Maybe not unique but kind of an odd situation...

[Okele]

I need some help and the best place I thought of for that help is here at TBCS.

Im moving into a new house in the next week or so(still have painting etc to do). My brother is moving in with us so he will be bringing his computer and xbox360.

Heres my issue: with the addition of his stuff that creates somewhat of an issue for setting up an efficient home network situation. Heres what we'll have -

My PC(gaming)
Wife's PC(music/DVD movies/surfing)
Daughters PC(DVD movies/ Surfing)
Brothers PC(no idea porn maybe? )
2 Xbox 360's
1 PS3
and future plans for a home media server

The issue is not getting these all hooked up. The issue is getting them hooked up in thier different locations. Wireless really isnt an option for me as Ive never trusted it to carry game information quick enough not to lag me out. Same for the consoles. I found a solution for a home powerline networking kit, but as yet it still seems to be unproven.

Mainly mine and my wifes computer we'll be in one corner of the house and my daughters and his computer/360 will be in the other corner, and my 360 and ps3 will be right in the center. How can I get all these devices connected and connected reliably?


+rep to anyone who makes an attempt to help me figure this out!

[mittelmeier]

If you want to run cables to them all it would depend on how your house is set up and if you mind cutting holes in the walls. If they are all going to be located on the same floor and you have a basement or crawl space you could always run most of the cable under the floor and then bring it up either through the floor or out of a jack in the wall at each room you need cables for. Putting the router in the middle of the house with the 360 and PS3. It would cost a bit as cable isn't cheap and I'm sure you'd need a bunch plus about 6 jacks but that could be an option. If you are on separate floors you could still do that but you'd be fishing wires through many walls and it would be a nightmare imo.

[nevermind1534]

If you have any wide spaces, such as an open area around a gas exhaust, or even an air return, you could run the cables through there, from the basement, into the attic. You could drill a hole in the top of the frame that the studs make, from the attic, and make holes in the wall for jacks. This is a solution for the upstairs of a multi-story home. You could also run the cables under the floorboards upstairs, if you have one.

[Killa_Ape]

I run wireless for my gaming and I have no problems. Wii/PS3 work fine, PS3 just has ****ty range while Wii can get almost anywhere. I can play shooters on PC/PS3 fine with no lag just make sure you get G or N wireless and you will be fine. Although it might be cheaper to run cable as opposed to buying wireless cards for 4 PCs but I don't know your house layout. BTW my PC is a floor and a couple walls away from my wireless router.

[nevermind1534]

Wii/PS3 work fine, PS3 just has ****ty range while Wii can get almost anywhere.

Yeah, the Wii is almost too good. It disconnects my computer when I'm using wireless nearby, if the Wii is using the internet.

[Okele]

I guess I should have mentioned the type of house. Its only a 1 story home, 1700+ sq ft of manufactured trailer trash home!

[xRyokenx]

I personally would use wireless for everything that is not used for gaming and run cables around the rest of the house for the gaming machines. What you should do is find/draw a floor plan for your house and figure out where the best places to run the cables would be and then go from there.

[mittelmeier]

As long as you can get under the trailer easily enough I would run wires under ground and then put jacks in the wall for each computer. It shouldn't be too hard to cut a hole in the walls of a trailer for jacks. Is there a phone jack near where any of the computers will be? If so that's where I'd put the router.

[SXRguyinMA]

heres step 1...since you've got 2 xbox 360s theres no need to hook both up, so sell me one for dirt cheap and that'll in effect save you a boatload of money on wiring, etc :up: :D

seriously though, I dont know much about networking. My friend brings his 360 over all the time, its hardwired to my computer and shares its wireless, which is 2 walls and a chimney away and I never had lag issues :up:

[crenn]

Do you have a floor plan? I might be able to suggest something.

EDIT: If you do have one, can you put in rough locations of the components?

[Okele]

Do you have a floor plan? I might be able to suggest something.

EDIT: If you do have one, can you put in rough locations of the components?

I actually have an almost finished sketchup of the house in question. I wont be able to get it posted until tomorrow after work though. I need to get as much figured out as possible by thursday as thats when the internet will be installed

[crenn]

If you can give it to me by tomorrow, I should have a rough solution for you within a day.