Just a curious question. There has been some thought about networking this computer and Probesters together to try some head to head games and such. But we both don't quite know where to begin. What would you start with?

Most games if not played on a server require an ip address. You can get this for each of your computers by going to http://whatismyip.com/ and writing down that number. Then usally the game will ask for an ip and you put in probesters while probester puts in yours for ip based games.

If it is more complicated then that youll need to google what game your having trouble with.

Oh I see. That could be a problem as this is the only one that is internet capable...

If both computers have a LAN(RJ-45 jack) on the back. You should be able to get by with a low end router (approx $60). You may need to buy a network pci card for the computer that isn't network compatible. They can be bought for about $20.

I run a low end Linksys DSL/Cable router at home (model BEFSR41). The cable or dsl comes in the house then into the router. From there the pc's plug directly into the router. The router grabs an IP off your modem, then acts as a network gateway. It hands out private IP's to your computers on the network. Then there's the cost of any extra cabling you need.

Running XP you then go in and setup networking, I created a workgroup called MShome and joined both my pc's to the workgroup. After that both my computers can see each other and work out of each others shared documents ect...

As far as gaming, I've never networked games together in my home, but a lot of my games have an option to install a dedicated server to my pc. I believe this may be required, but I don't know for sure. (seems as though it would be overkill to the pc to run a server and play the game at the same time) It may depend on the individual games and their setup requirements. Do some research on your official gaming sites, they generally have forums and tech. support sites that should help you get setup.

Well said Jbone

We were thinking about older games we both have, like Armada II. It seems as if they have the ability to play over a home network but we're not 100% sure yet.

Jenni and I play Unreal Tourney over the lan. All I had to do was hook up both our pcs into the router and go into the network settings and install Netbios on both computers. Then in the multiplayer option for the game it automatically sees both of us and we go blasting each other's heads off.

That sounds like it could be therapeutic for a relationship.

Indeed.

Except I try to leave out the outbursts of, "DIE [censored]!!!"

LOL. hrm, I never thought to enable netbios to get games to work, interesting point. I knew some games were LAN capable, but I didn't know which ones.

are you talking about the IPX/SPX protocol driver?

I just go into the properties of the network and on my PC the protocol is called NWLink NetBIOS. It could be called something else on yours but it should have the word NetBIOS. If you don't see that then click on Install and then select Protocols. You will see a list of protocols to install. Hopefully one of them will be NetBIOS. Install and reboot. It should work.