High speed cable connections for two computers in the same house?

Question

I have two computers, one for my kids downstairs and mine upstairs. I want to bring high speed internet from the cable into the house. I don't have any cable outlets upstairs. My initial plan was to hookup the cable to the modem downstairs and run from the modem ouside and back upstairs. Is this possible? Any other ideas? Will I be able to buy USB cable long enough to reach from downstairs, across the house and back upstairs? Help!

Answer 1

well have you considered wireless connections to take away all of the mess that running cable wires may cause. you have two options 1. Wireless G or N technology the fastest on the market today to connect mutiple computers(wireless cards may need to be purchased). 2. The hard wired option, (PLEASE DO NOT purchase a 20 or 50 usb cable if available) If you are interested in keeping the modem in the same location purchase a 50' or 100 foot Ethernet cable.(can be found at any near by Radio shack) and run it how ever you like. The outer coating on the ethernet cable is quite durable so outdoors can work but if you can conseal and securly fasten the cable indoors to your desired location that may be best. Hope you find the information very useful. Best wishes for the new year

Answer 2

I don't know why you would network with usb. I'd get a router- nothing fancy is necessary. Should cost about $50 or less and run an ethernet cable (aka Cat-5 or RJ45) -not a crossover cable- upstairs.

Another option a little more expensive is a wireless router. I don't know how far you're trying to broadcast but a namebrand wireless router should supply highspeed to a reasonably sized 2 story home. Wireless would probably cost about $60+ for the router and then $20-30 for the receiver that you would plug into the computer. It will still have plugs in the back for you to hardwire the computer downstairs.

Ethernet cable shouldn't cost more than about $1-2/ foot. but i wouldn't run it farther than about 50ft in a run because the signal strength will deteriorate.

Answer 3

I would recommend just getting a router. Connect that to the modem and you could connect anywhere and run the Ethernet cable where you need it. As to the cable outlets upstairs, talk to your' cable company they might be able to run a new connection to where ever you need. If you have the $$ you could go wireless as well. that would get rid of the problems about running cable. Both Bestbuy and Circuit City have guys that can help you set this kind of thing up. good luck.

Answer 4

Depends how far the distance is.
Does the modem not have a Cat5 (Ethernet) connection on it? Cat5 can run for about 100 metres before any data loss.
USB can run for around 25 metres before any data loss.
Or you could go for wireless - get a wireless router hooked into the modem downstairs, a wireless card in the computer for your kids - hey presto - no wires, and the kids will get a good to moderate signal depending again on the distance.
Just make sure you add some encryption to your wireless signal - otherwise your neighbours will enjoy free Internet access.
Jonathan

Answer 5

Your ISP only provides a single IP network address with the cable connection. If you want TWO cable connections, you will need to pay for TWO addresses which will double your cost. That's why a router is needed to SHARE that single IP address among multiple PC's.

Here's my solution. I have the router on order.

Linksys WRT54GX4 wireless router connected to the cable modem. Best price from Amazon.com.

If one of the computers is close enough, run CAT6 ethernet from the PC to the router. If you don't want to go wireless, run CAT6 to each PC.
For wireless connectivity, use wireless adapter cards in each computer. To get full performance from the connection, you will need the adapter card that matches the router (quite expensive).

Answer 6

That's a really long cable to use. I suggest buying a wireless router and wireless adapters, so both computers can have a high-speed connection, without the cable clutter.

Answer 7

You can't have one cable modem for 2 computers.
You'll need a router to share the connect. (you could use windows ICS, but thats really more bother than it's worth in my opinion.)

Get :
1) a wireless router, you can get one for about 60 dollars.
2) a wireless PCI card for your upstairs computer. You can get one for about 30 dollars or less.

Hook the router up to your cable modem, hook your downstairs PC to the roter via a cat5 cable. install the wireless card on the upstairs computer. set up your wireless connection (the router software will usually walk you right through it.)
and away you go.

example of wireless router: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=628108&Sku=L48-2230


Example of wireless PCI card:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=628082&CatId=368

Answer 8

Install a wireless router and go wireless on the computer upstairs. We have the same setup in our house.

Answer 9

PLEASE DO NOT GO WIRELESS.

Wireless networks as of now are behind in technology. They at most can transfer 10Mb/s. That is not 10 Megabytes per second, that is 10 MegaBITS per second which is 10x slower than a wired network which offers 100Mb/s which is 100 Megabits/second. For example, I do tech work at a school, I had to transfer around 3 GB of data through a 10Mb/s hub, this took 46 or so minutes, whereas this is normally a 10-15 minute job.

Answer 10

go with a wireless router, then you can slap a wireless card into the computer upstairs and surf the net via wireless.. this is what i do instead of drilling holes for wires.