Greets.
I've a home networking issue here. For the past four or so years, my mom, dad, and myself have relied on a Linksys (Yeah, yeah, I know) 10/100 5-port hub to split our single (One account, mind you) COX cable internet connection between three PCs. Recently, the hub developed a problem - there was a short in the power connection that made it very finicky about its position, and in addition to that, my PC was experiencing severe latency, my dad's was randomly losing its connection, and my mother's didn't seem to be having any problems at all. We decided to chuck that hub and buy a new one - the very same model and brand that we had before. The problems persist.
It can be nothing other than the hub, because if any of us connect directly into the cable modem, then we experience no issues at all (I'm connected in said manner right now, and have no latency whatsoever). It's odd that an old router and a brand new one would have the same exact issues, but my question, then, is this: Should we try a new, different brand of hub, should we try a switch, or should we get a router?
We have two major concerns: first is, of course, cost. Below $80 is much preferable. Second, we're running on one account with COX; will a switch or router allow us to operate simultaneously on the same account? From what I've read, a hub sends the packets it receives to -all- of the PCs on the network; a switch only sends those packets to the MAC address it's assigned to, and a router from what I understand does much the same as a switch. Some NewEgg descriptions of this hardware say "Allows you to share one internet connection with multiple PCs."
That's mostly it. If you need more details, ask. We're starving without our internet; an expedient solution to a troubling problem would be appreciated 😛
Age
I've a home networking issue here. For the past four or so years, my mom, dad, and myself have relied on a Linksys (Yeah, yeah, I know) 10/100 5-port hub to split our single (One account, mind you) COX cable internet connection between three PCs. Recently, the hub developed a problem - there was a short in the power connection that made it very finicky about its position, and in addition to that, my PC was experiencing severe latency, my dad's was randomly losing its connection, and my mother's didn't seem to be having any problems at all. We decided to chuck that hub and buy a new one - the very same model and brand that we had before. The problems persist.
It can be nothing other than the hub, because if any of us connect directly into the cable modem, then we experience no issues at all (I'm connected in said manner right now, and have no latency whatsoever). It's odd that an old router and a brand new one would have the same exact issues, but my question, then, is this: Should we try a new, different brand of hub, should we try a switch, or should we get a router?
We have two major concerns: first is, of course, cost. Below $80 is much preferable. Second, we're running on one account with COX; will a switch or router allow us to operate simultaneously on the same account? From what I've read, a hub sends the packets it receives to -all- of the PCs on the network; a switch only sends those packets to the MAC address it's assigned to, and a router from what I understand does much the same as a switch. Some NewEgg descriptions of this hardware say "Allows you to share one internet connection with multiple PCs."
That's mostly it. If you need more details, ask. We're starving without our internet; an expedient solution to a troubling problem would be appreciated 😛
Age
