Ethernet or wireless? Hmmm....

[GreyPilgrim]

OK -- need some computer advice. I want to network two computers in my house together. Should I do this via Ethernet or go wireless? Both are desktops (oh, I so want a laptop).

I know wireless can be a touch slower, but is it significant? Besides ease, is there any other benefit to going wireless?

What do y'all think?

B-) Thanks

[Deja Q]

1. Well, wireless makes it real easy for

evil people like me to quietly park nearby and get some free internet bandwidth. :evilgrin:

Now, I don't do that sort of thing because I'm a nice guy - but some people aren't nice. :-(

[YellowRubberDuckie]

3. We didn't lock our hookup...

We don't care if you want to hijack. It's ok. Come on over.
Duckie

[YellowRubberDuckie]

2. Wireless

I can go anywhere with my laptop.
Duckie

[Longhorn]

4. We had Ethernet first and now wireless

and it is a tad slower but not enough to make a difference to me. I do have a laptop and love being able to move it from room to room as needed.

Another benefit of going wireless, obviously, is not having to run the wires through the walls and/or ceilings in order to connect the computers. Our wireless system has been very stable, too. If the power goes out, we just have to turn off the power to the computers, router, and cable modem, then turn them back, beginning with the modem, then the router, then the computers. We have Roadrunner but do not pay extra for the wireless service, either. Just got the wireless router, external wireless adaptor the desktop and wireless cards for the laptops.

Hope this helps! I'm not that computer savvy but savvy enough for this, I guess. ;)

[WMliberal]

5. go wireless, then give me your street address!

:evilgrin:

[Ready4Change]

6. Ethernets faster, cheaper. Wireless a tad slower, much more convenient.

How much effort running the wires is going to take may make your decision for you. If the 2 computers are in the same room, no problem. If they are in different rooms how do you plan to run the wires? Through doorways? Punch through walls? Do you need to get from floor to floor?

Wireless is kinda neat, in that if a friend with a laptop shows up, you can let them access your net real easy. For that matter, if you plan to get a laptop anytime, you'll LOVE wireless. The downside is that it's more expensive, and you should learn a bit about it, so that you can take some measures to make it a bit more secure than the standard installations make it.

[Iceburg]

7. Some questions first: ...

1. Are the two computers reasonably close together (ie. in the same room)?

2. Are you planning on getting a laptop in the near future (< 6 mons)?

3. Are you on dial-up or on broadband?

4. Do you currently have network cards in both PCs?

5. Do you have a a strict budget you would like to adhere to?

Depending on your answers to the above questions, one can give you a little more advice.

Some of my home puters are wired -- 3 are in the same room.
All my laptops use wireless -- and it works beautifully. I live in a rural area and have a line-of-sight radio connection to a wireless router (Microsoft)-- from this router I have wired in the PCs and use Microsoft wireless network cards in all the laptops. The house is about (5000 sq ft) over 3 stories and we have yet to hit any dead spots with the wireless cards. Response time is fractional slower on the wireless in the extreme areas ... well worth the mobility trade off.

I think I paid about $200 CDN for the wireless router with 1 network card. Each additional card was about $90 cdn.

Hope thats of help to you.

[GreyPilgrim]

8. Thanks to all for your responses!

I appreciate the feedback you've given.

I'm not planning on getting a laptop within the next few years.. but it's something I'm definitely drooling over having in the future.

The computers aren't in the same room... I could probably do it with less than 50 ft. of cable. There's a small hallway separating the two rooms.

What worries me is using the fish tape to get the cable to the right spot. I don't want to hit any other potential wires that could be behind the wall. I've never uses fish tape before, so I don't know how maneuverable it is. Hmmm..

Thanks again, all!

[tech3149]

9. don't worry about fishing

You'd have to work awfully hard to get throught the insulation on power cables. Just don't kink the wire or pull too hard.