Need help with deciding home network!

[mycrofth25]

Hey guys,

I had a quick question about a network at home.

My house is 15m tall and 9m wide, I want to network 3 computers (mine, wife, son).

Should I wire the house with Ethernet cat 5e cable and put a 100 base T switch?
Or
Just put a Wi-Fi access point and Wi Fi cards for the 3 computers.

I prefer wireless, but I’ve heard Ethernet would have slightly faster speeds due to less aerial interference.


Suggestions? Solutions? Thank you!

[DaveLembke]

It comes down to personal preference, costs, and security.

I personally prefer hard wired Cat5e or Cat6 due to less prone to interference and most secure and cheaper if doing it yourself.

If you don't want to be drilling holes in floors, ceilings, walls etc and can set up a secure wireless and get adequate coverage then wireless is the way to go. With wireless you want to follow the umbrella effect where the access point or wireless router is at the highest point in your home in which you end up with a hemispherical dome of radio waves with the access point or wireless router being at the top of the invisible dome. The dome does extend above the access point, but the coverage is better below it.

[Tan]

If you intend to stream movies or share files over the network use the wired solution. Transfering a HD movie over a wireless network can be a real pain in the *censored* :-). But why not use 1000 MB switch? They are not that much expensive anymore.