Going wireless - how, what etc?

[Mannginger]

I'm just about to move house and having got sick of the useless BT Broadband have decided to chance my arm and try NTL's 4 meg BB.

I've had cable broadband before and not had any problems with it. However this time I've come across my first problem before I've even had it installed!

It doesn't come with a router - DOH!

For reference I would like to connect my main desktop, potentially up to 2 laptops and my Xbox 360.

How would I best go about doing this? I think wireless is the way to go as the new house is quite long and thin and I'd rather not have to trail wires everywhere. Can I run up to 4 pieces of equipment of 1 router (although to be honest I'd be surprised if more than 2 are ever on line at the same time)

My desktop isn't set up for wireless so I was thinking I'd have to get one of these for starters. Would this just find the router and go for it or do I need something more?

In terms of routers I have no idea what to look for - is something like this ok, too much, not enough?

I also presume that I'd need the same for the Xbox but would tend to go for this

I think that both laptops already have the wireless tech in them as they sometimes hunt for wireless networks.

I'd appreciate your help folks

Cheers

Phil

[bez_uk]

Depends on the router... most can have 4. Range may be an issue... It is in my house the wireless G cannot get more than 5 metres in one direction from my kitchen as my walls are oldschool. In the other direction its nearer 15m but not enough to reach the bedrooms upstairs... I have an access point connected via long ethernet cable to the main router. (For the record the house is very long mainly on one floor but some of the walls are solid stone well over a foot thick...

I would recommend linking desktops by cable as they then don't interfere with the wireless speeds of the router. The wireless speeds are dependent often on how many devices are attached. ie two devices and your running at half speed.

The usb doggle thingy will use windows wireless network setup wizard (or its own software) this is usually pretty idiot proof to set up.

How is the router getting its internet? do you have a ethernet cable modem?

[Mannginger]

Cheers

It'll be through NTL cable service - so I guess it must be some form of Cable modem - but other than that I'm not too sure!

Phil

[That Daddy]

if your going for hard wired then i find Dlink an easy & reliable set/up.if your going wireless then theres various makes some have better range than others.i would highly recommend using an aerial extension lead to get the signal up higher and away from the wall that includes any PCI cards you have installed on your pc workstation as normally the aerial faces the wall and shielded by the case(metal not good)for signal.i had crap coverage till i used those extension leads there only about 3ft long,can be found on Ebay with magnetic base cheap too,but the aerial now sits on top of cabinet.i get signal halfway down garden thats going thru 2 walls and is about 100ft away on my laptop.my daughters workstation as 90% signal upstairs about 30 ft away although i dont use USB devices for my network i also use varios makes netgear.cisco,kcorp,safecom.i hope this is of use.wireless is ok but hardwire much better faster if you can have the wires.

[Mannginger]

Thanks for the info. I've decided to go hard wired after all - It's cheaper and seems more reliable at the moment so I'll just have to run the cabling under the carpet or along the skirting boards. That'll be a fun job!

Cheers

Phil