Wireless home setup

Mckee · 13 Jul 2006 at 00:48

Sorry if this is a similiar thread to any other in this forum, i have tried to look at various posts but found nothing.

basically atm i have a wireless network set up. We have a router at the main pc in the house, then the other 2 computers both have 56mbps USB network cards. My pc, one of those connected with a usb network card keeps disconnecting wheneva i play online games (i.e the connection keeps breaking) Im guessing this is due to the cheap nature of our wirelss setup. So i would like to know what router and USB network cards would be good for an online gamer like myself who cant afford to keep disconnecting.

Sorry if this post is just a repeat, any help would be fantastic.

Cheers in advance
Craig

FunkyT · 13 Jul 2006 at 06:58

Please post the make/model of the hardware you're currently using - we'll let you know if it's any good

Mckee · 13 Jul 2006 at 10:26

OK ive got a EDI Max AR-7024Wg router, 1xbelkin 802.11g 56mbps usb card and a BT voyager 56mbps USB card.

Mikey1280 · 13 Jul 2006 at 10:44

Which USB adaptor does your pc have?

FunkyT · 13 Jul 2006 at 10:44

Mckee said:
OK ive got a EDI Max AR-7024Wg router, 1xbelkin 802.11g 56mbps usb card and a BT voyager 56mbps USB card.

Okay dude. The WiFi network you're running is 54Mbps not 56Mbps

Firstly, are you running the latest firmware/sofware on your router and WiFi cards?

Assuming the two wireless machines are desktop PCs then it's preferable to use PCI WiFi cards but it should work perfectly well with USB. Remember, USB wasn't designed to be used for networking.

I'd use the following for your network (assuming they're all PC desktops):

1 x NETGEAR DG834G (54G MODEM/ROUTER/SWITCH/FIREWALL) - £55
2 x NETGEAR WG311G (54G PCI WIFI CARD) - £60

It might be worth replacing your existing WiFi cards and see how the router copes?

Mikey1280 · 13 Jul 2006 at 10:49

I wouldnt buy anything just yet. Try the other wifi adaptor in your pc and see if the connection still drops when playing games. What speed is the network running at and what is the signal strength, it might be that you're too far away from the router?

Mckee · 13 Jul 2006 at 11:36

well weve got a 2mb connection and i cant have pci network card as i dont have any spare pci slots. My network usb card is the belkin one. I was wondering if this would do me any better.

NetGear 108Mbps Wireless Mimo RangeMax ADSL Modem/Router with FREE USB Adaptor .

FunkyT · 13 Jul 2006 at 11:37

You need to remove that link dude.

What signal strength/speed are you getting on the wireless PCs?

Mckee · 13 Jul 2006 at 11:57

signal says very good, maybe dropping to good every so often. But im playing world of warcraft and its cutting me out every 10minutes

FunkyT · 13 Jul 2006 at 12:52

Mckee said:
signal says very good, maybe dropping to good every so often. But im playing world of warcraft and its cutting me out every 10minutes

Have a look to see if there are any power saving options enabled on the WiFi cards...

Mckee · 13 Jul 2006 at 13:11

how do i go about doing that, theres nothing external on the actual usb adapter itself.

Musashi · 13 Jul 2006 at 13:37

One quick question, do you have cordless DECT phones in the house? These can play havoc with WiFi and cause it to intermitantly drop out. And before anyone says DECT uses 1880 -1900Mhz and WiFi is 2400Mhz I know. But it is well documented that dect can interfere with wifi.

Mckee · 13 Jul 2006 at 13:46

yeah we have a cordless phone,but that is downstairs and generally stays down there.

FunkyT · 17 Jul 2006 at 08:30

Mckee said:
how do i go about doing that, theres nothing external on the actual usb adapter itself.

That would be defined in the software that controls the WiFi stick.