Which method to chose????

[Nic Miller]

Realistically, will I notice much difference using wireless to connect to the internet rather than running a CAT5 cable up through the house? ie for general stuff and games?


2 options -

Option 1 - run cable up wall in corner of hall and up through ceiling - remove floor boards in landing and study and feed cable through to PC.

Pros - get a hard line from router to PC. quiker more stable connection

Cons - Pain in the @rse to do, but I should be able to manage it.

Cost - About £50 for pre crimped cable ?



Option 2 - buy a PCI wireless network card and go wireless.

Pros - Easy, quick and cheap. Not much slower or less stable than a cable ?

Cost - About £30 ?

Any views? or things I haven't thought about ?

Cheers

Nic

 

[bigbadish]

Now my wireless is all set up and working I wouldn't want to go back to having excess cables. I have not run any test as of yet but gaming seems exactle the same speed as using cables .

 

[Avalon]

I was in the same situation when I moved into my new place. We were replacing all the carpets anyway and taking up the floor boards was a doddle so I took the oppertunity to wire from the lounge to the office with the intention of using the laptop in the lounge. That was 4 yars ago and a lot's changed. I now have 7 devices in my lounge that either require or can make use of a net connection (consoles, htpc, laptop, media device). Short term it was agro but it has proved to be the most cost and time effective route in the long run. My only regret is not at least laying cable to the other rooms even if I never use it.

You can use wifi but by it's nature it won't be as reliable as an RJ45 cable but for general use you shouldn't notice any difference. The other option that seems to be gaining popularity is home plug (using electrical cables for networking).

*edit* if you have DSL then why not use a phone point upstairs and wire from that to the PC ?