Network adapter question

Hiya,

I have a small home network and I want to go wireless. I'm trying to
decide which adapter I should get. A wireless USB or PCI card. Is there
any reason to go with one or the other? I will be using a linksys adapter.

thanks

Jami

"Jami" wrote in message
...
Hiya,

I have a small home network and I want to go wireless. I'm trying to
decide which adapter I should get. A wireless USB or PCI card. Is there
any reason to go with one or the other? I will be using a linksys
adapter.

thanks

Jami


if you have a spare pci slot then go for it.

"Jami" wrote in message
...
Hiya,

I have a small home network and I want to go wireless. I'm trying to
decide which adapter I should get. A wireless USB or PCI card. Is there
any reason to go with one or the other? I will be using a linksys
adapter.

thanks

Jami
I use my built-in Gigabit adapter for my main system and then a Linksys
router/802.11g/b for the rest of the network. The coverage is very good and
even gives me a "Good" signal out on my rear deck if I take my laptop out
there for coffee in the morning. That is about 60ft through about 5 walls.
Hardwiring is always the fastest, but if you don't do a lot of large file
transfers it should work out fine. I would reccomend a PCI adapter over
USB2, but the difference would not be huge.

Ed

If you are asking if you should go with a Wireless USB adapter or a Wireless
PCI card, then I would go with the wireless PCI card.

I've used both on my network at home and I'f found that the Wireless PCI
card has a better range by far, probabaly due to the size of the antenna on
the adapter. The USB adapter's antenna is inside a package the size of a
stick of chewing gum while the antenna on the PCI card is several inches
long.


"Jami" wrote in message
...
Hiya,

I have a small home network and I want to go wireless. I'm trying to
decide which adapter I should get. A wireless USB or PCI card. Is there
any reason to go with one or the other? I will be using a linksys
adapter.

thanks

Jami

"Jami" wrote in message
...
Hiya,

I have a small home network and I want to go wireless. I'm trying to
decide which adapter I should get. A wireless USB or PCI card. Is there
any reason to go with one or the other? I will be using a linksys
adapter.

thanks

Jami

Do you mean that you will be using a linksys wireless router?

Regardless, you want something like the following:

http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satel...=2751739789B45

or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16833124126

The reason is that a PCI card is crippled by location of
receiving/transmitting antenna. A PCI card adapter will probably work OK if
your router is on the same floor, and (the router and the PCI card) are not
separated from each other by too many walls.

The USB 2.0 adapter with cable to attach to the computer is better, as you
have a little more flexibility in where to locate the antenna.

Keep in mind that wireless networking has both good points and bad points

Bad) Harder to get reliable connection than wired network (for obvious
reasons). Particularly troublesome is trying to run the router on a
different floor than the adapters. But even having the router on the SAME
floor can be a problem if your house is large and there is a good distance
between router and adapter.
Bad) Not nearly as reliable as a wired network. Even with good signal
strength, you can lose your connection frequently.
Good) Can actually be FASTER than a wired network, if the signal strength
is good
Good) No wires to run

Generally, don't do wireless if there is any way possible to use wired. But
if you must use wireless, make sure that you can move the antenna around for
each computer you plan to connect. That means external USB wireless
adapters. If the router is linksys, then the adapter(s) should be linksys
also, though other major brands will probably work OK also. -Dave

Yes I'll be using a linksys wireless router. Thanks for the great
information. Lots of things to consider and you guys are so helpful. Do I
need to worry about security? You know someone trying to hack into my
network and use my internet connection.

Jami


"Dave" wrote in message
reenews.net...

"Jami" wrote in message
...
Hiya,

I have a small home network and I want to go wireless. I'm trying to
decide which adapter I should get. A wireless USB or PCI card. Is there
any reason to go with one or the other? I will be using a linksys
adapter.

thanks

Jami

Do you mean that you will be using a linksys wireless router?

Regardless, you want something like the following:

http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satel...=2751739789B45

or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16833124126

The reason is that a PCI card is crippled by location of
receiving/transmitting antenna. A PCI card adapter will probably work OK
if your router is on the same floor, and (the router and the PCI card) are
not separated from each other by too many walls.

The USB 2.0 adapter with cable to attach to the computer is better, as you
have a little more flexibility in where to locate the antenna.

Keep in mind that wireless networking has both good points and bad points

Bad) Harder to get reliable connection than wired network (for obvious
reasons). Particularly troublesome is trying to run the router on a
different floor than the adapters. But even having the router on the SAME
floor can be a problem if your house is large and there is a good distance
between router and adapter.
Bad) Not nearly as reliable as a wired network. Even with good signal
strength, you can lose your connection frequently.
Good) Can actually be FASTER than a wired network, if the signal strength
is good
Good) No wires to run

Generally, don't do wireless if there is any way possible to use wired.
But if you must use wireless, make sure that you can move the antenna
around for each computer you plan to connect. That means external USB
wireless adapters. If the router is linksys, then the adapter(s) should
be linksys also, though other major brands will probably work OK
lso. -Dave

"Jami" wrote in message
. ..
Yes I'll be using a linksys wireless router. Thanks for the great
information. Lots of things to consider and you guys are so helpful. Do
I need to worry about security? You know someone trying to hack into my
network and use my internet connection.

Jami


"Dave" wrote in message
reenews.net...

"Jami" wrote in message
...
Hiya,

I have a small home network and I want to go wireless. I'm trying to
decide which adapter I should get. A wireless USB or PCI card. Is
there any reason to go with one or the other? I will be using a linksys
adapter.

thanks

Jami

Do you mean that you will be using a linksys wireless router?

Regardless, you want something like the following:

http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satel...=2751739789B45

or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16833124126

The reason is that a PCI card is crippled by location of
receiving/transmitting antenna. A PCI card adapter will probably work OK
if your router is on the same floor, and (the router and the PCI card)
are not separated from each other by too many walls.

The USB 2.0 adapter with cable to attach to the computer is better, as
you have a little more flexibility in where to locate the antenna.

Keep in mind that wireless networking has both good points and bad points

Bad) Harder to get reliable connection than wired network (for obvious
reasons). Particularly troublesome is trying to run the router on a
different floor than the adapters. But even having the router on the
SAME floor can be a problem if your house is large and there is a good
distance between router and adapter.
Bad) Not nearly as reliable as a wired network. Even with good signal
strength, you can lose your connection frequently.
Good) Can actually be FASTER than a wired network, if the signal
strength is good
Good) No wires to run

Generally, don't do wireless if there is any way possible to use wired.
But if you must use wireless, make sure that you can move the antenna
around for each computer you plan to connect. That means external USB
wireless adapters. If the router is linksys, then the adapter(s) should
be linksys also, though other major brands will probably work OK
so. -Dave





yes, WEP or WAP, look at your router software settings.

Each wireless router will have a several options for different levels of
security. Keep in mind that you'll be better off all around for
compatability (security and speed) if you use all your components from the
same manufacturer no matter which brand you choose.

With regards to levels of security, it's usually a trade-off between ease of
use and the level of security.

Pick a manufacturer, read the documentation with regards to the security
options, then try them and pick the one that works best for you.

It all depends on how paranoid you choose to be, which level of security
will do what you're looking for.

If you're just worried about the casual user next door attaching to your
network, then just changing the default passwords for everything will
probably suffice. If you're worried about a serious hacker gaining access,
well then you'll want to pick the highest level of security available.
That's what I mean about choosing how paranoid you want to be.


"Jami" wrote in message
. ..
Yes I'll be using a linksys wireless router. Thanks for the great
information. Lots of things to consider and you guys are so helpful. Do
I need to worry about security? You know someone trying to hack into my
network and use my internet connection.

Jami


"Dave" wrote in message
reenews.net...

"Jami" wrote in message
...
Hiya,

I have a small home network and I want to go wireless. I'm trying to
decide which adapter I should get. A wireless USB or PCI card. Is
there any reason to go with one or the other? I will be using a linksys
adapter.

thanks

Jami

Do you mean that you will be using a linksys wireless router?

Regardless, you want something like the following:

http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satel...=2751739789B45

or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16833124126

The reason is that a PCI card is crippled by location of
receiving/transmitting antenna. A PCI card adapter will probably work OK
if your router is on the same floor, and (the router and the PCI card)
are not separated from each other by too many walls.

The USB 2.0 adapter with cable to attach to the computer is better, as
you have a little more flexibility in where to locate the antenna.

Keep in mind that wireless networking has both good points and bad points

Bad) Harder to get reliable connection than wired network (for obvious
reasons). Particularly troublesome is trying to run the router on a
different floor than the adapters. But even having the router on the
SAME floor can be a problem if your house is large and there is a good
distance between router and adapter.
Bad) Not nearly as reliable as a wired network. Even with good signal
strength, you can lose your connection frequently.
Good) Can actually be FASTER than a wired network, if the signal
strength is good
Good) No wires to run

Generally, don't do wireless if there is any way possible to use wired.
But if you must use wireless, make sure that you can move the antenna
around for each computer you plan to connect. That means external USB
wireless adapters. If the router is linksys, then the adapter(s) should
be linksys also, though other major brands will probably work OK
so. -Dave

"Jami" wrote in message
. ..
Yes I'll be using a linksys wireless router. Thanks for the great
information. Lots of things to consider and you guys are so helpful. Do
I need to worry about security? You know someone trying to hack into my
network and use my internet connection.

Jami


That depends somewhat on where you live. Where we live, nobody gets close
enough to our house to use our wireless connection, even if they wanted to.
The signal doesn't reach as far as the street, so it's not like someone
driving by looking for a connection is going to happen to find our network.

Generally though, it's a good idea to enable security (especially if you
have lots of nearby neighbors and/or live in an apartment building). Use 64
or 128 bit encryption and a shared key. This means you will need to enter
security settings and type your key (essentially a password) into each
computer that you want to use your wireless network.

Test your network with NO security settings enabled first though. It can
often be difficult to get all your computers working on a wireless network.
Make sure you can connect to the Internet wirelessly, THEN enable security
in the wireless router and re-program each wireless adapter to match. -Dave

On Mar 18, 12:03 pm, "Dave" wrote:
"Jami" wrote in message

. ..

Yes I'll be using a linksys wireless router. Thanks for the great
information. Lots of things to consider and you guys are so helpful. Do
I need to worry about security? You know someone trying to hack into my
network and use my internet connection.

Jami

That depends somewhat on where you live. Where we live, nobody gets close
enough to our house to use our wireless connection, even if they wanted to.
The signal doesn't reach as far as the street, so it's not like someone
driving by looking for a connection is going to happen to find our network.

Generally though, it's a good idea to enable security (especially if you
have lots of nearby neighbors and/or live in an apartment building). Use 64
or 128 bit encryption and a shared key. This means you will need to enter
security settings and type your key (essentially a password) into each
computer that you want to use your wireless network.

Test your network with NO security settings enabled first though. It can
often be difficult to get all your computers working on a wireless network.
Make sure you can connect to the Internet wirelessly, THEN enable security
in the wireless router and re-program each wireless adapter to match. -Dave

Jami, I am currently running a wireless network with a Linksys
wireless G broadband router. My main pc is still hardwired (only so
save the cost of a pci card) I have 2 more pc"s using pci cards and a
laptop. I am able to receive a signal from anywhere in the house and
the router is in the far corner of the basement. I am also able to
take my laptop across the street to my friends yard (about 120ft) with
no troubles. One of the posters mentioned antenna size. I tried the
usb and could not get the same receptions for the second floor pc. If
you can borrow a usb adapter to try, if not I would go with the pci.
My experiences have been very positive.
-J