so I need a network card

[pure_ego]

I'm finally coming out of the stone age and getting DSL, or Cable one or the other. i'm trying a 30 day trial thing of DSL from Verizon and I gotta have a network card to hook the modem thingie into the computer.

After much research (ten minutes on google) it appears they are all basically the same.

Am I right? Does it make any difference whether I get the $17 one, or the $50 dollar one? I ain't gonna be doing nothing important on the computer. I'm mainly just tired of not watching the videos because I don't have an extra life time to wait on them to D/L.

I'm looking at a Linksys one. supposed to be something like 10/100 un-duplexed or somethign and double that if it is duplexed.???

Does that gibberish need to mean anything to me or is it just weird stuff that I need't concern my tiny brain with ?

Also.. if I dump the DSL and go to Cable will whatever network card work with either of them or are there different types?

recommendations?

p.s. please don't recommend the $80,000 one that comes with the automatic "butt-un-numb-er" because I just can't see me ever being that interested in the internet. I just want it to work, not cause problems, and do it's thing while I'm doing mine.

 

[fstbusa]

yeah a $50 might be better as in it might be able to sustain a higher transfer rate but for what it sounds like you want to do a cheap one will work fine.

any network card will work with either DSL or cable



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[fstbusa]

linksys is a good brand

my fav is 3COM. they are one of the more expensive ones.

dlink is ok.

 

[shortBoarder]

go for the duplexed card; its worth the few extra $$.

if you switch from DSL to cable or something else, most any network card you buy will work just fine.

 

[DAB]

If all you're doing is connecting to a DSL modem then your bandwidth is under 2 Meg, so almost any NIC will do you.

If you have a home network and multiple PCs and need to be able to regularly copy large files as fast as possible, or stream video, get a 10/100 or 100 duplexed (and a high speed switch instead of a hub.)

 

[BigBSBusa]

Get the 10/100 NIC from LinkSys and you will be just fine. That is what they do and they are pretty good at it. I buy them all the time for military purposes and if they can stand up to that they can stand up to anything. If not that then the 3COM, but there you are paying for name, as well. Switching from DSL to cable does not require a new card. It is all CAT5 cable, but you will have to add some software and do a little configuration to get it all setup. Welcome to the 21st century!

 

[pure_ego]

Thanks guys, I guess the linksys wins!!

I guess my pointless dribble will be coming at you several times faster than normal in a day or two..
won't that be a hoot!

 

[TruWrecks]

Go for NetGear or Linksys. NetGear is made by Nortel Networks. The setup is easy, and the drivers are reliable. Linksys was recently bought by Cisco. The hardware is good, but the drivers take a bit more finessing to get it working properly.

As far as Speed/Duplex, you're Broadband connection won't even be able to keep up with the slowest 10Mb card for quite some time.

 

[atticdog]

dlink is also good and not expensive

 

[oldguy]

I agree with TruWrecks.

Linksys support is not the greatest either (after buying a dud router).

Dlink support is good.

 

[Turbo-Torch]

You may not even need an ethernet card for your desktop.
I'm on DSL (2mbit) and my ISP gave me a Westell Dual Connect Router. It is capable of hooking up to a PC with either Ethernet or USB (or both).
For use with USB there is an install CD. The software has to translate but there is next to no noticable speed difference over ethernet hook up. I would think most ISP's would give their installer guys that type of modem so there would be no hassles.

A few days ago I bought a Linksys Wireless G broadband router. That does need to use ethernet from the modem and PC so I had to buy a card. I bought a Belkin from my local Staples for $14.99 and it works great.
If a Linksys card is available and cheap there should be no problem with that as it's just plug 'n play. After buying this router I doubt I'll ever buy another Linksys product. The install wizard CD was 100% useless. The adobe instructions on the CD was also cryptic and useless. Turns out the new router uses the same IP for web browser config as my westell modem. With a trouble shooting guide this would have been an easy fix but noooo, I had to call their tech support line and hang up on the first two people that answered because I couldn't understand a damn word they were saying. Third time I just kept asking Apooo to repeat himself and after an hour everything was working.

Now I can browse hayabusa.org from anywhere on my property with my PocketPC

Too freakin' cool that Cap even has a version of this board just for browsing with a PocketPC!

 

[DAB]

You may not even need an ethernet card for your desktop.
I'm on DSL (2mbit) and my ISP gave me a Westell Dual Connect Router.  It is capable of hooking up to a PC with either Ethernet or USB (or both).
For use with USB there is an install CD.  The software has to translate but there is next to no noticable speed difference over ethernet hook up.  I would think most ISP's would give their installer guys that type of modem so there would be no hassles.

A few days ago I bought a Linksys Wireless G broadband router.  That does need to use ethernet from the modem and PC so I had to buy a card.  I bought a Belkin from my local Staples for $14.99 and it works great.
If a Linksys card is available and cheap there should be no problem with that as it's just plug 'n play.  After buying this router I doubt I'll ever buy another Linksys product.  The install wizard CD was 100% useless.  The adobe instructions on the CD was also cryptic and useless.  Turns out the new router uses the same IP for web browser config as my westell modem.  With a trouble shooting guide this would have been an easy fix but noooo, I had to call their tech support line and hang up on the first two people that answered because I couldn't understand a damn word they were saying.  Third time I just kept asking Apooo to repeat himself and after an hour everything was working.

Now I can browse hayabusa.org from anywhere on my property with my PocketPC

 Too freakin' cool that Cap even has a version of this board just for browsing with a PocketPC!

The only reservation I'd have with USB or Wireless would be if you play online games. Sometimes these solutions can cause a slight lag in response, which for everything else isn't an issue, but for fast-twitch games can get you fragged

Your experience may vary of course, this stuff's improving all the time.

 

[DAB]

A few days ago I bought a Linksys Wireless G broadband router.  After buying this router I doubt I'll ever buy another Linksys product.  The install wizard CD was 100% useless.  The adobe instructions on the CD was also cryptic and useless.  Turns out the new router uses the same IP for web browser config as my westell modem.  With a trouble shooting guide this would have been an easy fix but noooo, I had to call their tech support line and hang up on the first two people that answered because I couldn't understand a damn word they were saying.  Third time I just kept asking Apooo to repeat himself and after an hour everything was working.

Now I can browse hayabusa.org from anywhere on my property with my PocketPC

 Too freakin' cool that Cap even has a version of this board just for browsing with a PocketPC!

I have a LinkSys Wireless G as well and I agree about the setup/support. I get better answers from Google.

Using wireless for PDA or laptop is fun. Didn't know you could access this site in PDA-mode though, I'll give that a try.

 

[TruWrecks]

I'd stay away from USB adapters. The top speed of USB 1.1 is just under 128K. That's slower than the base DSL connections. It'll be a total waste on a cable modem. USB 2.0 will do fine for DSL, but the cable modem can still push the limit on these.

Either way you chose, download Zone Alarm Basic (free form http://www.zonelabs.com/ ) so your computer will have some protection againt the net. "The bigger the pipe, the higher the risk to get attacked."

 

[IL_BusaBoy]

I would definitely stay with a Linksys. Have never had any problems with their products.

 

[pure_ego]

I ended up getting a Linksys uhh.. NC100U.

pretty basic at $14.66 i'm sure, but it seems to be doin' it's thing and thats all that matters.