Home wireless network set up

[elrasho]

Hi,

I have 2 PC's that I want to connect ogether wirelessly. One will have Tiscali broadband connection using a SAGEM ADSL Modem. What hardware do I need for this?

Niether comptuter has any wireless hardware. Both have WindowsXP Home Edition. I went to PCWORLD and they said all I need is this:

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/st...1&tm=undefined&sku=123014&category_oid=-28359

Is this true??

Thanks

 

[giant384]

the router/modem is good but i would not get the usb wireless recievers they arent that great. if you can find a d-link pci wireless reciever it would be better.

 

[lePobz]

You do not need a wireless router, all you need is two wireless PCI cards (if you're planning on leaving the dsl modem connected to one computer, as long as this computer is turned on, the other computer can access the internet through it wirelessly)

Otherwise yes, get a router so that either computer can access the internet regardless of wether the other computer is on or not. It's also safer, since most routers have firewalls. I wouldn't use a USB wireless adapter though, unless it's for a laptop. PCI cards with external antennas have much better range, and suffer less inteference.

Also, stay out of PCworld. It's the domain of the noob, and you're likely to get sold something that's overpriced and under-specced. Plus PCworld staff are 99% clueless, so you'll end up getting sold something you didn't need in the first place.

 

[WhiteZero]

I wouldent say PCWorld is clueless... I read each of their mags at work and a lot of their articles are pretty informed. Granted they assume that the most tech savy people dont read it so it's a bit more dumbed down. But the only thing I've ever not liked about it is their rating system for reviews.

Anyway, yeah you could get a router and 2 wireless cards...
or you could get just 2 wireless cards, put one into Ad-Hock mode and set it up for internet sharing, and have the other computer connect to it. But using this method would mean the ad-hock computer would have to be on in order for the other computer to use the internet.

Either way, make sure you using somekind of encryption (other than WEP), namely go for a router that has WPA and/or WPA2.

 

[elrasho]

So all I need is a ADSL Router and ONE PCI Wireless Adaptor (for my PC, as the adsl router will be connected to the downstairs PC)?

I’ve been looking around, how do these two look:

ADSL ROUTER:

http://www.cclonline.com/product-info.asp?product_id=2110&category_id=160&manufacturer_id=0

Wireless Adaptor:

http://www.cclonline.com/product-info.asp?product_id=2115&category_id=154&manufacturer_id=0


Will this be OK? I a bit confused, do I need to get TWO PCI Wireless Adaptors, one for each PC?

 

[Saketi]

i was goin to mention ccl, they have great staff & know what they're talking about.

What i got for my wireless internet is...A wireless router..Netgear 54Mbps WGR614

And a wireless network card...this one

At the time of my setup they were new out, so as i might have guesssed it was sometime.

But all u need is a wireless router, this plugs into the back of your cable modem via a ethernet cable. Plug in your wireless card into the PC u want it on, & walla, ur up and runnning (obviously follow the step by step guide) But i must say for a noobie when it comes to wireless connectivity Netgear is very good & user friendly.

 

[elrasho]

If I get the netgear ADSL Router, will I not have to have the PC downstairs ON to access the net from the PC in my room?? IF so that would be brill!! :E

 

[WhiteZero]

Ok, the way that using the router works is:
You plug your internet intot he router, then you plug your computers into the router to share the internet.

But if your going to have one or more computers using wireless, then you have to make sure that the router has wireless as well (and yes, wireless routers also have ports for wired networking).

 

[Saketi]

Ok, the way that using the router works is:
You plug your internet intot he router, then you plug your computers into the router to share the internet.

But if your going to have one or more computers using wireless, then you have to make sure that the router has wireless as well (and yes, wireless routers also have ports for wired networking).

basically do this, & if u want the computer in ur room or wherever make sure that the internet modem is turned on, u dont need to have the 2nd pc on to have the internet say in ur room.

 

[elrasho]

So the equipment I have listend above will let me use the Internet on my PC whilst the PC downstirs is switched off? My Broadband is through Tiscali ISP using by BT Telephone line and I have a SAGEM ADSL modem. Ive been told that the Netgear Router has a ADSL modem build in so I dont need the SAGEM moden anymore, is that true?

 

[WhiteZero]

basically do this, & if u want the computer in ur room or wherever make sure that the internet modem is turned on, u dont need to have the 2nd pc on to have the internet say in ur room.

No, if your using a router, no computer has to stay on for the internet to work.
The router acts as a medium between your computers and the internet. It "splits off" your internet connection to all the other computers.

 

[lePobz]

i was goin to mention ccl, they have great staff & know what they're talking about.

Heh this is true, I buy all my stuff from CCL, and they're local too

 

[Chris D]

So the equipment I have listend above will let me use the Internet on my PC whilst the PC downstirs is switched off? My Broadband is through Tiscali ISP using by BT Telephone line and I have a SAGEM ADSL modem. Ive been told that the Netgear Router has a ADSL modem build in so I dont need the SAGEM moden anymore, is that true?

That's correct. Your Sagem modem will only run on USB, therefore there's no way to connect a router and that modem together, so therefore you'd need a router with the ADSL modem built in, such as the D-Link router you mentioned above.

I'd recommend either the Netgear 108mbps ADSL modem router or the Linksys SpeedBooster Wireless ADSL Gateway router. Avoid the Belkin ones... they're cheaper but much less reliable.

 

[Naudian]

How far away are these two PCs?

If possible, you shouldn't even bother with wireless, just use a cable, especially if you're gonna be gaming online a lot.
This is just me though, I had an odd issue with my Linksys wireless setup even though my PC was not very far from the router. I'd get lag in EVERY online game every minute or so, and I just couldn't bother with it. So now I'm just using an ethernet cable about 20ft long.
But I'm only recommending this if your two PCs are set up in a way that a cable could easily be run between them...which is probably not the case if you're going wireless.
Meh, you likely won't have any probs anyway, it's just an issue I had.

 

[Kyorisu]

Speaking of wireless the connection I have just reaches my room from where the access point is. Granted I only use wireless for my PSP. I have a ethernet cable through the roof to solve my other problems.