Best Wireless option ?
Posted by: long-time-dead on 02 December 2005
Rather than succumb to magazine reviews or the dreaded PC store, I trust you will be able to provide the solution for me by experience !
I will be moving my PC into a room with no telephone point or viability for installing cables. I therefore need to look at a wireless solution.
I currently have a BT USB Broadband modem and know it will be useless for wireless applications and it will need replaced by a new Modem/Wireless Router. The obvious question is which one ?
Another thought is whether to use the USB "key" type wireless pickups on my PC or to install a separate card ?
Options for the future will be to add the 2 PCs my children have and also a future change from my PC to an iMac G5
Thanks in advance !
Posted on: 02 December 2005 by Paul Hutchings
I have a Zyxel 660HW and it's an excellent piece of kit in my opinion, cheap enough and ADSL2/ADSL2+ ready so about as future proof as I think you can get at the moment.
Draytek also get very favourable reports, but they're a hell of a lot of money for home use unless you can really justify it.
For the PC I would suggest a wireless card, they don't cost much more and I'd expect them to be generally more stable than a USB dongle.
cheers,
Paul
Posted on: 02 December 2005 by Justyn
We use a netgear wireless router in work. Requires a seperate USB wireless connector for each PC. It,s been reliable and trouble free so far, and the speeds not that bad but I think there's some quicker models out there.
Cost of them is about £80 I think.
Regards
Justyn.
Posted on: 02 December 2005 by garyi
Posted on: 02 December 2005 by Toksik
LTD, i'm using the excellent Billion 7402g wireless router/modem. it is ADSL2+ ready which we might use one day !.
i purchase this brand from Solwise who distribute them in this country.
i'm downstairs on my wife's laptop with a Belkin wireless card a nd it works like a dream.
personally i don't like USB connections and prefer ethernet connection.
it's amazing how many "open" wireless networks there are around here,deon't forget to secure yours.
regards
dennis
Posted on: 03 December 2005 by Martin Payne
Wireless networks generally do not give only a fraction of the throughput that their names would suggest (54mbps, etc), and the signal may not carry reliably throughout the house.
You may like to look out for some of the new speed- & range-boosting technologies, although beware that (AFAIK) they are not yet standardised and you may need to make sure that your router & cards need to be compatible.
See, for instance,
Toms Networking. Have a browse around the site.
cheers, Martin
Posted on: 03 December 2005 by j8hn
LTD
To answer your last Q 1st, you will get a much better and faste network connection using a card rather than a usb dongle [though they are marvelously convenient.
SVP is the place to get very cheap kit, after using very expensive Netgear stuff I find the Sweex router [from SVP] far far better. Also it's not worth shelling out on expensive kit at the mo as newer faster networking is beginning to b rolled out.
Posted on: 04 December 2005 by Steve G
I'm using a Belkin wireless router that cost about £50 and PCI wireless cards which were about £15 from dabs.com.
