any wi-fi experts?!

[197-F1]

I know very little about wi-fi technology ;/

I currently have the following ADSL router:

http://www.netgear.co.uk/wireless_adslrouter_dg834g.php

Im about to buy a wireless card for my pc and move it upstairs where there is no phone line. I intend to leave the router downstairs as I cant be bothered trailing wires upstairs.

Question is...... what is the fastest kit (without going crazy on cost) so I dont suffer from being wireless (its wired to the router at present)

My connection speed is about 7-8mb at the mo.

I dont mind buying a new router (its 54mbps I believe and is quite old, so im assuming technology has moved on since then!!)

Any advice on router and wireless pci card would be appreciated!

 

[Adrian]

the fastest wireless spec at the minute is 'n' I believe. Buy the card and the router by the same manufacturer, makes it easier to set up. And dont let windows configure it either or it will probably keep dropping connection. Use the software supplied

 

[GrumpyTwig]

If you already leave it wired up you sure you need to go wireless?

http://www.ebuyer.com/store/Networking/cat/Network-Accessories/subcat/Homeplug-Adapters

These kind of things work well, at least when you microwave something it won't cut out

 

[Paul]

That is exactly what I was going to recommend Tom, I have just sorted my uncles new 3-storey house with those. He didn't get much wi-fi signal on the top floor which caused no ends of problems. The plug in jobbys were the best solution and more than fast enough to keep up with the web connection.

 

[197-F1]

Cheers guys....its wired up downstairs at the mo, but want the pc upstairs. Not sure why, but I think I would rather have a normal router than the plug things. I wonder if I will see any gains in an 'n' spec router over what I have now?

 

[GrumpyTwig]

Cheers guys....its wired up downstairs at the mo, but want the pc upstairs. Not sure why, but I think I would rather have a normal router than the plug things. I wonder if I will see any gains in an 'n' spec router over what I have now?

Probably not, wireless is overrated but even your current router is going to be faster than your internet connection in terms of throughput.

You might not need to bother.

The reason the powerline adapters are good is because they will NEVER drop out like wireless and you'll get a consistant speed. Latency will be lower which is important for how fast you percieve a connection to be.

However.. tbh save your cash and don't bother with either

 

[BenW]

Your current router is more than capable of keeping up with a 7-8 meg internet connection, no need to upgrade

 

[197-F1]

Cheers for that! I should be ok with just buying a cheap pci wireless card from ebay then?

 

[Arran]

We did this in our house, but used a standard usb dongle, which proved more reliable than the card in my brother's computer. We have a Belkin n router and have never had problems with signal or speed. We did have problems with the software supplied with it though, windows worked better for us!

 

[Bootsock]

Good little routers them, I wouldn't suggest changing it unless you particularly need to, although if you've had it a while, it's probably worth just updating the firmware on it (see netgear's support section on their site).

Wireless 'G' is fine in most cases unless you are planning on streaming video and the like, if it's general surfing, just stick with what you've got and pick up something like this for the PC:

http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Netw...ps+Network+Adapter+Card+-+PCI?productId=10025

 

[197-F1]

Cheers for the help. I do do a bit of downloading / streaming.... Ive bought a netgear WG311 pci card, as I thought it may be best to stick to Netgear?

It was only £13 new, so if its not great for my needs, i'll try and get a phone line up there!

 

[197]

I had to buy a booster to get the wireless up to the kids bedroom on the other side of the house. It just sits there catching the signal and throwing it further. Can get our connection next door now as well!

Its a Linksys wireless G range expander

 

[Bootsock]

Cheers for the help. I do do a bit of downloading / streaming.... Ive bought a netgear WG311 pci card, as I thought it may be best to stick to Netgear?

It was only £13 new, so if its not great for my needs, i'll try and get a phone line up there!

Good stuff, their kit is decent and pretty well supported, plus you can't complain for that price!