Cheapest/best way to get gigabit around my house

[Jallerton00]

I currently have a BT home hub 3 (router), which has 1 gigabit port, and I am looking to get a NAS and wire my PC and htpc over gigabit. I am unsure of the best way of doing this, with minimal fuss. I am currently thinking about just getting a better router, either home hub 5, or one off Amazon. Or getting a gigabit switch. What would be recommended? Thanks

[paddy-stone]

It depends on where the stuff is located that needs gigabit...

[Oshino Shinobu]

If you're wanting to wire it all around your house, then the best way is to wire up wall jacks to provide wire connection points around the house. 

If you're just needing gigabit for local transfers, then getting a gigabit switch is a better option than buying a whole new router just for the switching functions. 

 

EDIT: You could also channel the wires along skirting board and along walls, but it's not as clean as wiring up jacks through walls. 

[paddy-stone]

If your modem/router is in the same room as your htpc and future NAS, then just get a switch and you can either run the cable around the room or get flat cables to go under carpet even. If not, then you're looking at getting a decent set of homeplugs 1200 or better preferably to get close to gigabit speeds. Or hardwire the walls and route the cable into wall jacks, this will be very messy and expensive depending on your budget of course and where you have to router the cables to.

[mikat]

cheap unmanaged 8 port gigabit switch?

[The Falcon]

I am thinking a switch is the best solution here as well. Run the 1Gbps port of the router into it and then feed that out to every wired device that needs it throughout the house. It also allows room to expand to some distributed access points for faster wifi speeds and connections throughout the house, something like the Ubiquiti Unifi AC Pros

[Jallerton00]

Thanks for your help. I'll get a relatively cheap switch and connect it to the router through the one Gbps port.

[Lurick]

2 minutes ago, Jallerton00 said:

Thanks for your help. I'll get a relatively cheap switch and connect it to the router through the one Gbps port.

Depending on how many ports you need you could get something like this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=12K-008X-00026