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Guy Hart-Davis

"CNET Do-It-Yourself PC Upgrade Projects"

This is not such a good choice because USB is not fast enough
for the fastest network connections even if the full bandwidth of the USB bus is available.
(Normally the USB bus is carrying other signals as well??”for example, from
your keyboard or mouse to the PC.) However, a USB network connection is quite
viable unless you simply must have the very fastest network speeds possible over a
Gigabit Ethernet network.
For a laptop PC, the easiest solution is usually a PC Card or ExpressCard network
adapter. Again, look for a Gigabit Ethernet card unless you already have a Fast Ethernet
card you want to reuse. If neither of these options is available (for example, because
you keep the PC Card slot occupied with another card), you can also use USB.
Step 3: Assess Your Hardware Needs
for the Network??”and Then Buy
Next, work out what you??™ll need for the network. Follow these general steps:
Draw a diagram of your home and mark where each of the PCs in the network
will be.
Mark where you will place a wall plate with a connection for each PC or
other network device. For example, if you will use a cable or ADSL router,
that will need a connection to the network too. So will a network printer on
which each PC can print.
Decide where you will place the switch (or switches).
Figure out where you will need to run the cables for the network and how
many cables you will need to run to each point.


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