Howdy y'all. I have 'puter related questions and while I dont consider myself to be totally illiterate in these ways, I do realize that there are many folks here far more savy than myself.

Soon I'll be installing Verizon DSL and ditching the AOHell dial up. The modem that comes with the start up kit can be used w/ either a USB connection or ethernet. I was told that the ethernet hookup would be better/faster ........ do you all agree?

If the above holds true where is a good place to buy an ethernet card and what qualities should I look for in one? I'm hoping to exploit the DSL for all it's worth so I really want to optimize it any way I can.

Also, I would like to add a TV tuner card at the same time so I was hoping to buy them both from the same place for the sake of convenience. I have all the major stores nearby like best buys, circuit city, radio hack, etc. etc.

I know you all to be a very benevolent bunch so I'lm thanking you all in advance for helping the technologically challenged.

 

Something like this

Assuming you have a PCI slot...any semi-current (ie, built within the last decade) should have one.

You can buy the parts there, or Best buy would probably have something similar, but it's gonna be more expensive there too.

 

Depending on how old your PC is, a lot of them have an ethernet connection already on the motherboard. You may not have to buy a card.
I use the ethernet for my Verizon DSL and get 1500+kbps sppeds on download. This is using the MB ethernet connection.

 

USB will have a slower transfer rate then the ethernet.

How about wireless instead?

 

If the company provides an ethernet card and you use the one that is already in place inside the comp., then your ISP's technical support won't support any connectivity issues that you may have due to your ethernet card.
Just letting you know.

 

I have two empty PCI slots I can use, but no ethernet card installed. The startup kit did not include one with it. My computer is around 3 years old.

Wireless ethernet card? Wireless modem?

 

Check with Verizon, they can give you a name of an ethernet card you can install that should not cause any problems.
Even at 3 yrs old, you may have a 10/100 port already on the machine. Look for a connection that looks like a large phone jack.
Another thing to order early is DSL filters. Make sure you have enough to put on all your phone jacks that are NOT going to be attached to you DSL modem. Verizon gives you 3.
As for wireless, you still need a connection into the computer.

 

I can tell you from personal experience that the USB connection is plenty fast. My downloads run at 5 MB/minute or faster, always. An ethernet DSL connection may be faster technically, but I doubt that you would notice the difference. At DSL speeds, most internet wait time is due to response time on the target server rather than transmission speed.

IMO, it is a waste of money to upgrade a three-year-old computer. Very likely to introduce problems, rather than solve one. That's also from personal experience.

 

GET AN ETHERNET CARD!

I'm on cable and started out using a USB hookup for my modem. When it worked it was OK but it had this nasty habit of frequently going udders vertical without warning. After ditching the USB hookup and installing an Ethernet card those problems dissappeared.

 

Ethernet cards that should be compatible with Verizon DSL are 3com and Dlink, just to name a few.

 

USB 1.1 has a bandwith of 11mbps. Your DSL is probably not more than 1.5mbps. Wired ethernet is probalby 100mbps and USB 2.0 is 480mbps. Going wireless is an expensive option, especially if you only choose the 11mbps standard which is exactly the same as USB 1.1. Using USB or ethernet should have no effect on "high speed" internet performance, other than how your operating system manages each interface.

I have 3mbps cable internet service and cannot tell (nor can the benchmarks) the difference if I use wired ethernet, USB 1.1, or 11mbps wireless ethernet connections.

You'll probably find a cheaper one one-line. Do you only want TV tuner input or do you also want output from the computer to a TV? www.newegg.com is a great company with low prices.

 

definitely get an ethernet card.

wireless is a totally different ball game, there you're talking setting up a home network. if you only have one computer, don't even bother.

TV-TUNER... do you just wanna watchtv on your pc ? if so, there are also USB tv tuners... like this one

http://www.hauppauge.com/html/usb_data.htm

otherwise I'd go for the ATI All-In-Wonder Radeon.

 

Personally I would go with an eithernet card.

1. overall speed: you won't notice any difference with either

2. latency: this is important if you play online games. I believe the USB will have a higher latency and use more system resources that could be devoted to the game. Eithernet cards have on board controllers and take a lot of the load off the system.

3. stability: I have a heck of a time with my USB ports flaking out and I doubt USB will reconnect as well as an ethernet card. The card will be more stable anyway unless it has it's own problems.

You don't have to get anything fancy. If you watch the ads you can sometimes pick up a card for $10 or less. I bought one on an emergency basis for $15 and it works fine. The only time you really need more expensive cards is if you have multiple computers and transfer large amounts of data between them (like in gigs). If all you care about is overall speed for downloading files the USB will work fine, but might have minor stability issues.

 

It's getting much better and cheaper.

Since he is getting broadband, I would highly suggest getting a router instead of having the broadband modem hooked up directly to the PC.

Back when I had cable it was connected directly to the PC, gave issues with connections. I got a Linksysis router/hub to constantly connect with the modem even when the pc is off, and that drastically cut down connection issues.

Most wireless router/hubs can be used with cables, so he can go with that and have the option of going wireless at a later time. Plus if he ever gets a laptop, wireless rules on them.

 

This is true, routers also usually come with built in firewalls wich is an extra layer of security. Then down the road more computers can be added. I'm not a huge fan of wireless becase you have to be carefull with the security component. Fortunately when we had our house built I had the forthought to hardwire connections to every room in the house.