Wireless Buying

[esnetsc]

We got $500 for wireless for 5 new PC's, Dell Optix GX520 (http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/optix_gx520?c=us&cs=22&l=en&s=dfh) with 2.8GHz P4 HT and 1GB ram. What is the best, a usb wireless
adapter or PCI adapter? What is the best router that u would get? I want range, speed and security. Here is a quick picture of the room, also where to put it, in room 1 next to the modem or in room2, next to the switch?
I was thinking of the Belkin Pre N router. Stores for $99.99+tax.

What do you guys recommend?

Like this, USB:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=6960265&type=product&cmp=++&id=1099384455623

PCI:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=6304714&type=product&productCategoryId=cat01031&id=1074787358650
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Router:

http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Merchant_Id=&Section_Id=202570&pcount=&Product_Id=184316

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=5965002&type=product&productCategoryId=cat01029&id=1067390048610

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7172178&type=product&productCategoryId=cat01029&id=1110267188736

http://img154.imageshack.us/img154/8537/fhcwireless0xi.jpg

[confus-ed]

..I want range, speed and security.. - err if you want the last two, you want wired & not wireless ;)

But on your direct question, usb vs pci wireless - pci, as it places less strain on any client machine (USB means your cpu having to do more work than pci which will have its own dedicated processor for the task of handling network traffic - but on 'modern high powered' machines, this is much less of an issue), & has a layer less to worry about if/when you get any 'going wrongness' :)

[TechZ]

Agreed with -ed. I'd go for wired too, its not that hard, and does all you want really!

Also are you going to be doing a lot of data transfer? Or just need a basic network. You might want to invest in a gigabit switch/router (your pc's might be have Gigabit NIC's too, as they are fairly new)

On my own setup, I got a USB based wifi adapter, one reason, its movable to get a good signal, with the tower sitting on the floor, you dont always get to move the wifi adapter about to get a good signal ;)

But in a setup like yours, PCI seems the better choice (I'd still go wired)

MIMO based Wireless Routers claim from 108Mbps to 240Mbps as well, so you might want to go for a MIMO based setup, its more expensive, but the range/speed is better.

http://www.newegg.com/ProductSort/SubCategory.asp?SubCategory=145

[CeeBee]

Go wired. Wireless is insecure (encryption is only good to prevent a guest from getting in by mistake). Also wired is faster and more reliable. Oh, cheaper too.

[confus-ed]

.. Oh, cheaper too.

If you can 'diy completely' then, yup very probably, but if not, a wireless router is looking attractive price wise, I'd have thought ? There's seven pc's, so at least 7 drops of cable which'll stack up ...

I can make cables though, for pence instead of pounds, so I'd wire it ;)

I like the Linksys wireless router with the 2 voip connections though, neat ! Depends on usage though value wise, but for a small office, which this would appear to be - it'd seem extra neat ..

[slgrieb]

If you don't mind "sweat equity" it looks like the setup should be dead simple to wire. I would think you could route the cable for the PCs in Room Two under the tables, along the baseboard, or whatever without even getting into the ceiling. A single cable run from Room Two to Room One shouldn't be hard either if you have a typical suspended ceiling. A 1000 ft. roll of cat5e cable should run around $50 from an electrical supply company, a crimping tool is around $15-$20, and the modular plugs are something like $15 per hundred. So, under $100 will get a wired network going for you if you can do the labor in house. Once the wires are in, the system is extremely secure and reliable.

The downside to a wireless LAN is that you have no control over the RF environment in your area. In theory, WLAN channels 2, 6, and 11 are not shared with other devices in the 2.4 GHz band such as cell phones, cordless phones, etc. In practice you may experience enough spillover to cause significant performance problems. Even if your wireless network is OK now, it might not be in 6 months or a year. New phone systems in your area or other WLANs may interfere with your network.

I'm currently converting 2 customers from wireless to wired networks for this very reason. WLANs that have worked fine for a couple of years can't connect now because of RF noise in the area. Both businesses are within a 1/4 mile of each other, so the RF interference is local, but I haven't been able to pinpoint it, much less eliminate it.

Allright, if you still want to go wireless, I would use either USB adapters with a pigtail so you have some flexibility in antenna placement (Actiontec and D-Linkmake some) or PCI adapters that offer external antennas (Hawking or Buffalo).