How do I hook up two computer to the same connection, and will I lose speed or power?

Answer 1

If it's a high-speed connection like DSL or Broadband cable modem you need to get a router. Your high-speed connection will plug into your router first then 2 ethernet cord would connect the router to each PC.

You won't lose speed but you will share it with your 2nd PC. Most people don't notice the shared connection with broadband since they typically have downloads speeds of 3-5Mbps which far exceeds the download capacity most site have. However if you have DSL depending on how far you are from the central office you could have a lower download speed which can be felt when sharing the connection but would still be mildly noticable.

Answer 2

The best option would be to use a router (around 70$) which will act as a gateway between your computers and your modem. Once you aquire the router you can plug in your modem to the slot on the router labeled "internet" and the other PCs in the other slots.

You will lose speed but probably nothing you will notice unless you are using both PCs to download large files at the same time. For normal browsing purposes or Gaming purposes you won't be able to tell any difference.

Answer 3

Run the network setup wizard on BOTH computers by opening 'My Network Places' and clicking on 'Set up a home or small office network'. Answer all questions in the manner in which your environment is actually set up (router, gateway, etc.). You will NOT have to create a configuration file or disk - just finish the wizard.

Losing speed depends on your setup. If you have a router, then no speed loss that you will see or measure. If you are using one PC as a gateway, then the pc being used as the gateway may experience some slowdowns IF it is using a demanding application AND trying to route packets to the slave computer at the same time.

Power is not an issue in any case.

Answer 4

There are two ways:
1. (Windows XP) Using Windows Internet connection sharing feature, that requires 2 network adaptors in one of the PCs (1 for Internet access and the other to connect to the other PC).
2. Using a broadband router (ie. Linksys BEFSX41, affordable and good) which acts like an splitter: it has one port for your internet connection and 4 ports to connect directly up to four computers.
This second option is most recommendable, because does not require one gateway PC to be always on, it is more secure and does not use any computer aditional resources.

Answer 5

I'm assuming that you mean internet connection. Yes, you can. You need a router. It will slow down your speeds but not by very much. You can purchase a router from any local computer/electronics store.

Answer 6

if you are talking about dsl internet then yes you can connect them
you will have to have a dsl router then set up a network between the two computers, it will slow down the connection some but most likely not much.

Answer 7

Get a router, wired or wireless. Any speed you might lose is negligable and generally not noticable by the average human.

Answer 8

Depends on what type of connection which you havent provided in your quest!