A couple questions. I already have a PC connected with roadrunner. I am in the process of buying another pc. I would like a router. I was wondering if a routered connection is slower than just a regular direct connection. Also, what is the range on these things? I would like to put one of the PCs upstairs in my bedroom, and leave the other downstairs. Is this possible? thanks.

of course it is, but not noticable. Anytime you split a signal you will get loss. If you are referring to wifi routers, the range varies with building materials and items inside your house, but in general the max limit is around 300ft line of sight plus or minus some.

Someone just told me that I need a network card. I dont think my PC comes with one.

No Modem Option [Included in Price]
56K PCI Data Fax Modem add $0
Internal PCI 802.11g Wireless Network Card [add $30 or $1/month1]
Data/Fax Modem plus 802.11b/g wireless PCI card [add $30 or $1/month1]

options listed. I chose the PCI Fax Modem:dead: I assume I need the internal network card?

Virtually all new computers come with builtin network adapters. Could you post the full specs of whatever you are going to buy?

Inspiron 531,Athlon 64 X2 5600+ (2.80GHz, 1Mx2)
311-7203 1 1GB DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz
310-8025 1 Dell USB Keyboard
310-7966 1 Dell Optical USB Mouse
320-3000 1 Video ready option w/o monitor
320-5983 1 NVIDIA GeForce 6150 LE Integrated Graphics GPU
341-4737 1 320GB Serial ATA 2 Hard Drive (7200RPM)
341-5008 1 No Floppy Drive Requested
420-6540 1 Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Edition, English
420-5769 1 Internet Search and Portal
420-5924 1 Icon Consolidation Application
463-2282 1 Dell Owners Manual installed on your system,click on icon after system set-up to access
420-6436 1 Vista, PC-Restore, Dim/Insp
420-6995 1 DELL SUPPORT 3.4,DIM/INSP
313-5584 1 Dell Resource DVD with Application Backup
420-7244 1 Dell Support Center 1.0
310-1966 1 Mouse included with Keyboard purchase
430-0412 1 Integrated NIC card
313-4593 1 56K PCI Data Fax Modem
420-7468 1 ADOBE ACROBAT READER 8.1 DIM/INSP
313-5176 1 16X DVD+/-RW Drive
420-6464 1 Roxio Creator Basic
313-2758 1 Integrated Audio
313-2198 1 No Speaker Requested
412-0940 1 Security 30-day trial
412-0934 1 Earthlink
412-0933 1 AOL for Broadband
412-0912 1 MS WORKS 8.5
950-3337 1 1 Year Limited Warranty
987-3177 1 Dell Hardware Warranty PlusOnsite Service, Initial Year
982-4350 1 Type 3- Third Party At Home Service, 24x7 Technical Support, Initial Year
987-6238 1 No Warranty, Year 2 and 3
960-3249 1 Banctec Service Agreement
983-3680 1 Warranty Support,Initial Year
466-7719 1 Thank you for choosing Dell
464-9572 1 No Preinstalled Software
310-8626 1 You have chosen a Windows Vista Premium System
420-7091 1 DataSafe Online Dim/Ins/XPS
420-7092 1 DataSafe Online Dim/Ins/XPS 1YR-FREE
987-4817 1 Insp Datasafe 3GB,1YR(Incl in price),DHS
988-0099 1 To activate your online backupaccount, go to Start, Programs, DataSafe Online

Insignificant; less than one ms, so it's usually ignored. More significant is the
bandwidth consumption of the systems attached.

People are telling me I need a network card for the router. And that it comes with the motherboard. Here is what the manual says it has:

Integrated network interface

Is that all I need?

EVERY network device needs a NIC (Network Interface Card).

The router will come with several (one for each LAN + 1 for the WAN)

Any system you connect to the route also needs a NIC installed

Your new computer has a "430-0412 1 Integrated NIC card", which is a network interface attached to the motherboard.

As for the old computer.. We have no idea

When trying to find determine if you have a NIC (Network Interface Card) Look for the term and/or keywords "Network Adapter". It is common to see 1 or both words in most descriptions. You can also go to your control panel and click on Network Connections. This will bring up a list of installed network capable devices. In most cases the devices are already installed by default. So this is a quick mothod of checking. There are a few rare instances were this would not work but they are rare. And this is just a quick check method to just see if the device exsists. From there you can get more detailed info as needed.

Let me know if this helps or if you have more questions,

And I almost forgot about the router questions. In my experience with routers I have noticed one constant with all brands. You get what you pay for. If your budget does not allow for big spending that is ok. You can get decent routers for cheep. But, they seem to develope issues quicker and end up needing to be replaced sooner. It does not happen to everyone but it does happen to alot. So get a good idea of what you want to end result to be so you can ask the right questions shopping and know when its more than you need. That way you dont pay for a bunch of things that sound cool, but are not needed for you setup.

If you want some detailed help, email me I have done alot of router work in alot of user environments with great success. Goo Luck either way.

Thanks. I ordered a Dell(should be here in a week), and I want to hook it up to my other pc with a wireless router I just ordered. This router here http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16833124190

Will the PC I bought new for Dell include everything I need to hook it up to the router, or do I need a network wireless card or whatever?

Yes. If you are buying a new pc from dell it will have a NIC. Unless of course you asked them not to. As far as Wireless goes, if you did not buy a pc with WiFi ability you can buy the part needed. And the prices are average and the part is installed with no problem. If the nbew PC is the one you want to be wireless then when it arrives, locate your service tag. Go to Dells Support page and you can get a spec sheet. Or you can email me your service tag and I will tell you what you want to know. I am a Dell Certified Systems Engineer and can get all that info for ya. And the router is a popular one. I had one for about 2 years then I upgraded to a high performance gamer router. But it worked fine for me. A few months before I upgraded it started have WiFi signal issues that made the signal have random connection issues and I could not get signal in the far side of my house. The model you are getting is a newer version then I had so you probebly wont have the same issues I did.