Here's what I want to do: I have a new Mac and an older Dell. I want them in two different rooms and want to network them. My digital cable will run into my Mac. How do I network them, allowing me to also get on the net from my Dell when I need to? I'd also like have it set up so that my brother and I can play games against each other when he is in town. What is the cheapest and easiest way to go about this? Thanks.
I have two PCs but I'm sure this'll work with a Mac as well. Make sure each computer has a network card and buy a router (~$50). The router works similar to a cable splitter. It takes the connection from your cable / dsl modem and shares it with however many PCs are currently connected to it (as many as eight depending on the router). You'll need ethernet cables which can get quite expensive if buying premade ones. A quick glance at Best Buy's website shows a Belkin 50' Cat5e cable costs $31.99. At tigersurplus.com you can get everything you need to make 300' of cable for $31.93 shipped . Of course if your PCs are right next to each other (like mine) you can just knock a hole in the wall and connect them with a cheap 10' cable. Wireless is another option which might cost a little more. If I had the money (hire me plz) I'd definitely go wireless, just make sure you secure your network unless you want your neighbors using up all your bandwidth like my idiot brother. Hope this helps and be sure to check out newegg.com as their prices are usually cheaper than B&M shops. hire me plz
What part of town do you live in? There's a place in Clear Lake called EPO (Electronic Parts Outlet) that has pre-made Cat5 cable at half the cost of everyone else. IIRC, 75' cost $27.99. Edit: Here's their website, although it doesn't provide much info: http://www.epo-ecp.com/
I highly recommend routers by Linksys, which can be either wired or wireless. They start at $50, and I have had VERY good luck with them. If you want to use the Linksys as a wireless access point for Apple's Airport card, you will need to make sure to get the model that supports 802.11g.
