homeplug speed

#at the moment I got a couple of homeplugs, from computer to router, they are 85Mbps. I thinking of getting a couple more, I seen some 200Mbps at a good price on Ebuyer.
i know they have to be homeplug compatible.

My idea is to put the two faster plugs on the router and the computer and then stick the two slower one on my Wii and Ps3, I know that the new plugs will not get up to 200Mbps as my router is only 100Mbps, but would the older plugs slow the new ones down?

I remember a few years back that computers using slower wireless cards would slow down the whole network, so I wonder if that is the same with home plugs.

Looking at it there is not that much difference between 100Mbps and 85 and I doubt that in real terms that the speed is ever reached anyway.

Just wondering.

i got two choices, either just buy one home plug at 85Mbps and a switch, to connect the Wii and the Ps3 to one plug, as they will not be used at the same time or buy two plugs and connect the wii and the Ps3 to their own plug.

OK, two things,

If you mix 85 and 200 Mbps versions, while they will coexist, they will not see each other, eg, if you put your PC on a 200 and the Console on an 85, they won't see each other.

You can get single 85Mbps Homeplugs that have an integral switch.

Solwise - http://www.solwise.co.uk/net-powerline-pla-85-3e.htm
Netgear - http://www.netgear.co.uk/wallplugged_switch_xe104.php

HomePlug speeds are like wireless, the 200Meg is the up and down directions combined.

100Meg ethernet can manage 100Meg in either direction.

Its called marketing

In reply to a post by zyborg47:

#at the moment I got a couple of homeplugs, from computer to router, they are 85Mbps. I thinking of getting a couple more, I seen some 200Mbps at a good price on Ebuyer.

The 85Mb ones from eBuyer - that appear to be Solwise at the heart work very well indeed. They even appear to outperform some ZyXEL 200Mb ones I have, so I may even change mine.

I also hear the Solwise 200Mb ones are meant to be good and if the performance of the 85Mb is anything to go by, I may get some.

Matt

In reply to a post by shtu:

OK, two things,

If you mix 85 and 200 Mbps versions, while they will coexist, they will not see each other, eg, if you put your PC on a 200 and the Console on an 85, they won't see each other.

You can get single 85Mbps Homeplugs that have an integral switch.

Solwise - http://www.solwise.co.uk/net-powerline-pla-85-3e.htm
Netgear - http://www.netgear.co.uk/wallplugged_switch_xe104.php

thanks, i wonder how many people have been caught out that way?

Thanks for the links, I think the solwise one looks good to me, I will get that one as soon as it is in stock.

just need to know if it comes with Ethernet cables, but it don't say.

In reply to a post by MrSaffron:

HomePlug speeds are like wireless, the 200Meg is the up and down directions combined.

100Meg ethernet can manage 100Meg in either direction.

Its called marketing

so are my 85Mbps plugs sold on the principle that it is 85Mbps up and down combined or is it really 85Mbps?

thanks for the info, very interesting.

In reply to a post by uno:

The 85Mb ones from eBuyer - that appear to be Solwise at the heart work very well indeed. They even appear to outperform some ZyXEL 200Mb ones I have, so I may even change mine.

I also hear the Solwise 200Mb ones are meant to be good and if the performance of the 85Mb is anything to go by, I may get some.

Matt

The ones I am using now I got from Maplins, they are good and certainly better than wireless. My Ps3 have problems streaming from the Network drive. over wireless for some reason. I think Homeoplugs will solve the problem.

The combined figure

In reply to a post by zyborg47:

Thanks for the links, I think the solwise one looks good to me, I will get that one as soon as it is in stock.

just need to know if it comes with Ethernet cables, but it don't say.

I have two of the Solwise ones, they've been in place for 3 years solid now. My neighbour uses the Netgears, as they needed the extra port.

IIRC they come with one 2m cable. Not a disaster though,

http://www.amazon.co.uk/NO-BRAND-RJ-610K-Ethernet-Ne...

Two homeplugs work very well.

Using 3 or more with network traffic on all of them at once causes the whole network to slow down very dramatically,

In reply to a post by MrSaffron:

The combined figure

That is a bit of a swizz, in theory that is slower than my wireless network.

In reply to a post by shtu:

In reply to a post by zyborg47:

Thanks for the links, I think the solwise one looks good to me, I will get that one as soon as it is in stock.

just need to know if it comes with Ethernet cables, but it don't say.

I have two of the Solwise ones, they've been in place for 3 years solid now. My neighbour uses the Netgears, as they needed the extra port.

IIRC they come with one 2m cable. Not a disaster though,

http://www.amazon.co.uk/NO-BRAND-RJ-610K-Ethernet-Ne...

i will get the solwise one with the three ports.

In reply to a post by Sandgrounder:

Two homeplugs work very well.

Using 3 or more with network traffic on all of them at once causes the whole network to slow down very dramatically,

they won't be used at the same time, so it is not really a problem, Just want something a bit more reliable than the Wireless, also I want to get rid of Wireless, but that may not be practical because of the laptop, but I could lower the power so it is only in the front room.

Thing is though, it's the same with a wireless LAN. Use several wireless devices simultaneously and the 54Mbps (or whatever) is shared among them.

And while far less obvious, using cheap, dumb switches can give similar problems (at much higher speeds though).

Ultimately, look at how much data do you plan to shovel through your LAN and choose accordingly. I decided I had no need to be streaming HD video around the house (as I don't have any HD sources), so was quite happy to use the 85Mbps homeplugs for my printing, browsing, email and iplayer streaming.

If you need\want to stream multiple HD videos around the house, shovel multi-GB files from the kitchen to the dining room, and all the while be playing CoD without any problems, you probably want to look at something a bit speedier.