View Full Version : which? network card
Sorry couldn't resist the heading,
but anyway, I am looking to get a network card for my computer, it came with one, and I currently use this for home networking, but I want another card (singular) so that I can change my modem connection from USB to Ehternet.
what do you guys recommend?
system:
AMD Athlon XP 3000+
1.21 Gb Ram
Windows XP Home SP2
Ambit cable modem (NTL Home 120)
if you need any other specs, just ask.
ik
Ditch the extra NIC idea, get a router. :tu:
so could you explain what the beneifts of a router is and how much they cost?
ik
gary_580
07-03-2005, 11:59
you can connect all of your home network machines to the router and all will then have access to the NET
Share printers too (might need a print server but some routers have this built in)
Hardware firewall
£40+
ian@huth
07-03-2005, 12:03
so could you explain what the beneifts of a router is and how much they cost?
ik
With a router you do not have to leave the PCs connected powered up all the time where using your method you have to have the PC connected to the cable modem on for other PCs to use the connection. A router can be a firewall as well. You can get routers from around £18 http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?rb=5866072989&action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X3Jldmlld3M=&product_uid=52897
etccarmageddon
07-03-2005, 12:11
avoid Belkin wireless routers - I have taken 2 back to PC in the last month due to problems and bumped into someone at pcworld who mentioned the belkin pre n router which I was returning had already had a lot of problems reported on another forum.
depends who you ask i suppose...as with most things PC people have their favorites.. browsers, operating sytems, email clients, AV/Firewalls.. service providers..
I've had a belkin wireless router for nearly a year now, was a doddle to to set up and has been faultless.
so why are routers better than just getting a network card? is it safer? quicker?
will I get cables with it?
I don't know anything about routers.
ik
etccarmageddon
07-03-2005, 14:28
you get cables and it means you dont need to have your pc on all the time in order to share the connection.
ian@huth
07-03-2005, 14:38
you get cables and it means you dont need to have your pc on all the time in order to share the connection.You don't get cables with the Ebuyer router I mentioned in post #5 but they only cost from 37p upwards
ah, I am starting to see an up side to this router thing!
so what routers, apart from post #5, does everyone recommend?
ik
Personally I use a Linksys router - no problems with it in 2 years. Something like http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?LIN-BEFSR4 - although this doesn't have a print server.
keithwalton
07-03-2005, 15:26
depending on your budget en all. but if your only connecting a modem to it. the cheapo lan cards will suffice (cost a few £ tops) no need to splash out on a 10/100/1000. I'm not a big fan of routers myself but then thats just me!
Edit- bargain! http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?rb=5872206074&action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=42061
since you'll be using 10mbit tops cpu usage will be negligable
Sorry couldn't resist the heading,
but anyway, I am looking to get a network card for my computer, it came with one, and I currently use this for home networking, but I want another card (singular) so that I can change my modem connection from USB to Ehternet.
what do you guys recommend?
system:
AMD Athlon XP 3000+
1.21 Gb Ram
Windows XP Home SP2 & mandrake 10.1
Ambit cable modem (NTL Home 120)
if you need any other specs, just ask.
ik
I added another OS
I am looking to buy a router in the next few days, but I would like one that will be able to go through Mandrake as well.
also, what does the 10/100/1000 part mean?
ik
ah, I am starting to see an up side to this router thing!
so what routers, apart from post #5, does everyone recommend?
ik
Personally I use Linksys - I have the WRT54G (wireless) which works really well.
Netgear are a little more expensive - but pretty reliable (I get less calls from friends/family who have them ;) )
Belkin are cheap, but can be flaky - if you get a good one, they seem to be easy to setup and run.
D-Link are normally ok as well, but not many people I know are using them.
HTH
I added another OS
I am looking to buy a router in the next few days, but I would like one that will be able to go through Mandrake as well.
also, what does the 10/100/1000 part mean?
ik
Mbit, the max data transfer speed of the card.
Personally, I would buy a wireless router if I were you. It will require a wireless card for all your machines (and Linux may not support them), but you could still use that cabled.
I added another OS
I am looking to buy a router in the next few days, but I would like one that will be able to go through Mandrake as well.
also, what does the 10/100/1000 part mean?
ik
all routers should be OS independant.
to 10/100/1000 refers to the speed of the connection (in Megabits).
Bearing in mind that cable is less than 10 Megabits, you will only see any difference when sending data within your own network.
Mbit, the max data transfer speed of the card.
Personally, I would buy a wireless router if I were you. It will require a wireless card for all your machines (and Linux may not support them), but you could still use that cabled.
both comps in the house have a network card, but personally I am not going to go wireless yet, I can't afford extra cards.
ik
both comps in the house have a network card, but personally I am not going to go wireless yet, I can't afford extra cards.
ik
Fair enough, but if you are going to fork out for a router, it may be wise to pay a bit more for wireless even if you will not be using it straight away.
However, if money is tight...
with a wireless, one, this may sound stupid, but can you still use cables as well?
ik
with a wireless, one, this may sound stupid, but can you still use cables as well?
ik
Yes, (at least with mine you can), sorry, that was the point I was trying to make, but I did not make myself very clear.
edit:
this one (http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=45023) has four wired ports, and is a very popular router. You can get that one, start out using it wired, and buy wireless cards if/when you have the money.
ah, right, so then I could go for it, I just thought cause it is wireless you cannot connect cables.
sorry
ik
ah, right, so then I could go for it, I just thought cause it is wireless you cannot connect cables.
sorry
ik
Yup (see my edit)
When I bought my router in PC world I took to the counter a Linksys and the bloke said you don't want to get that, get Belkin its cheaper which I did. Never had any problems and straight forward to use. I say get a Belkin router, but then that is my opinion.
I will highly recommend the Linksys BEFW11S4 Router... currently ~£42 on http://www.ebuyer.co.uk
A guy who worked where I am got a Belkin (from PC World believe it or not - PC World must get bribed to sell more Belkin stuff!) and he says its great. But I have heard of people say they're not so great. I think its the luck of the draw to be honest...
Many say Linksys' router firmware is weak... but many have said its improving since Cisco Systems have been stamping their impressions onto the kit.
I've heard of some people having trouble with Netgear stuff too... and I find their LAN cards (although pretty cheap and decent quality), they can die pretty miserably.
All in all though, I'd go for the Linksys... but as I have one, I'm biased :p
Alternatively, get a 3com TX-905C NIC (I got one off ebay for £5 + £1 P&P) - have an onboard dedicated processor to minimalise (sp?) any usage of the main CPU to process it's data.
I have problems with my BEFW11S4, but when it worked fine it worked flawlessly.
I have a Belkin wireless card, based on the Broadcom 54g chipset, tbh, its a heap of **** compared to my old d-link card. Not recommended. Its the one that is in all the dixons group shops..avoid.
Graham M
25-04-2005, 21:14
all routers should be OS independant.
to 10/100/1000 refers to the speed of the connection (in Megabits).
Bearing in mind that cable is less than 10 Megabits, you will only see any difference when sending data within your own network.
True although I thoroughly recommend at least a 100MBit cabling standard especially for transferring data between PCs in your house as 10MBit gets terribly sluggish even for LAN gaming.
Got a Sweex router myself, £25 - looked at the Ebuyer one (Origo/safecom), but got scared of by the speed drop reports on the ADSLTECH forum (all Safecom products there)
Probably firmware-fixed by now, I should think!
ok, guys, I went and got the linksys wireless one, but another wee question:
what kind of cable do I need? I just need one I think, cause I have a cat5 cable that is connecting the both comps, so do I just go for this? 1m UTP CAT-5 Cable (RJ45) from scan at 45p http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=15101
ik
EDIT: bearing in mind I might not buy it online, as carraige will cost about 100 times the cost of the cable
ok, guys, I went and got the linksys wireless one, but another wee question:
what kind of cable do I need? I just need one I think, cause I have a cat5 cable that is connecting the both comps, so do I just go for this? 1m UTP CAT-5 Cable (RJ45) from scan at 45p http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=15101
ik
Yes, but presumably you are now using a cross-over (x-over) cable to connect the two machines? You will need to change this to straight through. Either by buying a new cable, or buying an adaptor.
I found a wee shop near me, so I will go there for the cable, and ask them, my mate says they are decent folk, and wont rip me off.
ik
p.s. thanks all
hey everyone, I got my Linksys WRT54G router today.
I set up the network, making my computer my wee bros computer and the internet all on the router, and it took about 2 mins for the OS to see the internet, but it worked straight away.
logged onto Linksys setup page for the router, and just picked the DHCP setup, because I know NTL use Dynamic IPs. this is now working a treat.
Not tested my wee brothers connection yet, because we are currently waiting for a monitor for his machine, but I don't invisage any problems.
thanks all.
ik
EDIT: I would rep you all, but you all got repped a few days ago for this thread from me.
hey guys a small problem,
I am trying to get my home network connected with this router.
My computer used to be the main computer in the network, and my wee bros, the child computer.
I tried to make a new network connection through the router, and chose that option through the network setup.
I could make the network floppy disk from my side, but it would not let my wee bros comp go through it.
how can I set up a network that I can see his computer, I am trying to copy over his files, so that I can upgrade his computer from xp to xp sp2
ik
p.s. his comp used to be directly connected to mine, but now we are both connected to the router which is connected directly to the net.
On my network at home, I use static IP addressing - the following images may explain it a bit better... (I assume you are using WinXP on both PCs)
On both PCs, go to control panel and then network connections. Right click the network connection used for the router and go to properties. A box like this will appear...
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/d.greenwood5/geekage/lan_xp98/image027.jpg
Go to TCP/IP and then into properties... a box like this will come up...
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/d.greenwood5/geekage/lan_xp98/image029.jpg
you will find (because you are using DHCP) that it will have the option "Obtain an IP address automatically" selected. If I remember correctly, you should still have the button "Advanced" available to click. If so, choose this and you will get a box like the following one.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/d.greenwood5/geekage/lan_xp98/image031.jpg
Select the WINS tab and choose "Enable NetBIOS over TCP/IP" and click OK on all boxes to back out. Try again. As the PCs were working using a crossover cable, I assume they are both on the same workgroup?
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/d.greenwood5/geekage/lan_xp98/image033.jpg
Hope this helps...
Like I said above, I use static IP addressing rather than DHCP, so I always know the IP of each PC on the network (I have 5 including my laptop which is wireless) - purely as I'm too lazy to do an ipconfig on a PC when I work on it :)
Any problems, post back and I'll try to help some more :)
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