Going Wireless - Help!

Kettrin

Hi
Hope someone out there can help me!

I'm being "pressed" by my wife to go wireless - she's fed up with the wiring running through the house from the hall, through the lounge and dining room.
Also,my son has got a PS3 and wants to link up via the internet to play with or against his friends.

So what do i need? Do i just need a router and adapter? As my son wants to use his PS3 will i need 300 bps or will i get away with less?
I know a little about computers but i'm certainly not a techie so please try to keep answers simple!

We run an ageing computer - about 7 years old on Windows XP
with Pentium 4 processor and 1.5gb memory and we run it through a BT line (not Virgin)
Any help will be greatly appreciated

penrhyn

What sort of modem do you have at the moment?
If its a USB type I'd get straight onto your ISP and blag a free wireless router out of them.

Ideally this should be located near to your BT master socket, and will require a mains supply.
You can then either buy wireless USB dongles for your PC/PS3, or use Homeplugs (mains networking), or long ethernet cables.

flashg67

For your first foray into wireless, any modern wireless router/modem should do Make sure it's for BT lines, not cable though as they're different!), along with a wireless adapter - they don't need to be matching makes - a usb one is easier if you're not keen on openeing your PC up.

Gaming will to some extent depend on your broiadband speed - we have a 'standard' internet connection running at about 5meg using a standard netgear router and our PS3 works fine.

Unless gaming is VERY important, I can't recommend spending the extra on an all singing & dancing 'gaming' router although I'm sure someone will be along to say how much difference they make.

edit, It is possible to just buy a wireless access point/router which you can connect to your current modem to add the wireless function. This will work, but isn't as neat and not much (if any) cheaper

SteveJH200

Well, everybody will have their favourite router so here is my suggestion. A TP-Link TDW8961ND - buy it from Amazon or any other good dealer. Fit a PCI 'N' wireless adaptor inside your computer - I find these have better performance to the USB adapters. Follow the instructions and you will be able to get rid of those ugly cables within 30 minutes. The PS3 should have its own adapter so I'm led to believe. The router I have suggested has plenty of grunt and the range is good. Good luck.

Kettrin

penrhyn wrote: »

What sort of modem do you have at the moment?
If its a USB type I'd get straight onto your ISP and blag a free wireless router out of them.

Ideally this should be located near to your BT master socket, and will require a mains supply.
You can then either buy wireless USB dongles for your PC/PS3, or use Homeplugs (mains networking), or long ethernet cables.

Thanks Penrhyn.....It's a Speedtouch 333 ADSL Modem USB conection which was supplied by Wanadoo ( now Orange) probably over 5 years ago. It's quite a distance away from the BT Master Socket, hence the 10 metre cable through the lounge to the computer, which possibly is why i get slow broadband speeds and the occassional loss of connection.

somersethillbilly

If you are unable to get an upgrade router from your ISP, then try and get hold of a Netgear DG834G. An oldie, but a goodie, (V4 if you can, they can be tweaked), and update the firmware. Plenty on Ebay, Cash Converters, Car Boot sales etc. Simple, reliable and a whole bunch safer than a USB (no hardware firewall) one.

Kettrin

flashg67 wrote: »

For your first foray into wireless, any modern wireless router/modem should do Make sure it's for BT lines, not cable though as they're different!), along with a wireless adapter - they don't need to be matching makes - a usb one is easier if you're not keen on openeing your PC up.

Gaming will to some extent depend on your broiadband speed - we have a 'standard' internet connection running at about 5meg using a standard netgear router and our PS3 works fine.

Unless gaming is VERY important, I can't recommend spending the extra on an all singing & dancing 'gaming' router although I'm sure someone will be along to say how much difference they make.

edit, It is possible to just buy a wireless access point/router which you can connect to your current modem to add the wireless function. This will work, but isn't as neat and not much (if any) cheaper

Thanks
Well,my broadband speed usually says 5.8mbps when i switch on but an independent broadband speed test will usually say it's under 2 mbps and tonight it's reading 0.8. Would things improve with a new wireless router or do i need to ditch Orange? I'm not on a fixed contract with them. Gaming is VERY important - it's the son who is moaning the most!!!

Kettrin

SteveJH200 wrote: »

Well, everybody will have their favourite router so here is my suggestion. A TP-Link TDW8961ND - buy it from Amazon or any other good dealer. Fit a PCI 'N' wireless adaptor inside your computer - I find these have better performance to the USB adapters. Follow the instructions and you will be able to get rid of those ugly cables within 30 minutes. The PS3 should have its own adapter so I'm led to believe. The router I have suggested has plenty of grunt and the range is good. Good luck.

Thanks Steve
I had seen the TP-LINKTDW8961ND on Amazon, though i was favouring the slightly older, and slightly more expensive,
model 8960. This is only because the favourable review ratings are much better for this one on Amazon than the one you recommend. Hey, but what do I know!
Will take your advice regarding the PCN "N" wireless adapter

Kettrin

thanks somersethillbilly .......but what do you mean by V4

somersethillbilly

Kettrin wrote: »

thanks somersethillbilly .......but what do you mean by V4

V4 - Version4. It has a broadcom chipset that can be tweaked to overide your SNR and get a much better IP profile and therefore download speed from your local exchange.

http://www.kitz.co.uk/routers/dg834GT_targetsnr.htm.

I use one, have set up loads, took my IP profile from 3500kbps to 6000kbps , and gives a reliable, stable connection.

GunJack

as hillbilly suggests, a broadcom chipset router is a good idea for being able to tweak your line performance. I personally use D-Link's DSL-2640B on my lineas it performs better than netgears with the same BCM 6348 chipset, and tweakable using DMT tool which also monitors your line's performance. Pick them up on ebay refurbished for about £20.

note:- even routers with the same chipset will perform differently on the same line. I've been through 2640B and 2740B (BCM 6358), netgear DG834GT and G, and the 2640B happens to perform best on my line in terms of sync speed to reliability, also the wifi performance is more solid than the netgears. E.g. my 2640B syncs slightly slower (by around 200kb/s) than a 834GT, but it's rock solid at the lower snrm and the actual data throughput is the same, whilst the GT got a bit flaky down past 1.8dB snrm in the evenings

Get reading around kitz and DSLzone to up your knowledge of how broadband works, and it'll help you to get the best out of your setup........

...or you could, of course, just keep asking on here, we'd be happy to help

edit - many newer routers seem to get good reviews, but compared to what? The firmware is locked down (TP-Link are s0ds for that, even though a lot of them are BCM-based, you can't even telnet into them )so you can't tweak your bb connection at all. For some of us, that isn't:-

1. much good, considering I tweak down to a 3dB or less snrm

2. very helpful, as you can't use DMT or routerstats to monitor your line's performance - always helpful if you do get a line issue, as you can usually tell your ISP exactly what the fault is

3. much fun for experimenting with different parameters to get the best possible performance out of your line

Whilst for the less techie I can see the benefits of just plugging it in "and it just works", but unless you understand a bit about it, how do you know if "just works" is best on your line ??

edit:-apologies for the essay, but it couldn't be said in much less words...I DID try