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Posted: Sat Nov 06, 2004 7:20 am
by Dio
This may be a simple question for some. I have never tried it.
I will be buying some new computers this Christmas..for the kids and myself.
How to network 2 PC's..I think I know..buy 2 networking cards and plug them in together. Play Myth and have fun.
But what about the 3rd PC or 4th? Don't want to go online with them (I need a router for this).
Any of you guys ever hook up a bunch of PC's together and play Games? I think they call this a LAN party.
A little help please. Thanks.
Posted: Sat Nov 06, 2004 8:58 am
by lank
what you need is called an ethernet switch. it's a little box with rj-45 ports on the back (assuming that's the type of network you're using). you can get switches with almost any number of ports, and shouldn't be overly expensive for those with lower numbers.
Posted: Sat Nov 06, 2004 9:50 am
by Dio
That and network cards for all the computers. ok. Thanks alot.
I will assume that playing Myth will be the easy part to figure out.
Posted: Sat Nov 06, 2004 5:35 pm
by lank
just make sure all the computers have ip addresses in with 192.168.x.y
where x is any number from 0 to 255 and is the same across all your machines and y is any number from 0 to 255 and is unique for each machine.
then you can start playing myth games over TCP/IP and the host should show up automatically in the list. 
Posted: Sun Nov 07, 2004 1:02 pm
by Doobie
to get addresses like 192.168.x.y you will need an NAT router AND a switch (although almost all NAT routers come with switches built in these days).
Posted: Sun Nov 07, 2004 4:58 pm
by lank
in my experience you set the ip yourself if you're just playing on a LAN. router for net access for all the other computers, though, is a great big bonus.
Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2004 11:11 am
by Doobie
Fair enough lank, you could deffinately do it that way, except that no computer would have internet access anymore, and with the price of NAT routers being what it is, why not spend the extra $30-50 and get a 4 port NAT router instead of a switch?
Posted: Thu Nov 18, 2004 9:55 pm
by Archer
lank wrote:what you need is called an ethernet switch. it's a little box with rj-45 ports on the back (assuming that's the type of network you're using). you can get switches with almost any number of ports, and shouldn't be overly expensive for those with lower numbers.
At the scale he's talking about, a hub would be cheaper and as effective in terms of actual use.
~J
Posted: Sun Nov 21, 2004 11:58 am
by qwerty2
actually I recently needed to buy a switch/hub and went looking. Most places didnt sell hubs at all and those that did where 20$-30$ more expensive than a switch
Posted: Sun Nov 21, 2004 10:14 pm
by Archer
Then whoever it is selling them is drunk. Hubs are markedly less advanced and capable than switches. I don't even know what it would compare to. Maybe a car without antilock brakes and a good sound system costing more than an identical one with them.
~J