PCs and Wireless Network Cards

[JohnBu]

My nephews wants wireless internet on their desktops.

I'm thinking of either the 54M Wireless-G PCI cards (TP-Link WN350GD) or 150M Wireless-N USB Adaptors (TP-Link WN721N), as they are similar prices ~$15 each.

Speed isn't really an issue as they will most likely only watch YouTube etc.

Any pros or cons of installing/getting the USB or PCI cards to run.

Is one better than the other, or easier to getting up and running?

My only concern with the PCI card is one of the PCs is a HP Slim Format machine, so unsure if a full height PCI card will physically fit without me hacking away the card.

Warning: This is an Old Thread This discussion is older than 120 days. information contained in it may no longer be current . Please think of the children before resurrecting this ancient thread!

[JohnBu]

oh yeah, Cons of USB cards..

my nephews love to pull USB devices, VGA cables, speaker cables, KB/Mouse cables out and shove them back in, every 2nd day or so just because, because their uncle will fix it when they can't.

[poita]

1. Slap them up the side of the head everytime they do it.

2. USB ones tend to get lost/broken. Use PCi if you can.

3. PCi have aerials, as long as they arent prone to pulling those off you will be fine.

4. What distance from router to each desktop? Are they under a desk or on top of a desk?

[JohnBu]

Thanks Peter-

#2 is a concern...

The desktops are upstairs, router is downstairs.. it's open plan, so maybe 15ms or so... there is no issues with the signal when using the laptop in the same location as the desktops...

for some reason, phychologically, I see PCI performing better than USB due to the antennas.. not sure if it's true..

[dutchy]

I did have pci cards before but that had a terrible connection. Now I use those same tp link usb ones as you mentioned. My house is made of concrete blockes and the router (belkin) is about 40 meters away. No issues there and a great connection. The usb adaptors are not directly plugged into the computer but are connected with an usb extention lead. Had the same kids-issues as you have but it works well and they keep their fingers away from any cables now.

[Bloodnok]

My nephews wants wireless internet on their desktops.

I'm thinking of either the 54M Wireless-G PCI cards (TP-Link WN350GD) or 150M Wireless-N USB Adaptors (TP-Link WN721N), as they are similar prices ~$15 each.

Any particular reason it has to be wireless? I'm a great fan of a bit of real cable for desktop machines. Wireless bandwidth is shared between all devices in the vicinity, even those that are not on "your" network - so you could be in for all kinds of performance problems later on...

[JohnBu]

wireless, $30 for two connections.

wired would cost $500 for the connections, plus the hassles/expense of a getting a new router/switch etc..

[poita]

Thanks Peter-

#2 is a concern...

The desktops are upstairs, router is downstairs.. it's open plan, so maybe 15ms or so... there is no issues with the signal when using the laptop in the same location as the desktops...

for some reason, phychologically, I see PCI performing better than USB due to the antennas.. not sure if it's true..

I only have laptops now and are fine. So I don't see any issues.

The desktop (read dust collector) I have has a 300mb PCiE card in it. TBH it's much more stable than the USB stick I had.

The throughput of a PCi card and PCiE are much higher than a USB dongle.

Like comparing a USB TV Tuner and a PCiE TV tuner. Once again I have both and the PCiE kicks arse every day of the week.

Was wondering about distances, location etc due to speeds.

Personally I would get N as G is on it's last legs and most devices will not support the G stuff very soon

[glider]

most devices will not support the G stuff very soon

would be quite surprised by that, my N draft router broadcasts B, G and N (presumably simultaneously in 2.4ghz band)

[Bloodnok]

wireless, $30 for two connections.

wired would cost $500 for the connections, plus the hassles/expense of a getting a new router/switch etc..

Did you just say five hundred dollars?

Excuse me while I pick myself up of the floor.

Assuming we're talking standard copper cable and no special stuff, someone is expecting to make a SERIOUS profit on that sale.

You can run gigabit ethernet over the cheapest unshielded cat5e twisted pair. Don't let a shop upsell you on Cat6 - that's only needed for ten gigabit, and that's only of relevance for large scale server farm installs at the moment, you won't see ten gigabit capable home PCs or equipment for a while yet.

Don't be scared of long runs or of joining cables either - spec says 100m and up to three different bits of cable, but I know you can get a lot more than that and still have a stable connection. There's plenty of headroom available .

As to a new router/switch - I haven't met a router yet that doesn't have at least a single ethernet socket, and most "wireless routers" have four.
Even if yours only has one, a gigabit switch can be had for less than $50 (or less than $15 if you can put up with "only" 100mbit). If you do need to buy the switch, also remember you can put the switch by the desktop PCs to reduce the wiring runs.

The PCs will have ethernet on board already, although some vendors ship with it disabled in the BIOS - just have to turn it back on. No need to buy cards or anything.

Even with having to buy a switch and all the cables retail from my local shop, I can see it being done for as little as $50. That's $20 extra over the wireless option offered that I'd happily spend for the reliability of proper networking, which never goes wrong, never needs troubleshooting, never has performance problems, and is never under suspicion. Going for the gigabit option (an extra $30) will give plenty of bandwidth headroom for things like network storage.