current setup:
living room:
ntl cable connection --> netgear634u wireless router
media pc connected via ethernet
downstairs bedroom:
gaming pc - using 3com wireless unit
work pc - using shuttle wireless unit
laptop - onboard wireless - sometimes use in living room
other pc's:
pc1: bedroom1 - cheapy wireless unit
pc2: bedroom2 - netgear wireless unit
xbox360: bedroom2 - xbox wireless unit
the problems:
* none of the pc's like the 3com unit for games, gets really high pings but is fine for general surfing.
* shuttle wireless unit recently died when shuttle got attacked by trojans, no idea if it still works yet
* cheapy wireless unit uses cheapy software, has to manually connect to router
* router has a habit of falling over, requires ~daily reboots each taking a few minutes and can be inconvenient.
options:
1) buy a router + usb adapter from a shop for £40, (LINKSYS WRT54GSUK and WUB54GSUK)
2) buy 100m of cat5, crimp and connectors, where 35m will be needed to link the 2 rooms, if the landlady sees it she will kill me. would also cost around £40
3) buy a gaming adapter or similar, use a gigabit switch to connect the 3 pc's in my room to the router, costs around £40 too (have i got the right idea here, or will an access point do?)
1 would stop the disconnections, and it comes with a usb adapter which i can use on a pc (use 3com on work pc, should be fine and the linksys on my gaming pc) can also continue to use the regular router too.
2 would give me a guaranteed connection, but would be very messy to setup, very time consuming and there's still a risk of the router crashing.
3 was my original idea, but has been put on the backshelf recently as i don't know how easy the gaming adapters are to setup.
i also want to start using the media centre on the net more, accessing files from it from remote locations, i have no idea how to do this using the netgear router, are linksys any better?
living room:
ntl cable connection --> netgear634u wireless router
media pc connected via ethernet
downstairs bedroom:
gaming pc - using 3com wireless unit
work pc - using shuttle wireless unit
laptop - onboard wireless - sometimes use in living room
other pc's:
pc1: bedroom1 - cheapy wireless unit
pc2: bedroom2 - netgear wireless unit
xbox360: bedroom2 - xbox wireless unit
the problems:
* none of the pc's like the 3com unit for games, gets really high pings but is fine for general surfing.
* shuttle wireless unit recently died when shuttle got attacked by trojans, no idea if it still works yet
* cheapy wireless unit uses cheapy software, has to manually connect to router
* router has a habit of falling over, requires ~daily reboots each taking a few minutes and can be inconvenient.
options:
1) buy a router + usb adapter from a shop for £40, (LINKSYS WRT54GSUK and WUB54GSUK)
2) buy 100m of cat5, crimp and connectors, where 35m will be needed to link the 2 rooms, if the landlady sees it she will kill me. would also cost around £40
3) buy a gaming adapter or similar, use a gigabit switch to connect the 3 pc's in my room to the router, costs around £40 too (have i got the right idea here, or will an access point do?)
1 would stop the disconnections, and it comes with a usb adapter which i can use on a pc (use 3com on work pc, should be fine and the linksys on my gaming pc) can also continue to use the regular router too.
2 would give me a guaranteed connection, but would be very messy to setup, very time consuming and there's still a risk of the router crashing.
3 was my original idea, but has been put on the backshelf recently as i don't know how easy the gaming adapters are to setup.
i also want to start using the media centre on the net more, accessing files from it from remote locations, i have no idea how to do this using the netgear router, are linksys any better?