I want to create a LAN at home for games, what are the bare minimums?

[50]

Okay, I do not play games much, but I thought it would be fun to put about 4-5 comps in my basement and when friends come over, play games. I pretty much only play, Bf1942, Half Life Platinum Pack, Hitman 2(Is this even multiplayer?), Madden 2002, and StarCraft. What are the bare minimums to play with others (I'm asking because I can get some PII 250-450 mhz for free and wanted to know if those would work)?

 

[EeyoreX]

The bare minimums would be whatever the minimum system requirements of the individual games are. Whatever the games requires (and multiplayer often has higher requirements than single player) is what you need. Look at the specs of the games you want to play, whatever is spec'd with the highest minimum requirments, is the minimum you should use.

\Dan

 

[Cogman]

The easiest way to do it, would be to make sure you have 1 switch (newegg sells one for $25, free ARB) and every card needs a 10/100 full duplex card. they are not hard to come by and for 5 computers I can see it costing about $50-75 all together. Dont forget to get the CAT5 Straight through cables (do not get crossover). You need to make sure that if a computer has a NIC (Network card) that it is a 10/100 (able to hit 100 MBPS) and FULL duplex (can talk and listen at the same time) if ether of these requirments is not met, you will have a massive network slowdown. Also, you might want to try making one computer a DS (detecated server) as this will increase game speeds. Happy Networking.

 

[sandorski]

Originally posted by: Cartman2003
Okay, I do not play games much, but I thought it would be fun to put about 4-5 comps in my basement and when friends come over, play games. I pretty much only play, Bf1942, Half Life Platinum Pack, Hitman 2(Is this even multiplayer?), Madden 2002, and StarCraft. What are the bare minimums to play with others (I'm asking because I can get some PII 250-450 mhz for free and wanted to know if those would work)?

Starcraft and HalfLife will play well on a PII 450, but not BF1942 and I doubt Hitman and Madden will play well. You are going to want at the very least something > 1ghz and GF 3 or Radeon 8500 or greater for video.

You'll also need a Hub, Switch, or Router for your Network setup.

 

[wetcat007]

I'd recomend a router, DHCP can make life easier a lot of times

 

[LordOfAll]

um, a router, per se, will not be enough for a network. a router with a built in hub/switch would work, but a router with just a lan and wan port will not.

 

[Cogman]

Though a router would be easier, Static IP would be cheaper. If you wanted them to all connect to the internet, then I might have some diffrent advice for you.

 

[wetcat007]

Originally posted by: LordOfAll
um, a router, per se, will not be enough for a network. a router with a built in hub/switch would work, but a router with just a lan and wan port will not.

almost all routers have a built in switch..

 

[SaigonK]

Go to www.practiallynetowrked.com
I think thats the right URL. they have tons of info you need.