home network using switch question

[blue_mosquit0o]

ok this is how i have my network now


cable modem -> switch then 2 wires from switch each going to other pc.

i want to know if there is a way to have 1 pc as a server and then 2nd as a client. this is the setup i tried

cable modem to nic1 on pc1 then nic2 to switch uplink port then switch to pc2 nic ,but when i did that i couldnt connect to the internet its like the nic couldnt get my internet settings (ip)

[joecool169]

Does the PC with 2 nic's have xp on it and did you share the connection in xp if so?

[blue_mosquit0o]

yep silly mistake i forgot to enable ics on the 1 nic, anybody knows which one of my setups would work better than the other ?

[zxc47]

I would think the first set up would be the best modem to switch. with that setup both computers have an IP

[blue_mosquit0o]

if each pc had its own ip how would that benefit me ? with the first setup when i download a bunch of files it sometimes makes some files bigger than they actually are and i have to redownload those files.

[zxc47]

blue_mosquit0o: I don't know why when you download some files end up bigger than they actually are . That should not happen , something is wrong.You may have a virus written to your downloaded files.
With just one computer on the proxy server you should see better speed between the two for moveing files. but for the internet and on line games two Ip's work best.Some on line server will not let two computers with the same ip's in the same game.I think it up to you as to which works the best for you.Run some speed test on both computers with both setups and see.I think you will find that a hardware networks works better than a software networks.But than again your only talking about two computer so the proxy server may work best for you.

[PWMS1959]

In his second configuration, is there any reason to include the switch? Couldn't one just connect NIC-to-NIC?