Recommend me a Wireless Adapter!

[Guest]

Heya guys, I was wondering if someone could recommend me a decent wireless adapter, hopefully one best suited for gaming (Although i'm a cable gal at heart, alas that is not possible in this 'nature reserve' of a house!)

We have a crappy SKY broadband router, basic standard free jobby (so its most probably G type, thought i've not dug it out to check). I'd be willing to pick up another router if its going to make a massive difference but as this is only a temporary residence i'd rather try and muddle along if its possible.

Max speeds in my area due to the copper cabling are 2 mb. We get around 1.3 at peak mb thanks to SKY's 'wonderful' utilisation and around 1.6 ish off peak if you are very lucky and don't breathe too hard.

Currently I am struggling along with a belkin usb wireless adapter and it makes me want to curl up into a ball and cry sometimes. It is an N type, but as soon as it gets even a little warm (which it does get, very often) it tends to loose connection, luckily I can stretch my usb lead out the window.

However the connection speeds are (as you can imagine) what is really making me cry - sometimes receiving only 25kps d/l speed where as my laptop seems to cope just fine with its onboard wireless on the same connection... thus why I figure squeezing in a wireless card onto my mobo will possibly just give me that little extra boost I need to stay sat around 250/300 ping rather than jumping from 250-2500-100-4000 etc.

I'm not a massive FPS gamer, more strategy and MMO so we're not worrying about battlefront ping speeds too much here (thank god!) but a little boost would be lovely!

 

[Guest]

Switch to a PCI card if you can, PCMCIA/PC Card if laptop. Which Sky router do your have, the blue ones without an external antenna (Sagem or Netgear) or the better old white Netgear DG834GT ?

Meanwhile:

You should try to optimise your reception and avoid interference.

1) raise the router above furniture level
2) Experiment with channels (some will work better or worse depending on your environment)
3) If you can detect strong neighbouring wifi, use a channel 5 stops away from strongest.
4) Relocate cordless phone base or video sender etc.
5) Be prepared to move the computer (or at least turn it so your body is not between the router signal and the wireless adapter's antenna.

 

[Guest]

Its the old white netgear one glad to hear its much better than then the newer ones!

Router is downstairs on a shelf

Haven't noticed any strong wifi signals other than our own (I get 5 bars from ours, the rest seem to sit on about 3 or lower)

Cordless phone is opposite end of the room and downstairs from my wireless dongle



Any particular wifi card you recommend or are they all about the same, this is PCI for desktop i'm asking after

 

[Guest]

Also what do you mean by channels?

Since i'm not plugged into the router I wasn't aware there was anything I could fiddle about with in that respect, unless you mean the phone-line connection? In which case we only have one of those in our house so we can't really try another one!


Sorry for the double post, wouldn't let me edit!

 

[Guest]

You can configure the router -- in fact the CD which comes from Sky contains a help file on how, but you can also download the full manual from www.netgear.com

You need the IP of the router -- for Netgear stuff usually 192.168.0.1 (or check by using IPCONFIG /ALL in a DOS box from Command Prompt).

Hook up the computer to the router using the yellow cable which came in the Sky box. Put the IP into the address bar of your browser and you should then see a login box -- the user name is always admin. The password may be left blank or most likely the word sky -- see help file on disc that came in Sky box.

Once in go to wireless settings and look at the options:

Wireless mode which you probably won't have to change if you buy an 802.11g type wireless adapter (normally mixed mode or g only will work).

Choosing a channel is quite important because (presumably due to physics) certain channels will work better in your home than others.

Then there's the issue of interference -- if possible choose a channel 5 stops away from the strongest neighbouring wifi signal because the frequencies the channels represent overlap to some extent.

For example if near neighbours are on channel 1 and channel 11 you would choose channel 5 (assuming that wasn't one of the weak channels in your environment) .


You'll find more help at the independent site www.skyuser.co.uk