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Wireless cards for desktops

JasonJason
edited July 2008 in Technology
I am thinking about putting my router in a closet and putting a wireless card in my desktop. This would allow me to put the computer in my finished basement den without running all kinds of cabling or drilling holes in floors/walls. Is there any drawback to this plan? Are PC wireless cards flawed in any way? Is there a recommended card?

Comments

  • AprecheApreche
    It should work, just make sure the wireless signal is clear. Also, expect wireless to be a lot slower than wired. Bittorrents, large file downloads, and gaming will especially be hit hard.
  • OmnutiaOmnutia
    edited July 2008
    I was originally for the idea of using wires wherever possible but for general computer use, wireless is fine. How far is this going and what is it going through (using an imaginary line of sight)?
    Post edited by Omnutia on
  • JasonJason
    That's what I wanted to know. I will wire it instead and save the $40.
  • George PatchesGeorge Patches
    Bittorrents, large file downloads, and gaming will especially be hit hard.
    BT is fine on wireless as the limit is probably going to be your cable or DSL modem. Large file transfers are hit bad though as the max bandwidth of 54G wireless is pretty low. Sure they say it's 54 Mbits, but that's only with an absolutely clear signal and then there's the wireless overhead and probably encryption. In the end, you're only going to get 20 Mbits, good enough for most things, but not as good as 100 MBit ethernet where you can get nearly 100% utilization. As for gaming, that depends. If you're doing internet gaming, it's fine as the limit is the latency of the modem, but it can do weird things with LAN games. My brother is always having issues with latency and friends being dropped, very strange.
  • ......
    [G]aming will especially be hit hard.
    Something my little brother found out the hard way. I then had to endure many sessions of being whined at by him and my parents, because everything even remotely related to the network is my fault. Bah, but yes, if you wish to do anything other than browse the internet and check email, a wire is the better option. The downsides of wireless, signal interference, slower connection, connection trouble, a hole in your network that you need to secure, still do not outweigh the single upside if you ask me.
  • LusankyaLusankya
    Bittorrents, large file downloads, and gaming will especially be hit hard.
    Wireless routers have pretty terrible processors and RAM built into them, which really shows through when they have to route multiple connection requests. You'll notice your router will bog down pretty heavily when running multiple torrents, even when your overall download speed is low. While all routers suffer from this problem, the added processor overhead from the wireless protocols and whatever encryption you use will dramatically exaggerate the degradation.
  • George PatchesGeorge Patches
    Bittorrents, large file downloads, and gaming will especially be hit hard.
    Wireless routers have pretty terrible processors and RAM built into them, which really shows through when they have to route multiple connection requests. You'll notice your router will bog down pretty heavily when running multiple torrents, even when your overall download speed is low. While all routers suffer from this problem, the added processor overhead from the wireless protocols and whatever encryption you use will dramatically exaggerate the degradation.
    Hmmmm, I wonder if I can make pfsense firewall/router computer a wireless access point by installing a wireless card. It may only be a P3, but that should be plenty of processing power. hmmm

    *runs off to google*
  • OmnutiaOmnutia
    I had a whole bunch of trouble making a Linux wireless access point (which I am still trying to work out how to use WPA on) as most of the guides for doing so are out of date. I have figured it out but only as a set of commands.
  • JasonJason
    I'm proud to report the wires are rerouted to my downstairs lair with a minimum of fuss. I had to drill a hole in a wall, which is something I really wanted to avoid, but it's entirely hidden. Now I have a nice, cool, dark room in which to compute. My previous office was too close to the master bedroom, so any noise at night kept the wife awake -- which meant no mics and I had to use headphones all the time.
  • George PatchesGeorge Patches
    Well glad you had better luck than me. I tried to add a wireless NIC to my pfsense box and totally fucked my entire firewall setup. And did I backup my settings before I did any of this? Of course not..........FUCK!!!!
  • LusankyaLusankya
    I had a whole bunch of trouble making a Linux wireless access point (which I am still trying to work out how to use WPA on) as most of the guides for doing so are out of date. I have figured it out but only as a set of commands.
    DD-WRT and a Linksys WRT54G for the win.
  • OmnutiaOmnutia
    What are the features you get for changing the firmware exactly?
  • LusankyaLusankya
    What are the features you get for changing the firmware exactly?
    I find DD-WRT is generally more efficient at handling multiple connection requests, and the router seems to bog down less with WPA encryption enabled. As well, it allows for incomparably more control over things like MAC address control, cron jobs and broadcast power.
  • George PatchesGeorge Patches
    edited July 2008
    What are the features you get for changing the firmware exactly?
    I find DD-WRT is generally more efficient at handling multiple connection requests, and the router seems to bog down less with WPA encryption enabled. As well, it allows for incomparably more control over things like MAC address control, cron jobs and broadcast power.
    Yeah, but don't you need one of the old WRT54G routers with more ram, like pre V5? I've had mine for 2 years and even I only have a V5.

    Maybe I'll just dump my encryption and go back to MAC and IP address filtering.

    EDIT
    Read into this, doesn't seem too hard, I'll give it a go when I get home. I just need the router to do LAN games.
    Post edited by George Patches on
  • LusankyaLusankya
    What are the features you get for changing the firmware exactly?
    I find DD-WRT is generally more efficient at handling multiple connection requests, and the router seems to bog down less with WPA encryption enabled. As well, it allows for incomparably more control over things like MAC address control, cron jobs and broadcast power.
    Yeah, but don't you need one of the old WRT54G routers with more ram, like pre V5? I've had mine for 2 years and even I only have a V5.

    Maybe I'll just dump my encryption and go back to MAC and IP address filtering.

    EDIT
    Read into this, doesn't seem too hard, I'll give it a go when I get home. I just need the router to do LAN games.
    As long as it's Broadcomm based (aka not the Atheros v7), it'll run DD-WRT. There are builds specifically designed for the WRT54G that have small footprints to fit in the limited flash space.
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