To be honest I'm not sure how well the wireless signal will work with the router being directly over her computer. It's about line of sight really, and that is why I asked about walls and such. I know your board has two ethernet connections on it already. In fact I think there is even an add-on you can get for the A7N8X especially for wireless. You can try it either way by buying a router and a wireless card then setting up a home network prior to the cable install. Once you have that done you see about placement.

Now about the phone. A number of devices, cordless phones, cell phones, and microwaves can cause interference problems. So I greatly encourage you to get this setup before the cable gets installed so you can "tinker" and work out any bugs.

[Vampyromaniac]

Wasn't it the 2.4 GHz phones that caused interference? I thought the 900 MHz ones were fine.

[Necrosis]

Originally Posted by Vampyromaniac

Wasn't it the 2.4 GHz phones that caused interference? I thought the 900 MHz ones were fine.

Doh you're right. One of the reasons I changed the phone in my kitchen to 900MHz.

Sorry for the brainfart.

[Vampyromaniac]

no biggie

[Drakon]

Originally Posted by Necrosis

Yes, that is what I'm saying. To be honest I'm not sure how well the wireless signal will work with the router being directly over her computer. It's about line of sight really, and that is why I asked about walls and such. I know your board has two ethernet connections on it already. In fact I think there is even an add-on you can get for the A7N8X especially for wireless. You can try it either way by buying a router and a wireless card then setting up a home network prior to the cable install. Once you have that done you see about placement.

Now about the phone. A number of devices, cordless phones, cell phones, and microwaves can cause interference problems. So I greatly encourage you to get this setup before the cable gets installed so you can "tinker" and work out any bugs.

yeah well thanks for the info, necrosis. but there's no way we could get the stuff and install it before the tech comes on wed. i got an exam coming up so i need time to study, plus both my mom and i r short on cash... as far as using a wired connection, i really see no way to run the wires from my mom's computer up to my room with out them getting in the way so wireless is the only option.

[Drakon]

Also know that even though wireless throughput is higher than what your cable connection will be, your speeds will never be as good as wired. You'll get probably anywhere from 150kbps-200kbps if its going through a floor\ceiling or several walls. Maybe less maybe more. So wired is always better since you dont have to worry about RFI so much.

could u explain this a lil more, geminiwave. sorta confused by this. btw the advertised speeds for the internet is 3MBs dn / 256K up.

I dunno..depends on what you want. If its your moms computer getting the wireless I wouldnt see a problem(web browsing and email is all she does right? cause for gaming there could be problems, but if its just web browsing and email she will NEVER notice)

so u would suggest i get the cable modem/router and mom get the wireless card instead? yes web browsing and email is all she does on the web.

[Data1232]

I also have Comcast HSI, and though I only have a one floor house, I did have a similar problem when I was setting up my network. My mother also does simple web-browsing, email,etc, and I have a D-Link 624+ Wireless G router with a Wireless NIC for my mom's comp. I do have to tell you, that your ceiling will probably hurt the signal a lot since I get a low signal when my mom's computer is about 100-200ft away in another room. Your best bet if you really want wireless is an antenna that will extend the range of your router. Since your mom will be doing the simple e-mailing, etc the bandwith that she uses will be fairly small in comparison to what is actually provided to her. Meaning that though she will have slower connection, it will be fast enought to load webpages, etc quickly. What Comcast advertises as 3MBs dn / 256K up, is what they say will come through the cable and to up to the modem. After that it depends on how you set up your network. If you create a direct connection from your modem to your router to your computer, then you will have a fairly close speed towards what they offer minus environmental circumstances (essentially the environment the cable is in underground, etc...basically out of your control). Your mother on the other hand will most likely have a much slower connection than yours in terms of bitrate but as mentioned before, it will not be a noticeable hit for her. A word of advice when dealing with a D-Link router; I've found that they tend to play nasty when you have SP1 installed on one computer and SP2 on another. Make sure that if you do get one that you have the same Service Pack on both computers before setting up the network. SP2's firewally tends to get funny when it deals with networks that have started off of SP1. I'm not sure if this is a universal thing with all D-Link routers, or any router for that matter, but I have run into this before, and it will save you a couple of hours and prevent a lot of frustration. Good luck!

[Geminiwave]

Originally Posted by Drakon

could u explain this a lil more, geminiwave. sorta confused by this. btw the advertised speeds for the internet is 3MBs dn / 256K up.


so u would suggest i get the cable modem/router and mom get the wireless card instead? yes web browsing and email is all she does on the web.

Okay first off...your speeds of 3Mbps means Mega-bits so that is 3000Kbps divided by 8(one KiloBYTE is 8 KiloBITS) so 375KBps is going to be your download speed. So that being said, you'll get around half of your speed if going through a wall or ceiling or something solid. Many walls have metal in there which interferes with radio signals. Or any number of things. Some insulation will do it too(alot of insulation really).

Yes I would suggest that you get the Cable modem\router and your mom gets the wireless card. She wont have ANY speed problems for what shes doing and thus wont notice the difference between 100KBps and 400KBps. even if she got 20KBps she might not notice any speed difference. You on the other hand will notice it big time. Especially if you game.