Want to 'network'.

[Alienware_Dude]

I am about to make my first foray into the wild and woolly world of networking, and I need some advice. See, all I want to do is connect two/three systems together in order to play games, and possibly share files, but mostly game. All three have onboard LAN, so I figured I'd just get a 5-port switch(Linksys, $35 at NewEgg)and connect them all that way. Is there a better way? There is to be no internet sharing involved, we are all on dial-up, so no need for a router. Will this scheme work? Thanks!

[Tuf]

Yes a switch will work fine. A router will still work better and be easier to setup.

[DrZaius]

All you need is the switch you listed, a router is only needed if you're sharing a net connection.

[Alienware_Dude]

Thanks for the replies! How would I go about setting this up, software-wise? Are there built-in network capabilities in XP? Thanks again!

[Tuf]

Hook them all up and run the network wizard on one of the computers. Make the Network setup disk when it asks you if you want to. Then run it on the other computers.

One of the main reasons I don't recommend switches anymore is routers are barely any higher in price and can often be found cheaper anymore. One day you probably will have broadband then you will wish you had purchased a router.

[Mac Medic]

Unless you have DHCP broadcast enabled on 1 PC (depending on the OS) you will need to assign IP addresses and a subnet to each PC, also they will need to be added to the same workgroup. Personally, I never use the wizard and preffer to set things up myself, but for all i know it will work.