Wireless nic for old PC

[VJ]

Weird question: I need to connect an old PII-450 (running XP Professional) to a wireless network. I have a PCI slot available, USB ports (only USB1.1) and there is a wired NIC in the PC.

I'm putting together a list of pro and cons to help me decide, but it is difficult...

PCI:
pro: cheap (€40)
con: only usable on desktop PC (which is bound to be replaced with a laptop in a year or so)

USB:
pro: cheap (€40), can be used on other devices (may never be needed as such though)
con: PC has USB1.1 which might be a bottleneck

bridge:
pro: can be used with any device (settop box, ...)
con: expensive (€90)

What would you guys do?


Jörg

[gt40]

Most likely the new laptop would have wireless on board, so reusing the usb version would be pointless,
and pci wireless b cards can be had for less than $20 here.
If you are only using it for internet and the occasional file sharing, this would be more than adequate.

[Kooldino]

They have wireless adapters that will plug into an ethernet port on a standard NIC...worth considering.

[ZokesPro]

Don't go usb, they suck, your better off with something that has a decent antenna, like a bridge (this would be the best) or a pci card.

[cjolley]

On the other hand, my father's old celeron 400 XP system would not work with a pci wireless nic for love or money.
So I held my nose and plugged in a usb one and it worked clean and simple.
It was a linksys.

[VJ]

gt40: yes, that is why I consider usb low on the list...
Kooldino: you mean a bridge?
Zokespro: yes, I'm leaning towards that (could be used for a printer or a set-top box in the future); but it is more expensive
cjolley: What chipset was on the mainboard? Mine has an Intel BX chipset... Didn't the USB 1.1 slow things down or hogged the cpu?


Jörg

[cjolley]

...
cjolley: What chipset was on the mainboard? Mine has an Intel BX chipset... Didn't the USB 1.1 slow things down or hogged the cpu?

Jörg,
It is a BX, most likely an Abit model (I don't remember), G200, 256 mb ram, usb 1.1

The PCI nic just caused a reboot loop when the os loaded.
I tried two of them.

I was very surprised, the usb nic worked just fine.
He has a 3 mb cable connection and his new computer connects to his linksys router by wire.
This allowed him to keep the old computer in a different room.

PS All he does is email, web and a tiny bit of photo editing. No games.

[Tjalfe]

They have wireless adapters that will plug into an ethernet port on a standard NIC...worth considering.

is that not a bridge?

[ZokesPro]

is that not a bridge?

Bingo!

[VJ]

cjolley:
hmm, weird, but thanks for the heads up. Could it have been a resource conflict?
The PC is a Shuttle Spacewalker hot 661 (BX chipset):
PII 450 (100 MHz FSB), 384 MB RAM; with a Creative AWE32 (ISA), Adaptec 2906 (PCI), 3com nic (should check type).

Jorg