mikky Posted May 23, 2008 Report Share Posted May 23, 2008 at the moment we have three computers.one is capable of going wireless ( laptop ) the other 2 are not,both are tower systems.all are hard wired at the moment to a modem .but i would like to do away with the cables and go wireless. would like advice on the types of wireless routers, and i believe i will have to get wireless cards for both the towers. any advice appreciated cheers mikky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pin Posted May 23, 2008 Report Share Posted May 23, 2008 What kind of broadband do you have (cable/ADSL)? What modem do you have now? What kind of range do you need between each of the computers and the router? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikky Posted May 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2008 hiya pin... i am on adsl and the range would have to cover a three story house mikky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferretman Posted May 23, 2008 Report Share Posted May 23, 2008 thats a big home lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosd Posted May 23, 2008 Report Share Posted May 23, 2008 at the moment we have three computers.one is capable of going wireless ( laptop ) the other 2 are not,both are tower systems.all are hard wired at the moment to a modem .but i would like to do away with the cables and go wireless.would like advice on the types of wireless routers, and i believe i will have to get wireless cards for both the towers. any advice appreciated cheers mikky Hi Mikky, Going wireless could be the easiest and the hardest pain in the butt thing you'll ever do. You can go the shop, buy a few boxes, go home load some discs and in no time you are set up and everything is great. On the flipside you could be hurling your equipment around in frustration. What you must remember is that what might work for me may not work for you; There are many factors in your house that can contribute to loss of signal, electric cabling, mobile phones, wireless phones, a microwave, the list goes on. My advice is buy the best equipment you can afford, MiMO equipment is by far the best you can buy and when you look at these on the web you will see they are more expensive. They do give you the best range and speed. I currently use a Belkin router with a built in printer server, this means that if you have a printer with a USB port, you can print wirelessly from any of your computers. I used to use USB wireless adapters for my towers but found that when I got the built in cards they worked much better, better range and better speed and they are very easy to install DIY. You will find that different people will give you different opinions, but believe me, just because your neighbour who lives in an identical house to you uses a particular type, this really doesn't mean yours will work as well. I used Netgear equipment before this and the range really was awful, yet a friend used one and had no problems at all. In summary, go to a shop and ask that if you buy any equipment and it doesn't work for you if you can exchange it for alternative makes. Don't beleive the range on the box, 300' range could mean you won't get 50' range depending on these factors, and when you call technical departments they will tell you that theres something in your house, thats it....! The good news is that once you do get it right it does work well and seldom gives you problems. Every now and again you will need to reboot but in general wireless is the way to go. I'm about to fix up my house (recently bought) and I will be hard wiring my three pc's, but will leave the wireless in as well for laptops, mobile phones, picture frames, music ect..... I work at Dixons head office in IT, so if you have any questions feel free to pm me for my number, if I can't sort your problem out I will know a man who can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pin Posted May 23, 2008 Report Share Posted May 23, 2008 On the cheap get a Netgear DG834G - that pack comes with one USB2 wifi adapter to which you'll need to add another USB2 wifi adapter These have limited range, without knowing how your house is laid out or how big it is (and how many other wireless AP's there are around you) I can't say if this will work, it should though. If you want guaranteed range and the faster "N" wireless standard (the USB keys I showed you are still the same for both) then look for the best price on a Netgear DG834N Other cheaper routers exist, linksys are ok for example and can be a few quid cheaper. The netgear stuff is excellent though and "just works" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosd Posted May 23, 2008 Report Share Posted May 23, 2008 This size house I would go MIMO, you will only buy it once and it definitely has the range. Aim to put your router in the most central place in the house so you get the most even range to the whole house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UnclePete Posted May 23, 2008 Report Share Posted May 23, 2008 Not a direct answer, but if you must go wireless then you need to be security aware. You must use encryption and it must be WPA/WPA2. I know someone who is a keen hacker, he can bust any WEP key in a few minutes, and a short WPA key in under an hour, so use a longish key 24 digits+. If you use POP email you should know that your user ID's and passwords are broadcast in plain text. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
staglioni Posted May 23, 2008 Report Share Posted May 23, 2008 (edited) wot is mimo bet ya thought i was chineese then lol Edited May 23, 2008 by staglioni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pin Posted May 23, 2008 Report Share Posted May 23, 2008 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiple-inpu..._communications Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveK Posted May 24, 2008 Report Share Posted May 24, 2008 I've got an Orange Livebox and can't get anything to connect to wireless. Even a laptop sat next to the router. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikky Posted May 26, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2008 thanks for your replys,cosd i might be taking you up on your offer :yp: hopefully i will be up and running wireless in the next few weeks cheers mikky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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