PC / Laptop networking advice

[Astraz]

I have a Pentium 4 PC running XP Home with a USB broadband internet connection, and intend to buy a laptop soon. I am looking into the best way I can network these two together at home so I can access the internet from both machines and also play games with each other on a home LAN. Can anybody give me some advice please ?

[j2buttonsw]

I would network the 2 PCs together with either a CAT 5 crossover cable (you must have ethernet cards in both machines) or via some USB wireless LAN affair. The former is much cheaper since nearly all new PCs and laptops are ethernet enabled and the cable is very cheap. The latter has advantages as you don't have unsightly wires everywhere but takes more installation/configuration. I think there is a wizard on XP which helps you setup a home LAN. To share the internet, just use the Internet Connection Sharing facility on XP.

[lisaj]

j2 is right. Cat 5 is the best bet and will give you the best speeds too. ICS has several documented problems sharing the Internet, particularly if games are your thing, because it's apparently not very happy with certain port setups. Bear in mind also that the PC with the modem will need to be on for the laptop to access the web (common oversight for a lot of people)