I was hoping someone knows a little bit about routers etc so i dont waste money etc. First off i have Comcast hi speed internet.
Heres my situation, i have my pc in my bedroom, my ps3 is about 15 feet away in the living room. Now i want both to be hooked up online at the same time so, as is my rather meager understanding of this is i need a router. the one i can afford and i think will work is this one. So if i buy that and this cable. So i take the internet cable from the back of the modem, plug that into the router, run one cable from the back of the router to the ps3, and use another cable to run it to the computer.
I think i have it right so far, so if someone could politely nod in my direction if that is the case, i would be thankful. And if the linked cable and router are not the right thing for the job…feel more than free to shake your head in disgust at me and point me in the right direction.
And now to the mystery bonus question, my teenager is constantly on my computer using the net so i want to run a cable to his room so his computer will be online, if i am right with my earlier question, then is i use this cable and run it to his room from the back of the router, he will be online and leave my computer alone.
so am i not as stupid as i think i am on this? i can not afford to waste the money on a mistake right now so any advise is welcome. I would prefer to go wireless, but his computer is old so dont think it would work on it(and i have even less of an idea how wireless works than wired)
While what you outlined would certainly work (and yes, you could use both the computer and the PS3 without affecting one another), I would highly recommend a wireless router. Even if your computer isn’t wireless ready, you could keep the modem by the PC and use a wired connection only for the computer. Even though they call them wireless routers, they still have outlets for wired connections (usually 4 on standard models). Then you wouldn’t have to worry about running a cable to the PS3 since it has built in wireless. And if you get some new device in the future (laptop, wifi cell phone, etc) you’d be all set with no wires needed.
The only thing that is slightly daunting about wireless is putting a password in so the whole neighborhood doesn’t use your connection, but it’s really not bad. There are bound to be plenty of threads on the Dope about that.
And I know linksys has an online step by step instructions which are very easy to follow. I figured out how to do it and I’m horribly computer illiterate.
You’re right on the money for how to hook up the cables to the router, but I have a few suggestions. The router you’re looking at should work fine and if it’s what you can afford go for it, but it’s rated for 10/100 Ethernet. Again, this is perfectly fine. The Cat6 cable you’re looking at will also work fine, but it’s rated for Gigabit Ethernet. Cat6 cable is backward compatible and will work with that router, but you don’t need to pay the money for a Cat6 cable when you’ll be limited to the speed of your router. Unless I’m mistaken, your PS3 will work perfectly fine with the same type of Cat5e cable you indicated you’d get for your son’s computer, just at a shorter length. Check out these spec sheets on cat5e and cat6 cables to see the differences between the two: http://www.awcwire.com/ProductTOC.aspx?id=Cat5e-Cat6. If you can get a 25 foot Cat5e cable to connect the PS3, I would do that.
I think this is really good advice. There are plenty of decent wireless routers for $40, which is what the linked non-wireless router clocks in at. If you ever move the PS3 into another room you won’t have to run a cable, if you get a laptop you’ll be set, etc.
I’ll third the advice for the wireless router. But would recommend that, just like the networking cable, you should look online first. Brick and mortar retailers (like bestbuy) will often charge a lot more for electronics. At the same time, look at their online specials too. Sometimes the price is close enough that it’s worth it when you take S&H into consideration.
After reading tcpipageek’s message, it occured to me it might even be cheaper to go wireless since you wouldn’t need to buy the 15 foot cable at all. The wireless router will (should!)come with a short cable to go from the modem to the router. Then use your existing cable to go from router to computer. I don’t think wireless routers are much (if any) more expensive than wired and absolutely just get the cheapest one you can find. For your purposes you won’t notice any difference in brand/model. I have an “old technology” Wireless-B and I’ve never had a drop in connection to my PS3 even going across 2 floors at my place.
Yeah. I am going to agree about the wireless option. A wireless router does not preclude you from having your computer hooked up using a wire. But, it avoids the cable going across the room. And, as an added bonus in the future if you get a laptop, iphone, psp, ds, dsi… Whatever. You will already be set up to browse the internet.
Be careful though. If you are looking to stream high definition content from your PC to either another computer, the PS3, or an XBOX you want to be either wired, or have an N class wireless connection. And of course, you need to have a wireless card on the PC’s that want to connect (your PS3 apparently is already wireless ready).
RogueAOV - this is Advanced Networking 405 advice, and well beyond what you’re asking in your OP. It doesn’t negate any of the “for what you’re asking, a wireless router is a better option” advice.
On the wireless router still being able to be wired point. The modem is in my room, his computer is 45 feet away… so wouldnt i still need the cable going through the house to his computer, unless i upgrade his computer? It is pretty old and by my guess going to die (hopefully) right before christmas, so i not eager to upgrade his computer if i am hoping to get him a new one by the end of the year, Of course the preferred plan(for me anyway) would be to get me a new one and hand him this one!
According to my 5 minutes surfing last night wireless routers etc were 100 dollars or so, i wasnt aware they were around the same price. So i need to get to the stores and surf in more detail to lock it down.
So thanks once again for the advise and for understanding:)
right, you will still need to run a cable. I don’t know where you are looking but you can get a wireless router for 50 bucks or so. Check out Amazon.
Wireless routers usually have atleast 4 ports or so. So, you can use it as a regular router for the computers that are not wireless, and wireless for the ones that are. Since, they cost about the same it’s worth going wireless.
And, when you upgrade you can make your kids computer wireless easily. They have USB wireless adapters for 20 -50 dollars. No need to even open up the machine.
Nice. And here is a page of wireless adapters - the lowest is $12.99 (I’ll let others determine if it’s worth it). You’ll see that some of them just plug into a USB port:
