Should I go wireless?

[elbirth]

Ok, currently in my house we've got a Netgear router setup splitting our cable connection (Road Runner) among 3 desktop computers, and sometimes a 4th computer (a laptop). All 3 desktop computers are in separate rooms of the house and we've got cables running across the ceiling, which we would really like to do away with without making holes anywhere...

I've been seriously considering going wireless ever since I've used the wireless network at school/work (I attend UNC-Chapel Hill and also work on-campus). It seems to be a really good connection for what I've done on there so far using my laptop (which has an integrated wireless card). I want to go wireless at home so I can take my laptop on the back deck and surf the net, or have it elsewhere in the house (maybe even in the bathroom ). I saw at Best Buy tonight where I can get a Linksys 802.11b wireless router for $99.99, but in a week or 2 they said they'll have it on sale for $49.99 after rebate.

My question is this....
If I go wireless, how would the signal be in-doors? Our computers are in 3 different rooms (one being on the 2nd floor) and there are a few walls in between these rooms... only about 4" thick ones, nothing but wood. I'm not entirely sure of the distance between them, but at the absolute MOST, it's NO MORE than 40-50 feet.
How would online gaming be on a wireless connection? Would I be able to play online games such as Medal of Honor, Starwars: Galaxies, Ravenshield, etc.?

Edit:
I also just read in another thread about either PCI or USB wireless cards for each computer. My laptop has a wireless card integrated so I won't be worrying about that. However, for the desktops, what do you recommend?

 

[JackMDS]

The following collection of links might help.

AnandTech - FAQ. What do I need for wireless Networking?

Wireless Cable/DSL Router or Access Point - What should I get?

Wireless What Should I Get?

Wireless Network - Configuration Modes.

How do I use a Wireless Cable/DSL Router as a Switch with an Access Point?

Wireless Security for the Home User.

 

[elbirth]

Cool, thanks, I'll check those out.

 

[anandfan]

few walls in between these rooms... only about 4" thick ones, nothing but wood

Actually, if your home uses typical construction techniques, the interior walls are 2x4 studs with 5/8" plaster board on either side.

If you already have wired cable, you can integrate wireless into your existing network. The wired portion does have faster and more reliable transfers than the wireless. Might as well keep that going. You can get a wireless router that will have ports to plug in your wired cables and connect to your wireless cards. Probably set up the wireless router as close as possible to the center of your "roaming range".

Edit: Made that 2x4, not 3x4

 

[elbirth]

Originally posted by: anandfan

few walls in between these rooms... only about 4" thick ones, nothing but wood

Actually, if your home uses typical construction techniques, the interior walls are 3x4 studs with 5/8" plaster board on either side.

If you already have wired cable, you can integrate wireless into your existing network. The wired portion does have faster and more reliable transfers than the wireless. Might as well keep that going. You can get a wireless router that will have ports to plug in your wired cables and connect to your wireless cards. Probably set up the wireless router as close as possible to the center of your "roaming range".

Well, I'm not a construction guy, so I don't know all of the details about the wall... thanks for the clarification.. the house is over 30 years old, so I'm guessing it would be as you say.

I do plan on using a wireless router with the wired ports because my brother threw a fit when my dad and I said we wanted to get wireless in the house. He's obsessed with EverCrap and now Starwars: Galaxies, and wants as fast and reliable of a connection as possible. However, from what I've read, cable connections aren't as fast as the 11mbps wireless connection, so there shouldn't really be any loss of speed there... just in transferring between the computers physically on the network, which we don't do a whole lot of.

After talking with some people at work (I'm a computer tech on campus at college) I think 802.11g will be the best thing for us, and I'm looking now for the best price on a good D-Link router.