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

> Do you prefer WiFi or wired connections to your home PC/HTPC etc
both - wired for static wireless for mobile/laptop

> Do you own a .ac router? If not do you plan to upgrade to one? What's your primary upgrading factor?
No. Perhaps eventually, though by the time I get around to it we'll probably be onto .dc . No real motivation, just as/when existing router gets flaky, or I get board with it...

> Do any of your smartphone/tablet/notebook products with .ac built in?
No, all either Ndraft2, or N

> Does a motherboard with WiFi built in sway your purchase - if so, is .ac necessary?
On ATX & MATX no, on mITX it might, .ac wouldn't be necessary, but faster is always better...

ASUS BOARD OWNERS ONLY > Do you own a product with WiFi GO! (or are you aware what it is?)
Nope, sorry, not got one.

> Would you ever use a motherboard's built in WiFi as a WiFi repeater or access point?
Now what a cleaver idea! I probably would if it had one, and the capabilities.

> Do you use 'Cloud' services? Which?
Yes. Skydrive.

ASUS BOARD OWNERS ONLY > Do you know what Cloud GO! is? If yes, have you tried it?
Again, sorry, not an ASUS owner.

> Do you know what ASUS Webstorage is? If yes, do you use it?
No. I presume another cloud offering?

> How 'desperate' are you for speeds above Gigabit Ethernet on a scale of 1-10 (1 being meh, 10 being OMG GIVE ME NAOWWWW)
3 - that's a I'm in no desperate hurry, but its on the horizon, once I get around to upgrading my router (see Q-2) there'll probably be a few options for 10GE and I may find myself tempted (see Q-4)

> Does buying Intel GigE chips still tip the balance versus Realtek in board purchases?
It's certainly a consideration, but I'm not an unreasonable guy...

> Do you or have you ever used Teaming of GigE connections?
Yes, till an unfortunate lightning strike.

> What functions does your HTPC perform: server, TV recording, playback only, HDTV gaming etc
Don't really have a HTPC as such, file-server acts as network storage for audio, video, and backups which I connect to locally with PC/laptop/phone/PS3->TV (until I upgrade to a DNLA TV/raspberry pi player/something more efficient than a PS3!). And while roaming on my phone.

 

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

Wireless for some, wired for others.

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

No. I won't upgrade while my current gear works. (Two Airport extremes)

> 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.

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

No.

> Do you use 'Cloud' services? Which?

Gmail. iCloud. Dropbox Pro (100gb). Crashplan (1TB backed up).

> 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?

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

My last HTPC was retired from HTPC duties and now is purely a gaming machine.

All streaming duties are now handled by a WDTV Live & 4TB drive for the big screen and Air Video running off a Mac for streaming to any of the iPads.

I'm never going back to a HTPC, those days are long gone. I want an appliance that just works and the kids can use without trashing it.

I got stung by purchasing an Asus Asteio D22 and it was a complete dog and I eventually broke it up and sold it for spares taking a good £800 loss. Shame it was lovely when it worked... which wasn't very often.

 

wired
no
no
no
no and yes
no, i would prefer a pci-e addin card with stable opensource linux drivers and infrastructure mode support.
does remote desktop qualifies as "cloud"? Also mandatory use of dropbox.
yes and no
10, i'm tired of agreggating 1G links...
yes, I wish MB makers would use intel NICs, also, multiple NICs
yes
curently fuctions as router

 

> 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. Not planning to upgrade unless I can find a decent one reasonably cheap or BT decided to ship one to me for free. Just don't need the extra speed or range over n.

> 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?
Built in wi-fi would be a factor if all other features were the same or similar across a chipset. .ac would be nice, but only if it didn't bump up the cost.

> Would you ever use a motherboard's built in WiFi as a WiFi repeater or access point?
If desperate, yes. (I have done so in the past)

> Do you use 'Cloud' services? Which?
Skydrive, Dropbox. Not very often and not for backup.

> 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?
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
None. Scrapped for parts/money because nobody used it.

 

Hope that helps!

 

> Do you prefer WiFi or wired connections to your home PC/HTPC etc Wired, if I can get it.
> Do you own a .ac router? If not do you plan to upgrade to one? What's your primary upgrading factor? Got no idea what it is, have no need right now anyway
> Do any of your smartphone/tablet/notebook products with .ac built in? As above
> Does a motherboard with WiFi built in sway your purchase - if so, is .ac necessary? Yeah, normally I'd rather not purchase it built in
ASUS BOARD OWNERS ONLY > Do you own a product with WiFi GO! (or are you aware what it is?) Unaware, not worried
> Would you ever use a motherboard's built in WiFi as a WiFi repeater or access point? No, dedicated products always do better
> Do you use 'Cloud' services? Which? Not ever planning to use cloud services-no bandwidth available out here, plus I don't trust them
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) Not at all concerned
> Does buying Intel GigE chips still tip the balance versus Realtek in board purchases? ALWAYS.
> Do you or have you ever used Teaming of GigE connections? Only in a professional capacity
> What functions does your HTPC perform: server, TV recording, playback only, HDTV gaming etc
Dumb playback. Generally it is disconnected from the network and does not even have a wireless adapter. If I needed more storage space (which is highly, highly doubtful, I've never filled a 1 TB drive) it has quad GigE ports on the back. I would use network attached storage in a simple network with wired access only between it and a separate NAS, and it would not see the rest of the network, such as it is. My PCs do not even see each other.

If I wanted better streaming capability on my own network, I would run Fiber Channel, not ethernet. WiFi is right out. Any PCs not in general use have their WiFi adapters removed, the SSID of my MiFi is hidden, and there is no sharing of files without the use of a physical backup device in the house.

I worked PC security for HOW many years, now?

 

> Do you prefer WiFi or wired connections to your home PC/HTPC etc
Mostly wired for PCs & consoles, but wifi for tablets, phones & laptops
> Do you own a .ac router? If not do you plan to upgrade to one? What's your primary upgrading factor?
No, No, No - not until the price comes down massively, and I have devices that will be able to make use of ac. I've only just got round to upgrading to n!
> 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'd never use wifi on a desktop PC.
ASUS BOARD OWNERS ONLY > Do you own a product with WiFi GO! (or are you aware what it is?)
No. Yes, I'm aware of what it is, and I still don't want it
> Would you ever use a motherboard's built in WiFi as a WiFi repeater or access point?
Possibly, if I could use it with Smoothwall or similar
> Do you use 'Cloud' services? Which?
Dropbox, Google Drive, SkyDrive
ASUS BOARD OWNERS ONLY > Do you know what Cloud GO! is? If yes, have you tried it?
Yes, 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)
About 6. Gigabit is fine at the moment.
> Does buying Intel GigE chips still tip the balance versus Realtek in board purchases?
Yes, especially if I plan on using Linux.
> 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 only

 

> Do you prefer WiFi or wired connections to your home PC/HTPC etc
Wired for anything static, happy with wireless for portable devices
> Do you own a .ac router? If not do you plan to upgrade to one? What's your primary upgrading factor?
Yes, an Apple AirPort Extreme
> Do any of your smartphone/tablet/notebook products with .ac built in?
No, I'm waiting for the next refresh which will have them
> 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, I don't buy motherboards for WiFi use. My Maximus V Gene doesn't come with WiFi GO!
> Would you ever use a motherboard's built in WiFi as a WiFi repeater or access point?
No, because I wouldn't leave a PC on 24/7
> Do you use 'Cloud' services? Which?
ASUS BOARD OWNERS ONLY > Do you know what Cloud GO! is? If yes, have you tried it?
Apple's iCloud, Dropbox
No, I don't know what Cloud GO is, but I can guess...
> Do you know what ASUS Webstorage is? If yes, do you use it?
Yes, but I don't 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)
Currently a 1. GigE is fast enough for anything at home, might change with 4K?
> Does buying Intel GigE chips still tip the balance versus Realtek in board purchases?
It has a small impact - I would expect a premium board to have an Intel controller
> 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 don't use a HTPC. Media duty is done from AppleTV (either native content or AirPlay) or a PS3 streaming from a Synology NAS.

 

> 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?
I do not own one and I do not plan to upgrade. Happy with ISP supplied modem router.

> 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! (or are you aware what it is?)
No and 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?
Skydrive, Dropbox

ASUS BOARD OWNERS ONLY > Do you know what Cloud GO! is? If yes, have you tried it?
No

> Do you know what ASUS Webstorage is? If yes, do you use it?
Yes and never used.

> 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?
No

> Do you or have you ever used Teaming of GigE connections?
No. I don't even know what it is.

> What functions does your HTPC perform: server, TV recording, playback only, HDTV gaming etc
I don't own a HTPC. Media is through a Roku.

 

> Do you prefer WiFi or wired connections to your home PC/HTPC etc
Depends on the function, most of my tech is cabled with cat 5e to a gbit switch, however I do now have great wireless access b/g/n around most of the house

> Do you own a .ac router? If not do you plan to upgrade to one? What's your primary upgrading factor?
Nope, i wouldn't upgrade my router unless
a. BT upgrade the exchange to give me something higher than 4meg
b. My existing router breaks. Since the bulk of my machines connect via cable wifi is for phones / tablets/laptops

> Do any of your smartphone/tablet/notebook products with .ac built in?
Yes galaxy s4 (but i had to check the specs to find out)

> 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 know, what is it does the maximus v gene have it?

> Would you ever use a motherboard's built in WiFi as a WiFi repeater or access point?
Unlikely given the router is in close proximity to the pc. I'd rather buy an AP or repeater though to be honest

> Do you use 'Cloud' services? Which?
Yes, Gmail Google drive, Dropbox, box
ASUS BOARD OWNERS ONLY > Do you know what Cloud GO! is? If yes, have you tried it?
No but I'll look into this too

> Do you know what ASUS Webstorage is? 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)
1. Gbit is good enough for me at the minute

> Does buying Intel GigE chips still tip the balance versus Realtek in board purchases?
I'd prefer Intel, but as long as it is Intel, broadcom or realtek I'm not too fussed

> Do you or have you ever used Teaming of GigE connections?
At home, no

> What functions does your HTPC perform: server, TV recording, playback only, HDTV gaming etc
No htpc, server does media streaming, pc does gaming and general use. I have a smart TV which handles most of what I would use an HTPC for.

Whow thanks everyone! [/QUOTE]

 

1: Wired all the time, won't use wireless for anything but phone and tablet.

2: No because if I use wireless it's straight of the VM Superhub

3: No

4: No since I always turn it off anyway

5: No because currently there is >3 VM Superhubs in the house, upstairs and downstairs so don't need any repeaters.

6: No since I stream any tv on my phone, and if I need to backup something I do it on hard drives, other than sometimes I put pictures on Imageshack when posting them on forums.

7+8: No don't use them and probably won't ever use them.

9: Don't need speeds above 1Gb+ as the broadband isn't up to 1Gb+ speeds, so for me just give me a decent ethernet port and that's me happy.

10: It doesn't however regardless of whatever the onboard ethernet is, if I get issues I will always just put a seperate card in and turn the onboard off.

11: Tried it in the past and don't bother with it now, apart from if I want to mess around with fast uploads and then I use the Clear OS router.

12: Use my pc for everything, but it's used for gaming, watching films, and internet etc.

 

> Do you prefer WiFi or wired connections to your home PC/HTPC etc
LAN, wireless is the devils spawn! to many issues with dropping signals unless you get pro solutions in the 5GHz range

> Do you own a .ac router? If not do you plan to upgrade to one? What's your primary upgrading factor?
Do not own and any .ac that does not do dual band should be banned and the person who let this slip through should be fired 2.4GH is already too saturated for n!

> 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?
Depends on purpose. I bought an ITX Motherboard for a family build as they needed Wifi connection. I tend to avoid Wifi where ever possible, not even reliably enough for online gaming.

ASUS BOARD OWNERS ONLY > Do you own a product with WiFi GO! (or are you aware what it is?)
Not sure there is some sort of Wifi extra on my board. I think its for OCing but never needed it.

> Would you ever use a motherboard's built in WiFi as a WiFi repeater or access point?
If it where up to the task sure but sincen Even Sisco routers have issues it would be surprising to find a motherboard that produced better results. If you can deliver then I would love it one less box.
> Do you use 'Cloud' services? Which?
Only for sharing pics home-made movies with family.

ASUS BOARD OWNERS ONLY > Do you know what Cloud GO! is? If yes, have you tried it?
no
> Do you know what ASUS Webstorage is? If yes, do you use it?
First time I hear of this. (thank you Bindi will have a look)

> How 'desperate' are you for speeds above Gigabit Ethernet on a scale of 1-10 (1 being meh, 10 being OMG GIVE ME NAOWWWW)
15!!! why are you not selling me these now???

> Does buying Intel GigE chips still tip the balance versus Realtek in board purchases?
Every time, this was one of the main reasons I bought my current board (see sig)
> Do you or have you ever used Teaming of GigE connections? (not yet will do when I have enough cash)
> What functions does your HTPC perform: server, TV recording, playback only, HDTV gaming etc. All of the above. Us a HP Micro and will upgrade to newer model asap. (the 2.2GHz one)

Due to issues with my ISP and all the upgrade work they have been doing that causes 24 h internet loss. I have pretty much gone full DIY at home storgage. I do back up some of my data to google cloud, just to have a second copy hosted of site in case of fire/brake-in/natural disaster/brain fart. (at least I'm honest)

 

> 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?
Yes as I move around a lot

ASUS BOARD OWNERS ONLY > Do you own a product with WiFi GO! (or are you aware what it is?)
No (I don't think)

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

> Do you use 'Cloud' services? Which?
Dropbox and 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?
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)
8

> 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?
No

> What functions does your HTPC perform: server, TV recording, playback only, HDTV gaming etc
Playback once it is set up again

 

> 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, and only if supplied by ISP

> 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've never found WiFi fast enough or Reliable enough for Desktops.

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

No

> Do you use 'Cloud' services? Which?

Dropbox, Box.net, SpiderOak, Ubuntu One, Owncloud, Google Drive

> Do you know what ASUS Webstorage is? 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 - Gigabit is nice, but will soon run into HDD speed limits on Large storage.

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

No, the Realtek chips perform well in my systems (after requiring blacklisting a kernel module and using a different driver for Linux Kernels < 3.0 on my server )

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

No, I've never had the hardware to do so

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

Playback and Light HDTV gaming (ATi 5450 isn't powerful or cool enough for demanding games)

 

> 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 point upgrading to one as none of my devices are .ac compatible.

> 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

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

Nope

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

Probably not

> Do you use 'Cloud' services? Which?

SkyDrive, Dropbox, Google Drive [in that order]

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


No

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

Yes, and no [in that order]

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

No gigabit, no sale... but anything faster, probably not much point 'til the stuff is there to make use of it...

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

Can't comment, all the board i've used recently have had Realtek LAN

> 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

Don't own a dedicated HTPC

 

Wired
No, i have no ac supporting devices and cabling installed throughout my home. I'll consider it when my mobile devices (laptop, phone, ipad) all support ac
No, not yet
No, not at all
No, vaguely aware of it
I can see the point but I'm unlikely to have any use for it
Sort of. I have a number of VPS in various locations for bits and pieces, and i work in virtualisation. I use dropbox but out of convenience (inter-app compatibility) not because it's a cloud service of any kind (which I'm not convinced it is). If it wasn't there I'd run owncloud myself, and i don't consider that to realy be a 'cloud' service either.
No
No
1. No need for it at home. I'll upgrade when it reaches the affordability level that Gbit reached 7-8 years ago.
Slightly. It's preferred but far from a deal breaker.
All the time at work Trialled it at home from fileserve, no appreciable difference due to available bandwidth already exceeding requirements.
Playback only. I have a seperate server, don't record live TV, and my HDTV gaming comes from consoles or occasionally my desktop gaming Pc. The HTPC is built to allow more.


I'm not keen on the term 'cloud', it's too undefined, or has contradictory definitions. A guy told me he was running his own private cloud at dinner not long ago, and further discussion revealed what he meant was 'I leave my mac mini running at home with sickbeard, couch potato and sabnzbd running'. With dropbox it's a case of people think their stuff is being stored 'in the cloud' and all that really means is 'on a computer attached to the internet'.

It's a bit like the term 'Indie Rock'. It used to mean independent, but increasingly it just means 'can play instruments'.

 

Thanks for your help everyone!

Very interesting that EVERYONE resorts to wired and 802.11ac adoption is pretty much entirely down to mobile/tablet use.