NCIX Tech Tips Networking Shootout - Powerline vs Wireless vs Gigabit Ethernet

[Linus]

It's not the most comprehensive review ever, but I thought it merited a mention over here.

YouTube - Powerline vs Wireless vs Ethernet Networking (NCIX Tech Tips #52)

[FiXT]

I'm FiXT and I endorse the viewing of this review.

Actually this was incredibly informative (a first for a Tech Tips episode - BAM! )

Thanks Linus!

[Shadowmeph]

Cool now I am going to check out the pricing hehe

[Linus]

Originally Posted by FiXT

I'm FiXT and I endorse the viewing of this review.

Actually this was incredibly informative (a first for a Tech Tips episode - BAM! )

Thanks Linus!

[Perineum]

That pretty much sums up my experiences.

Wireless has never reallly worked decent for me. It was *always* dropping out and acting up in general.

Wired is my preference of course, but my folding farms are run off the powerline ethernet adapters and never any problems.....

[Arinoth]

I thought this was a rather good an informative review against the major three, even though many people overlook powerline as a networking solution. I rather enjoyed seeing Warcraft 3 installed on the computer.

[SKYMTL]

Actually,I have never had issues with wireless until recently. I use the provided Bell 2Wire wireless unit and both my old Dell laptop and my netbook work flawlessly. My new Dell laptop with an a/b/g card seems to start dropping the signal after about an hour of use. Ironically, my netbook placed right next to it will continue on displaying full signal without any interruptions.

Sounds like another wonky Dell wireless card.

[Linus]

Yep. Wireless works great when it works. At home I've got about 1/2 a dozen adapters, and almost as many routers. Some combos work awesome, others hardly work at all.

It's just not "consistent" enough (maybe the word I should have used instead of "reliable").

A big part of the problem is that even when you buy the same part number, you might get a different, completely incompatible chipset. It seems to me that not nearly enough validation goes into it.

[Perineum]

It could very well be that I have a faulty card, as it does drop out after about an hour. I never bothered troubleshooting it too much. Wireless is also a terrible security risk as well.... not that I really have much to hide but I still don't want people digging around in my photographs, etc.

On an bit of a rant here but for some reason my DD-WRT router decided to glitch and drop it's wireless security settings. Naturally I ended up having someone on my wireless. Before I completely turned my radio off and took my wireless down forever I managed to share their printer to my computer and leave them 9999 reasons why they shouldn't be on my wireless router...

The font I used had great coverage for the sheet of paper and was bolded. I bet it was 70% black ink per page, printed "landscape"

I also did it at 3AM

[enaberif]

Originally Posted by FiXT

I'm FiXT and I endorse the viewing of this review.

Actually this was incredibly informative (a first for a Tech Tips episode - BAM! )

Thanks Linus!

I agree.

Tho one point Linus didn't mention about wireless is that it may not always work if the outlets are on different circuits which is a problem some people seem to have.

The other downside of powerline is the initial costs too. Its cheaper to go wired/wireless than powerline.