Network questions - NS4Sale

Alex Parker · 01-12-2007, 10:49 PM

Ok, so, in light of research prompted by... another wireless thread

I decided to bite the bullet and seek some anwsers of my own.

Would wireless USB or PCI be better? I currently have a USB adapter on one of my computers, and it randomly drops connection, stops working altogether, slows down etc. I've read on numerous accounts that wireless PCI cards are a lot more stable then their USB counterparts. Is this true? If so, I'm ditching the USB crap.

Another question: one of our computers uses internet connection sharing. The problem is, whenever nobody is logged on the host computer (IE: it's just sitting at the login screen) the internet doesnt work on the client. Is there any way to fix this?

Thanks!

haveblue · 01-12-2007, 10:51 PM

I've found PCI cards to be much more reliable than USB.

Not sure about your ICS problem though.

Rednecktech · 01-12-2007, 11:09 PM

Yes USB adaptors are not as good, a lot of it is due to the tiny built in antenna or the fact they point the wrong way out of necessity to be plugged into the port.

As for the ICS I don't know if that's normal or not either, I've never used it much. You could play around with the power settings so it never logs off or goes to the welcome screen....

treid · 01-13-2007, 12:46 AM

agreed with Greg, the pci are much more stable, trust me ive had a lot of experience with both. There is however a negative to the pci cards, there a huge bitch to install. Almost designed to piss you off, as the usb is plug, install, and go. I just ditched my belkin "Wireless G Desktop Card" due to a broken antenna, i could of easily got the problem fixed, but I do alot of reformatting, and i don't wanna be installing that eery week, so i sold off the broken card for 20 bucks and got me a D Link airport usb adapter. Does go out more than the belkin, but dosn't stay out for long periods of time, and it's not all that frequent it goes out anyways, I can live with it. While on the topic of wireless networking, I have a question of my own, what's the deal with the new N networking? Is it any better than G for home use? Considering an upgrade, but if the upgrade isnt dramatic enough im not even going to bother.

Terran · 01-13-2007, 01:56 AM

N has more Speed and Range then G
Acording to D-Link its "N" is 12x Faster, and 4x The Range of its "G" But i dont know if it means its 54mbps G or 108mbps G

Dogg_P · 01-13-2007, 03:19 AM

As far as I'm aware there is no "108mbps G", its usually refered to as "super-G" because its not a real standard.

N is faster, and is a real standard (and it works very well through walls I've found, although I've only had limited experience).

I've also been a pretty big fan of the USB wireless cards because you can run them off a USB extension cord to just about anywhere. Instead of the antenna being locked to the back of your computer, or having to buy a seperate antenna to set up somewhere, simply put the USB device where it gets a good signal and tape it there.

I hate wireless though.
With a passion.
Much like Donald hates Rosie.
But not at all like Rosie hates doughnuts.

haveblue · 01-13-2007, 10:11 AM

Wireless N isn't finalized yet, so everything that's out now is "pre-N", and the standard is likely to change by the time it becomes official.. as far as I know. I haven't done any reading on it in a while.

acheyne · 01-13-2007, 10:18 AM

The main problem I've had with USB is that they sometimes don't work properly when the computer comes out of hibernate. If the computer is always on, they seem to work fine. I like them for the same reason someone else posted - put a USB extension cable on them and you can get them a lot closer to your router.

PCI cards work OK, but usually come with an antenna that gives a fairly short range. As long as you have the right drivers for your card, setup is usually OK.

Wired is still the way to go, IMO. I just got through putting a bunch of holes in walls to run a proper wired network here. It was a pain in the ass, and I made a lot of mess, but all the computers in my house (don't ask how many!) are now wired and working fine.

If you're staying wireless, I have a PCI Wireless-G card for sale, fairly cheap. It suffers from the short range because of the antenna that most PCI cards suffer from, but that can be rectified by being fairly close to the access point or replacing the antenna.

As for ICS - it will only work when the host PC is on. You're better off getting a router and sharing your internet connection with the router.

treid · 01-16-2007, 03:24 PM

i totally agree with acheyne where wired is the way to go, but for some of us (including me) who are renting an apt or house, were not really aloud to run cables through the walls, and having wires running up and down the hall isnt very attractive.

reggie_4 · 01-16-2007, 04:22 PM

hate to be captain obvious but if he is hooking into a wireless connection Im willing to bet he has a router already.

you likely have to configure it to sign into the aliant connection? need help with that get us the router model and PM me I will send instructions... no reason you should be using ICS if your connecting wireless anyhow through a router....

unless your doing ICS over wireless which I must say is pretty gay