"Which homeplug?"

golfdiva

Hi All



I have metro lite (5Mb) broadband with Digiweb.At the moment I am looking at buying a powerplug as I need a connection upstairs.



They seem to come in two different forms 85Mbps and 200Mbps. Its about €15 difference in price. Would I get any benefit from going with the 200Mbps or is the lower one sufficient.



Thanks

DemoniK

golfdiva wrote: »

Hi All



I have metro lite (5Mb) broadband with Digiweb.At the moment I am looking at buying a powerplug as I need a connection upstairs.



They seem to come in two different forms 85Mbps and 200Mbps. Its about €15 difference in price. Would I get any benefit from going with the 200Mbps or is the lower one sufficient.



Thanks

First off speed is quoted as combined up and down, so is total speed of the link from 1 point to another. If you add a 3rd link, then this will drop considerably.

Anyway,
85Mbps is sufficient for pretty much every internet in the country right now. You may want to move to the 200Mbps if you are streaming HD video around the house.

I would recommend the Devolo Homeplugs over any others. I've used them myself for years now, and have recommended to many others and all good experiences. Know a few who have tried netgear and cheaper products and all have run into issues (although the netgear ones I suspect was partly down to the user in question).

golfdiva

So in reality will I get any extra speed from the 200Mbps ?

I'm I right in thinking that if my broadband is 5Mbps I won't reach any higher than this using the internal plugs.

DemoniK

Correct..
To/from internet the max you will get is your 5Mbps + whatever your upload is...

golfdiva

Thanks for that , think I'll get the 85Mbps and save me €15:D

peckerhead

I presume the same would apply to an Xbox Live connection? The young lad has just broken his old 85Mbps Homeplug and is asking me to replace the two of them and get 200Mbps units. But we also only have a 5Mb broadband connection (with UPC) — would he gain anything by using 200Mbps adaptors?

Also, could I continue to use the 85Mbps adaptor elsewhere in the house? I see some units described as "Interoperable with HomePlug 1.1 standard 85 Mbps powerline technology" and others as only able to co-exist.

DemoniK

peckerhead wrote: »

I presume the same would apply to an Xbox Live connection? The young lad has just broken his old 85Mbps Homeplug and is asking me to replace the two of them and get 200Mbps units. But we also only have a 5Mb broadband connection (with UPC) — would he gain anything by using 200Mbps adaptors?

Nope..
The limit is your 5Mbps broadband.
Only plus would be should you ever go to their 20Mbps+ option then you will still be able to make use of it

Also, could I continue to use the 85Mbps adaptor elsewhere in the house? I see some units described as "Interoperable with HomePlug 1.1 standard 85 Mbps powerline technology" and others as only able to co-exist.

Not always.. At best it'll slow everything down to 85Mbps.
However as I stated above if you have 3 units plugged in then you share that 85Mbps between all 3 - however, I've never seen it, and when I've done it - my 3 200Mbps dropped to less than 10Mbps each! So I keep the 3rd unplugged until I need it. Also - 3rd unit drastically affects pings for me, so don't use when gaming

EDIT - meant to add..
Just cos it says 200Mbps, don't always believe it. Sustained thruput is usually slower.
See http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/lanwan/lanwan-reviews/31241-homeplug-av-adapter-roundup where 200Mbps adaptors get around 40Mbps of real life data. I'd safely assume 17Mbps for 85Mbps adaptors

peckerhead

Thanks DemoniK, much appreciated. Can I pick your brains on one more thing? If I were to get something like this instead of a straightforward plugin adaptor with just the one ethernet port, would I be able to connect, say, an external HDD to one of the other two ports on this and effectively turn it into a NAS for streaming media to the PCs on the home network? (and yes, I understand that if we did this while His Lordship was gaming it would mess up his speeds... )

JDxtra

peckerhead wrote: »

Thanks DemoniK, much appreciated. Can I pick your brains on one more thing? If I were to get something like this instead of a straightforward plugin adaptor with just the one ethernet port, would I be able to connect, say, an external HDD to one of the other two ports on this and effectively turn it into a NAS for streaming media to the PCs on the home network? (and yes, I understand that if we did this while His Lordship was gaming it would mess up his speeds... )

No. Instead of one network port, that device gives you three. You would still need a dedicated NAS device.

peckerhead

Cheers again, JDxtra. If I got one of these NAS adaptors, I guess I could use my existing HDDs? (1 x 1TB and 2 x 500GB portables) — but I've heard that the software/compatibility glitches can be a bit of a headwrecker. Am I better off coughing up for a "proper" NAS drive (or enclosure), d'you reckon?

DemoniK

you could use one of those to turn your HDD into a NAS.
performance of file transfers is always the bigger issue with cheapo devices.

You then need to figure out how to integrate it into the network - either close to your router (better) or via that 3 port device you linked to earlier.

Dr Nic

Mind if i ask 2 q's about these?

1 - Can >2 powerlines be added to a network? Or do they solely come in pairs? Is there a limit on distance?
2 - Any bricks and mortar doing decent deals on them?

Thanks!

DemoniK

Dr Nic wrote: »

Mind if i ask 2 q's about these?

1 - Can >2 powerlines be added to a network? Or do they solely come in pairs? Is there a limit on distance?

Yes - but you have 200Mbps to share between each adaptor. Adding a 3rd will drop the performance of all adaptors quite rapidly. Depending on your needs that might be ok..

2 - Any bricks and mortar doing decent deals on them?

Have seen them in PCWorld, Currys and Maplin.
Am sure others would have them too..
Devolo 200Mbps are about €100 for a pair delivered from dabs.. Should aim for around the same price.

peckerhead

This eBay seller does a twin pack of the Belkin 200mbps units for £54 delivered to Ireland. It's only £9 more than the equivalent (but uglier) 85mbps pair.

Kristopherus

I found the best value in Homeplugs is at http://www.faculty-x.net/. They also have a live forum-type application on-site in the FAQ page which you will find on the RHS of their pages, where you can ask any question and they will come back to you within a short time with an answer on the site.I think these may suit you.http://www.faculty-x.net/compare%2085%20homeplugs.htm