Moving house and need games room in the garden!

Homeplugs using Power Line Transmission ( PLT ) do cause interference to nearby equipment,

http://www.frequencycast.co.uk/powerline.htm

and http://www.ban-plt.org.uk/fuss.php[/QUOTE]
And it's worth noting that no matter what the manufacturer or vendor may say, if you use one and you cause interference you will be made to stop.


As to security, some PLT modules do not encrypt the data before transmitting it and as data intended for transmission by secure wire ( CAT 5 for example ) is not always encrypted in the PC or laptop the data can be recovered by evesdroppers.
And even if they do encrypt it, how good is the encryption? Given the ease with which the traffic can be sniffed, how hard would it be for someone to break the security?
 
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You don't seem to understand how they work.
In 1980's I was involved in the evaluation of a mains carrier borne intercom system. The company I worked for were specialists in radio communication systems. So I do understand how they work. And because of the radio interference that was created the project did not go to market.

Tens of millions have been sold and if there were any major concerns about them catching fire then they wouldn't be on sale.
Two UK companies have sent replacement homeplugs advising the owners to discard the old ones.

On the modern ones the power rating is very low and even lower when not transmitting data.
The power transmitted is not the problem ( safety wise ) but the circuit connected across the mains supply. A transformer in series with one or two capacitors is connected directly across 230 volts. Failure of these components is the major fire risk. Many do not even have a fuse in them. The power supply that produces the 5 volts for the circuitry is the second fire risk.
 
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Home plugs are definitely a no no for me.

My gaming requires a damn good stable connection and every bit of advice I have had regarding home plugs and wireless tell me not to.

It might be fine for playing on PSN or Xbox Live but for serious PC gaming, I am definitely going to be putting in either cat5 or cat6.

Update: Still waiting to move house! :(
 
Home plugs are definitely a no no for me.

My gaming requires a damn good stable connection and every bit of advice I have had regarding home plugs and wireless tell me not to.

It might be fine for playing on PSN or Xbox Live but for serious PC gaming, I am definitely going to be putting in either cat5 or cat6.

Update: Still waiting to move house! :(

You can only go as fast as your internet connection to and from your property will allow.

What do you think the broadband speed will be to and from the property?
 
It will be 150mbps Down and probably 6mbps Up.

It's not the speed thats the issue. Its the reliability with the connection to the servers at the other end. Everything I have heard about home plugs and wireless for the sort of gaming I do, its a risk to you and everyone else in the game.
 
It would be bonkers for anyone to build an MPOG environment where players are at risk from someone else losing their connection. That can happen to anybody at any time - even the most reliable of Internet connections is at the mercy of a modem built as cheaply as possible, an operating system which lurches from one flaky version to the next, and the public electricity supply.
 
I agree, but when dealing with serious online racing, where you are literally inches from each other (in terms of the game) doing 200mph, you need a solid consistent ping. Even the slightest drop in ping can cause you to lag slightly which can cause it to think you have both touched and cause a wreck.

Home plugs also may not be best as the house we are buying is an older one, so the electrics might not be great and that in itself cause latency. Wireless would be rubbish from the front of the house to the back of the garden.

The best option is to put in cat5 or cat6 in a trench from the modem to the switch at the other end.
 
You are correct about wifi stability but wired homeplugs are very stable and can go much faster than your broadband connection will be.

To put it into perspective, you are sending and receiving game data around the world. Your PC, your internet connection, the servers where games are hosted and all the servers in between are going to be the main delay issues. Oh, and don't forget those people in your team and those that you play against will have delay issues of their own which means that what you actually see and are trying to react too is delayed.

I use some homeplugs by a German company called Devolo (I use a version without wifi). There is some good free software to download from their website where you can actually see how fast the connections are between your homeplugs, set security etc. Even if you get the homeplugs version with wifi then the software allows you to switch off the wifi and just use them as wired.

If you want to save money then give them a try because you will probably find they can go faster than your internet connection.
 
Homeplugs will be no rival for a wired connection and installing a wired connection at this stage is unlikely to be costly.
 
I agree, but when dealing with serious online racing, where you are literally inches from each other (in terms of the game) doing 200mph, you need a solid consistent ping. Even the slightest drop in ping can cause you to lag slightly which can cause it to think you have both touched and cause a wreck.
Doesn't make sense. You will never, ever, ever get consistent latency over the internet.
 
True, but when you whack in more inconsistent technology between you and the other end, youre not helping yourself.

Anyway, its cat5 or cat 6 for my PC. Wireless for tables/phones/printers/tvs etc and maybe a home plug for the xbox one and PS4.
 
Therefore your broadband internet connection may be shared with a number of different devices simultaneously...

If you are going to use homeplugs on an Xbox & PS then you would be wise to try them out on your gaming PC before committing yourself to the cost of wiring an outbuilding with cat5.

You would also be better off using homeplugs on your TV rather than wireless particularly as you might be using them for the consoles anyway.

This has 3 connections in 1 plug so you won't need to keep plugging and unplugging devices:

http://www.devolo.com/en/Products/dLAN-500-AVtriple+

Anyway, it is just a suggestion to help you to save money because of your low budget.
 

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