Networks I want to know your HTPC/WiFi/Networking habits/needs

Hey Everyone, I'm just gauging where the lie of the land is with regards to wireless, wired connections and if people even bother with HTPCs anymore with Chromecasts and tablets these days. Thanks for your time, I hope it's fun/interesting to see everyone's responses.

> Do you prefer WiFi or wired connections to your home PC/HTPC etc
> Do you own a .ac router? If not do you plan to upgrade to one? What's your primary upgrading factor?
> Do any of your smartphone/tablet/notebook products with .ac built in?
> Does a motherboard with WiFi built in sway your purchase - if so, is .ac necessary?
ASUS BOARD OWNERS ONLY > Do you own a product with WiFi GO! (or are you aware what it is?)
> Would you ever use a motherboard's built in WiFi as a WiFi repeater or access point?
> Do you use 'Cloud' services? Which?
ASUS BOARD OWNERS ONLY > Do you know what Cloud GO! is? If yes, have you tried it?
> Do you know what ASUS Webstorage is? If yes, do you use it?
> How 'desperate' are you for speeds above Gigabit Ethernet on a scale of 1-10 (1 being meh, 10 being OMG GIVE ME NAOWWWW)
> Does buying Intel GigE chips still tip the balance versus Realtek in board purchases?
> Do you or have you ever used Teaming of GigE connections?
> What functions does your HTPC perform: server, TV recording, playback only, HDTV gaming etc

Whow thanks everyone!

 

wired
no
no
no
no
no
dropbox
no
no
not particularly
no
no
playback

 

Used wifi go when i go to events for people to connect to my pc which is then connector to my phone for internet access. Board is the one in my sig. By the way hurry up with the new haswell board so i can upgrade

 

Might make more sense to people if they know what .ac refers to

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.11ac

 

> Do you prefer WiFi or wired connections to your home PC/HTPC etc
Wired. Transfer speeds needed to/from server.
> Do you own a .ac router? If not do you plan to upgrade to one? What's your primary upgrading factor?
No, will one day though. Transfer speeds important.
> Do any of your smartphone/tablet/notebook products with .ac built in?
None
> Does a motherboard with WiFi built in sway your purchase - if so, is .ac necessary?
Not right now, in future probably.
ASUS BOARD OWNERS ONLY > Do you own a product with WiFi GO! (or are you aware what it is?)
No WiFi GO
> Would you ever use a motherboard's built in WiFi as a WiFi repeater or access point?
Doubt I would need to with layout of property
> Do you use 'Cloud' services? Which?
Dropbox
ASUS BOARD OWNERS ONLY > Do you know what Cloud GO! is? If yes, have you tried it?
Yes and no
> Do you know what ASUS Webstorage is? If yes, do you use it?
Yes and no
> How 'desperate' are you for speeds above Gigabit Ethernet on a scale of 1-10 (1 being meh, 10 being OMG GIVE ME NAOWWWW)
6/7. Don't need now, in future would help
> Does buying Intel GigE chips still tip the balance versus Realtek in board purchases?
Preferred but not essential
> Do you or have you ever used Teaming of GigE connections?
Yes, only playing around though
> What functions does your HTPC perform: server, TV recording, playback only, HDTV gaming etc
Playback, gaming, downloading and transferring to server

 

1) Wired
2) Yes, RT-N66U. And i am really annoyed by the fact that changing the port forwarding pretty reboots the router.
3) HTC One
4) nope, WiFi in motherboard is the last thing i would decide upon.
5) Yes, 2x P8Z77-I Deluxe.
6) Not really a safe idea to do , so no.
7) If you mean the ones on ASUS routers, then no. Tried the AiCloud app too, didn't really work for me, but i don't really need the access to my server from the phone anyway.
8) Seems like it is a Z87 only feature, so nope.
9) No and no.
10) 4. Would be nice, but gigabit is enough for most tasks except server backup .
11) A bit.
12) No teaming, AFAIK there is no use for it without the rest of the infrastructure supporting it.
13) XBMC, file server, various desktop apps which needs to run 24/7 (via remote desktop), virtualization (Virtualbox & PHPVirtualbox), backups (Seafile & via file server functionality), owncloud, RSS reader, TV server (DVB-C).

 

> Do you prefer WiFi or wired connections to your home PC/HTPC etc

wired

> Do you own a .ac router? If not do you plan to upgrade to one? What's your primary upgrading factor?

No. No plans currently. Wired is fast enough as is for the moment. I.e. I don't think my storage will keep up with faster speeds.

> Do any of your smartphone/tablet/notebook products with .ac built in?

No

> Does a motherboard with WiFi built in sway your purchase - if so, is .ac necessary?

No. My experience with onboard wifi has been "broken", "broken"; didn't want or use.

ASUS BOARD OWNERS ONLY > Do you own a product with WiFi GO! (or are you aware what it is?)

No

> Would you ever use a motherboard's built in WiFi as a WiFi repeater or access point?

Yes - only as access point.

> Do you use 'Cloud' services? Which?

No

ASUS BOARD OWNERS ONLY > Do you know what Cloud GO! is? If yes, have you tried it?

Never heard of it.

> Do you know what ASUS Webstorage is? If yes, do you use it?

Never heard of it.

> How 'desperate' are you for speeds above Gigabit Ethernet on a scale of 1-10 (1 being meh, 10 being OMG GIVE ME NAOWWWW)

I want them for sure. But from disk to disk the transfers on my nas hover around 70MB. This is also the speed that transfers hover around on my gigabit network. So whilst I'd have it, I don't know when I'd see the benefit.

> Does buying Intel GigE chips still tip the balance versus Realtek in board purchases?

Not really. It's nice, but they have issues as well as any other. My work laptops ethernet for instance used to drop out periodically. Took a couple of updates from intel to sort and I was only not fussed as I was also connected to wifi.

> Do you or have you ever used Teaming of GigE connections?

No

> What functions does your HTPC perform: server, TV recording, playback only, HDTV gaming etc

playback, recording (in future) and possibly fifa if it runs on it.

 

The Impact has 802.11ac bundled, P8Z87I Pro has 802.11n. Pro is already out, Impact is within 2 weeks.

 

> Do you prefer WiFi or wired connections to your home PC/HTPC etc

Wired only, with wifi only available to whitelisted(mac add) phones/tablets

> Do you own a .ac router? If not do you plan to upgrade to one?

No

What's your primary upgrading factor?

Stability

> Do any of your smartphone/tablet/notebook products with .ac built in?

No

> Does a motherboard with WiFi built in sway your purchase - if so, is .ac necessary?

No, no

ASUS BOARD OWNERS ONLY > Do you own a product with WiFi GO!
No
(or are you aware what it is?) Yes

> Would you ever use a motherboard's built in WiFi as a WiFi repeater or access point?

No

> Do you use 'Cloud' services? Not really (see next answer) Which? Photobucket (only to post pictures on forums)

ASUS BOARD OWNERS ONLY > Do you know what Cloud GO! is?

Yes
If yes, have you tried it? No.

> Do you know what ASUS Webstorage is?

Yes
If yes, do you use it? No

> How 'desperate' are you for speeds above Gigabit Ethernet on a scale of 1-10 (1 being meh, 10 being OMG GIVE ME NAOWWWW)

7

> Does buying Intel GigE chips still tip the balance versus Realtek in board purchases?

Yes

> Do you or have you ever used Teaming of GigE connections?

Yes (have)

> What functions does your HTPC perform: server, TV recording, playback only, HDTV gaming etc

Tv recording/playback/web.

 

1. Wired
2. No, shall upgrade one day, but full GigE routing with a wireless access point is what I want
3. No
4. No
5. N/a
6. Possibly, but linux users can already do this
7. Ubuntu One and soon my own Open cloud, I want full control of data limit and full ownership of files shared.
8. N/a
9. Nope
10. 7, if it were rolled into motherboards and routers at an affordable level, then yes!!
11. Yes, better driver support for those in the world of linux
12.No, can't run enough cable for that.
13. Currently it's a client running XBMC, pointed at my HP microserver, Future plans are to include PVR capabilities, and a rebuild for lower power and PCI-E SSD, for near to instant pwr on. Motherboards with CEC support over IGP HDMI would be a big interest!

In truth, the perfect device for me would be the following.

Linux OS (Support for ZFS raid's), XBMC installed out the box and Samba ready to share.
4x 3.5in bay SATA3 storage bays
Built in 5 port GigE switch, with Wireless 802.11ac routing
HDMI with CEC support

Such a device would let me get rid of the server, the BT home hub and a GigE Switch, and HTPC, 4 devices leeching power from the wall.

Hell even a decent NAS (I like decent transfer speeds) with 802.11ac routing and switch would work

 

> Do you prefer WiFi or wired connections to your home PC/HTPC etc
Wired
> Do you own a .ac router? If not do you plan to upgrade to one? What's your primary upgrading factor?
Nope and nope - I only have 2meg internet and there are no plans to upgrade the area where I live as yet. For me, strength of signal is more important than more speed
> Do any of your smartphone/tablet/notebook products with .ac built in?
Nope
> Does a motherboard with WiFi built in sway your purchase - if so, is .ac necessary?
Nope and nope
ASUS BOARD OWNERS ONLY > Do you own a product with WiFi GO! (or are you aware what it is?)
No
> Would you ever use a motherboard's built in WiFi as a WiFi repeater or access point?
No
> Do you use 'Cloud' services? Which?
iCloud for my phone, Amazon Cloud for music I bought from them and BT Cloud as it's part of my internet package
ASUS BOARD OWNERS ONLY > Do you know what Cloud GO! is? If yes, have you tried it?
Yes and no - Takes too long for me to upload to them, so I don't use them
> Do you know what ASUS Webstorage is? If yes, do you use it?
Yes and no
> How 'desperate' are you for speeds above Gigabit Ethernet on a scale of 1-10 (1 being meh, 10 being OMG GIVE ME NAOWWWW)
5
> Does buying Intel GigE chips still tip the balance versus Realtek in board purchases?
Not really
> Do you or have you ever used Teaming of GigE connections?
Nope
> What functions does your HTPC perform: server, TV recording, playback only, HDTV gaming etc
Playback

 

Impacts what i am after

 

> Do you prefer WiFi or wired connections to your home PC/HTPC etc

I prefer a wired connection, as it's less prone to hacking.

> Do you own a .ac router? If not do you plan to upgrade to one? What's your primary upgrading factor?

Don't own one, don't plan on upgrading.

> Do any of your smartphone/tablet/notebook products with .ac built in?

Nope, only .abgn

> Does a motherboard with WiFi built in sway your purchase - if so, is .ac necessary?

As I'm trying not to use WiFi, no, not at all.

> Would you ever use a motherboard's built in WiFi as a WiFi repeater or access point?

Sure. Only temporarily though, like for updating my iPad for example.

> Do you use 'Cloud' services? Which?

Never will use those damn cloud-services as my data isn't safe there.

> Do you know what ASUS Webstorage is? If yes, do you use it?

Not interested.

> How 'desperate' are you for speeds above Gigabit Ethernet on a scale of 1-10 (1 being meh, 10 being OMG GIVE ME NAOWWWW)

1

> Does buying Intel GigE chips still tip the balance versus Realtek in board purchases?

The Realtek-chips do work like intended, so no.

> Do you or have you ever used Teaming of GigE connections?

No.

> What functions does your HTPC perform: server, TV recording, playback only, HDTV gaming etc

I'm using my PS3 as a HTPC and it's used for playback and gaming.

 

Do you prefer WiFi or wired connections to your home PC/HTPC etc
Wired to my HTPC, Wireless to PC
> Do you own a .ac router? If not do you plan to upgrade to one? What's your primary upgrading factor?
No and no need to upgrade until my broadband is faster than wireless G speeds.
> Do any of your smartphone/tablet/notebook products with .ac built in?
None
> Does a motherboard with WiFi built in sway your purchase - if so, is .ac necessary?
Not at the moment, maybe in future.
ASUS BOARD OWNERS ONLY > Do you own a product with WiFi GO! (or are you aware what it is?)
No WiFi GO
> Would you ever use a motherboard's built in WiFi as a WiFi repeater or access point?
Nope, my computer isn't 'always on'
> Do you use 'Cloud' services? Which?
Google Drive
ASUS BOARD OWNERS ONLY > Do you know what Cloud GO! is? If yes, have you tried it?
No and no
> Do you know what ASUS Webstorage is? If yes, do you use it?
No and no
> How 'desperate' are you for speeds above Gigabit Ethernet on a scale of 1-10 (1 being meh, 10 being OMG GIVE ME NAOWWWW)
2. Don't have anything that needs it
> Does buying Intel GigE chips still tip the balance versus Realtek in board purchases?
Preferable but not essential.
> Do you or have you ever used Teaming of GigE connections?
Yes, when migrating data from NAS to NAS
> What functions does your HTPC perform: server, TV recording, playback only, HDTV gaming etc
Streaming video from NAS and playing Youtube on big TV.

 

> Do you prefer WiFi or wired connections to your home PC/HTPC etc
- Wired Connections - Stability/Speed and Ping response.

> Do you own a .ac router? If not do you plan to upgrade to one? What's your primary upgrading factor?
No.

> Do any of your smartphone/tablet/notebook products with .ac built in?
No

> Does a motherboard with WiFi built in sway your purchase - if so, is .ac necessary?
No - i would normally buy an adapter from a good brand. Have found on-board wireless to be unreliable in the past.

ASUS BOARD OWNERS ONLY > Do you own a product with WiFi GO! (or are you aware what it is?)
Not Relevant

> Would you ever use a motherboard's built in WiFi as a WiFi repeater or access point?
Not Relevant

> Do you use 'Cloud' services? Which?
Not Relevant

ASUS BOARD OWNERS ONLY > Do you know what Cloud GO! is? If yes, have you tried it?
Not Relevant

> Do you know what ASUS Webstorage is? If yes, do you use it?
Not Relevant

> How 'desperate' are you for speeds above Gigabit Ethernet on a scale of 1-10 (1 being meh, 10 being OMG GIVE ME NAOWWWW)
5 - Could do with it, but i'm not willing to pay over the odds for it. Maybe in a few years time when 4k HD requires faster streaming.


> Does buying Intel GigE chips still tip the balance versus Realtek in board purchases?
Is there any difference?

> Do you or have you ever used Teaming of GigE connections?
Yes, works great for high bandwidth servers. Would like one on my home server.

> What functions does your HTPC perform: server, TV recording, playback only, HDTV gaming etc
HTPC - Playback only from server in loft.

 

> Do you prefer WiFi or wired connections to your home PC/HTPC etc
Whichever is convenient.
> Do you own a .ac router? If not do you plan to upgrade to one? What's your primary upgrading factor?
No, maybe. Depends on cost.
> Do any of your smartphone/tablet/notebook products with .ac built in?
Not as far as I know
> Does a motherboard with WiFi built in sway your purchase - if so, is .ac necessary?
No
ASUS BOARD OWNERS ONLY > Do you own a product with WiFi GO! (or are you aware what it is?)
Don't think so.
> Would you ever use a motherboard's built in WiFi as a WiFi repeater or access point?
Unlikely.
> Do you use 'Cloud' services? Which?
Google Play for music
ASUS BOARD OWNERS ONLY > Do you know what Cloud GO! is? If yes, have you tried it?
Nope.
> Do you know what ASUS Webstorage is? If yes, do you use it?
Nope.
> How 'desperate' are you for speeds above Gigabit Ethernet on a scale of 1-10 (1 being meh, 10 being OMG GIVE ME NAOWWWW)
1
> Does buying Intel GigE chips still tip the balance versus Realtek in board purchases?
Not for me.
> Do you or have you ever used Teaming of GigE connections?
Only in work, never at home.
> What functions does your HTPC perform: server, TV recording, playback only, HDTV gaming etc
Playback, gaming.

 

Wired, no, no, no, no.

AC is too dear atm.

 

> Do you prefer WiFi or wired connections to your home PC/HTPC etc
wired

> Do you own a .ac router? If not do you plan to upgrade to one? What's your primary upgrading factor?
no

> Do any of your smartphone/tablet/notebook products with .ac built in?
no

> Does a motherboard with WiFi built in sway your purchase - if so, is .ac necessary?
ASUS BOARD OWNERS ONLY > Do you own a product with WiFi GO! (or are you aware what it is?)
no, no/no

> Would you ever use a motherboard's built in WiFi as a WiFi repeater or access point?
maybe if laying cables is to much of a hassle

> Do you use 'Cloud' services? Which?
ASUS BOARD OWNERS ONLY > Do you know what Cloud GO! is? If yes, have you tried it?
no, no, no

> Do you know what ASUS Webstorage is? If yes, do you use it?
yes, no

> How 'desperate' are you for speeds above Gigabit Ethernet on a scale of 1-10 (1 being meh, 10 being OMG GIVE ME NAOWWWW)
5, in a private environment most other things block, in a buisness environment it may be needed

> Does buying Intel GigE chips still tip the balance versus Realtek in board purchases?
meanwhile it doesn't matter anymore for me in private environments, buisness wise i would still go for it if i can

> Do you or have you ever used Teaming of GigE connections?
yes but just for testing

> What functions does your HTPC perform: server, TV recording, playback only, HDTV gaming etc
got no separate htpc, multimonitoring on main system

 

> Do you prefer WiFi or wired connections to your home PC/HTPC etc

Prefer wired due to more consistent provision of bandwidth and speed of obtaining a DHCP lease.

> Do you own a .ac router? If not do you plan to upgrade to one? What's your primary upgrading factor?

I don't own one. Probably eventually. The standard would need to be properly ratified and mature in products and I'd only upgrade if I felt I'd make use of the extra bandwidth.

> Do any of your smartphone/tablet/notebook products with .ac built in?

No, don't have anything that new at the moment.

> Does a motherboard with WiFi built in sway your purchase - if so, is .ac necessary?

No, I don't generally use WiFi on desktop machines.

ASUS BOARD OWNERS ONLY > Do you own a product with WiFi GO! (or are you aware what it is?)

No, I generally ignore proprietary motherboard features as fluff.

> Would you ever use a motherboard's built in WiFi as a WiFi repeater or access point?

No, I'd use a dedicated AP or repeater due to size and potentially better signal gain.

> Do you use 'Cloud' services? Which?

No; poor upload bandwidth here.

ASUS BOARD OWNERS ONLY > Do you know what Cloud GO! is? If yes, have you tried it?

No and no.

> Do you know what ASUS Webstorage is? If yes, do you use it?

No and no.

> How 'desperate' are you for speeds above Gigabit Ethernet on a scale of 1-10 (1 being meh, 10 being OMG GIVE ME NAOWWWW)

An 8. 10Gig would be nice

> Does buying Intel GigE chips still tip the balance versus Realtek in board purchases?

No, I'm not really aware of the difference... I take it there is in terms of throughput?

> Do you or have you ever used Teaming of GigE connections?

No, I've considered it for use with NAS but was put off by the potential flaky support, expense of switch that supports teaming and the difficulty of implementation.

> What functions does your HTPC perform: server, TV recording, playback only, HDTV gaming etc

Playback only, NAS serves content.

Hope that's of use