Wired or Wireless NIC for a Desktop PC and other questions

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Moondoggy

Moondoggy

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Jun 18, 2004
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I'm hoping that someone can assist me regarding wired vs wireless NIC's for a desktop PC and answer a few other questions regarding wireless NIC's.

I'm moving and my new home does not have cable internet service only ATT DSL service. My new home also does not have a wired connection into the room where my desktop PC and DSL modem would normally sit. So my choices are to pay an electrician to crawl up in the attic and fish a wire down into that room or place my ATT wireless modem/router in the kitchen and install a wireless NIC in my desktop PC. I've always heard that wired was far better and faster than wireless but that was some years ago and I don't know if that's still true. I'm not opposed to spending the money to put a wired phone line into that room but I may want to consider alternatives if there's not that much of a performance hit. Can anyone provide me with advice?

A second question I have deals with USB vs. PCI NIC's if I were to go wireless instead of wired. Is one better than the other in terms of performance and reliability? If I were to buy a wireless NIC for the long haul can someone provide me a recommended model? If I wanted to buy a wireless NIC as a temporary solution to get me by until I can get a line wired to that room can someone provide me with a recommendation for that solution as well? Note that my ATT modem/router is probably a wireless G vs. an wireless N modem so I don't have to be high tech only reliable and as fast as that technology would allow.
 
Solution
USAFRet
Wired is faster and more stable. But you don't have a 'phone line' put there, but rather an ethernet line running from the ADSL router location.

For wireless - USB or PCI-E
PCI-E is generally more powerful, but USB has the option of moving it around a little. Which sometimes makes a difference.

Wireless is VERY environmentally dependent. The same wifi adapter that works in my house may not work well in your house. Just stay away from the lillte Nano adapters. There is only so much antenna they can pack into that space.
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USAFRet

USAFRet

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Wired is faster and more stable. But you don't have a 'phone line' put there, but rather an ethernet line running from the ADSL router location.

For wireless - USB or PCI-E
PCI-E is generally more powerful, but USB has the option of moving it around a little. Which sometimes makes a difference.

Wireless is VERY environmentally dependent. The same wifi adapter that works in my house may not work well in your house. Just stay away from the lillte Nano adapters. There is only so much antenna they can pack into that space.
 
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Moondoggy

Moondoggy

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Thanks for the reply.

The DSL modem/router still uses a phone line for service. In my case, I use a splitter so that I can connect a land line phone with a filter and the modem/router to the same line in the same room. In the situation I have it makes no sense to run an Ethernet only line from the modem in one room to the room where the PC is located as I would still need to have an electrician crawl up in the attic to be able to fish a wire of some sort down into that room so it might as well be a whole new phone line.

The house is a one story home and the existing phone jack in the kitchen wouldn't be that far from the room where the PC will be located. I'm guessing 20 ft at the most so I think that most any decent USB or PCI NIC other than a NANO will probably work OK.

Any advice on a brand or model?
 
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USAFRet

USAFRet

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The PC (or whatever device) can't read the direct signal from the 'phone line'. It needs a modem/router. Hence the ethernet cable instead of a 'phone line'.

From the ISP:
ISP -> phone line -> DSL modem/router -> devices.
The modem and router is what transforms the DSL signal from the phone line into something multiple PC-like devices can use.
 
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Moondoggy

Moondoggy

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Not trying to offend but we're getting bogged down in the obvious. To connect to the internet the modem/router must be connected to an unfiltered phone line and currently the room where I would like to make that connection does not have a phone line. My choice is to either place a phone line into that room or connect the modem/router to the phone line in another room where a phone line already exists. Regardless of where that modem/router is located I still have to run an Ethernet cable from the modem/router to the PC if I want to make a physical connection so it boils down to how long a Ethernet line I wish to use. If I wish to have a long run I would still need an electrician to come in and run wire from the room where the modem/router would have to exists to the room where the PC needs to be as we don't want exposed wire running from one room to another in a newly constructed home. The alternative is to run a phone line into the room where the PC is going to be located so the modem/router can be in the same room and then run a short Ethernet cable from the modem/router to the PC. Either way, my choice is to have an electrician come in and run wire if I wish to have PC in this room and have a physical connection from the PC to the modem/router. My other choice is to use a wireless NIC in the PC and connect through that means so I avoid having to run wire and that's what I'm trying to determine is whether it's worth the expense to hire an electrician to have the reliable hysical connection or go wireless and save some money.
 
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