topic Re: wireless in PCs & Accessories

wireless

angiepen — Tue, 17 Aug 2004 20:59:10 GMT

does anyone know how i can make my vaio lap top wireless.. and how much it will cost me:smileygrin: cheers

Re: wireless

TygerTyger — Tue, 17 Aug 2004 21:56:39 GMT

Wireless cards can be bought very cheaply although that probably isn't wise. My rule is if you're on a budget always go for the second cheapest. Anyway you will have to let us know your laptop model number or else look up yourself whether or not it can accept a wireless card.

Re: wireless

Alex_A115Z — Wed, 18 Aug 2004 00:28:34 GMT

You are also gonna need the wireless network to connect it to.

First off, if you want to do it at home, you need a broadband connection (£19.99/month ish), then a wireless modem/router thing (mine cost £250 i think) and then the wireless card in the vaio (model permitting) and you're good to go.

Re: wireless

AlanHudson — Wed, 18 Aug 2004 11:46:43 GMT

£250 for a wireless ADSL modem/router is a little excessive. You only need to spend around £80-£90 for a decent Netgear machine.

Re: wireless

tellingd — Wed, 18 Aug 2004 11:56:07 GMT

Aye, for £250 you could get a Sony wireless router - if they made one

Re: wireless

kee-lo_ — Wed, 18 Aug 2004 12:22:55 GMT

There are some nice Netgear ones for £66 now.

Re: wireless

TygerTyger — Wed, 18 Aug 2004 13:04:39 GMT

I forgot to mention the hub :smileyblush: i need more sleep. Anyway, I highly recommend Belkin have a look here at the 7630 model at the bottom. Click on resellers on the right - if you buy from any of those shops you get a lifetime guarantee, and the tech support is a freephone number wherever you buy. The model I mentioned was at Expansys for £70 although I've seen it cheaper. Whichever model you buy make sure it says it's 801.11g or 54Mb. There are faster available now (US Robotics are up to 125Mb wirelessly, but their instructions are intensely awful) if you want to pay for it, but if you are only going to surf the net you won't notice the difference.
Also, you should at least half the quoted ranges if you want to use it at a distance. And yes you need a broadband connection, if you don't have one make sure it's available in your area.

Re: wireless

AlanHudson — Wed, 18 Aug 2004 16:32:11 GMT

I hate it when people forget the hub:smileywink:

Re: wireless

vaiodon — Wed, 18 Aug 2004 20:25:44 GMT

My tuppence worth is for a Netgear DG834GUK broadband router/firewall/wi-fi access point/4 port hub.

I've got one in the post from www.dabs.com/uk at the moment.

Dabs are doing a £94 package comprising the DG834GUK and a Netgear PCBus Wi-Fi card - both 54Mbps, 802.11g units. That's about £5 cheaper than Expansys for just the DG834GUK

Of course this info pre-supposes that you want broadband access and your Vaio doesn't have built in Wi-Fi.

Have fun.

Re: wireless

robpaxton — Wed, 18 Aug 2004 20:31:23 GMT

Got to say I agree with your choice - the DG834G is an excellent all-in-one. I have had mine for a year now, permanently on and have only had to reboot the router about three times.

Re: wireless

kee-lo_ — Wed, 18 Aug 2004 20:35:24 GMT

Yes it's on my shopping list too.
Not that I might ever see it

Re: wireless

Alex_A115Z — Wed, 18 Aug 2004 23:53:38 GMT

Sorry about that, i was just suggesting the one that i had!

:smileygrin:

Are things sorted now?

Re: wireless

AlanHudson — Thu, 19 Aug 2004 09:00:07 GMT

The Netgear gets my vote too.

Re: wireless

angiepen — Thu, 19 Aug 2004 09:59:56 GMT

my model number is PCG8M9M ....AND YES I HAVE BROADBAND

Re: wireless

kee-lo_ — Thu, 19 Aug 2004 12:08:31 GMT

The Netgear gets my vote too.

Yes - I saw one in a shop the other day and it's really nice

Re: wireless

AlanHudson — Thu, 19 Aug 2004 12:48:10 GMT

Even when it's not switched on, it looks good!

Re: wireless

kee-lo_ — Thu, 19 Aug 2004 16:18:23 GMT

Yeah it's like a light show.

Re: wireless

Damien — Thu, 19 Aug 2004 17:08:42 GMT

I have just bought a Belkin 7630 today and it's a nightmare!! Keeps playing up...seriously considering sending it back to ebuyer.com (This is a top website by the way!)..and getting the Netgear DG834 i see everybody is raving about!!

Is it really that good??

I want xbox live too...would this netgear one support it? I've heard some do and some dont...??

Re: wireless

kee-lo_ — Thu, 19 Aug 2004 18:16:15 GMT

Netgear have won a lot of awards for their routers, that speaks volumes.

Re: wireless

TygerTyger — Thu, 19 Aug 2004 18:27:53 GMT

Whoops. The support for my Belkin recommendation is deafening. Not. They are good I swear lol. Anyway their support line is free Damien, get the number off their website, I've heard it's very good. If you don't want to do that I have that model, what's the problem? I may be able to help you. It's very easy to set up as far as routers go. The only problem I had was the internet not working, but getting rid of my old internet connections fixed that.

There is a firmware patch out (something that updates the hardware) but they took it off their website because people were crapping things up with it. You probably have to ask them directly for it and let them check you need it.