Reply 43240 of 57434, by BitWrangler
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Kahenraz wrote on 2022-03-14, 02:43:I used a wall adapter in an apartment where we couldn't run a wire, there was no coax drop in the room for the cable box, and the router was too far away. The wall adapter was not the fastest ethernet I'd ever experienced but it was sufficient for the time. It would probably work just fine in a retro corner with basic 10/100. Since the computer will always need to use the wall for power, you might even consider it a very cheap form of wifi.
There might have been some point in the oughts where they were comparable in price, but the later, faster homeplug AC600 or so stayed above ~$50 a node, whereas you can get wifi adapters for $10 or a little under, and routers for $30 up. Though if you're picking up used kit now, it may be cheaper finding powerline adapters at $5 a pop vs paying whatever it takes to get wifi that's compatible with older systems. My speeds on them are actually higher than my internet bandwidth so it's not bad for internet... slower than 100Mbit ethernet, a bit less fussy than wireless G and less prone to overload/dropout, so gets better throughput overall despite peak speed lower. This is slow old gear though, it rivals gigabit now. Certainly wouldn't be the bottleneck if 10baseT or 10base2 were involved.
Unicorn herding operations are proceeding, but all the totes of hens teeth and barrels of rocking horse poop give them plenty of hiding spots.
