Question on USB ADSL modem

[Hurricane]

I have recently decided to finally upgrade my 56K modem to an 1M ADSL line, and this obviously meens that I need to get an ADSL modem. Now, as I understand the usual way to hook your computer up to an ADSL line is to get an Ethernet card which you plug in to a PCI port on your computer, and an external ADSL modem which you plug between the Ethertnet card and the telephone.

Now to my question. When I enquired in a computer store about prices, they offered an USB version of an ADSL modem (cost 69 euros) which, according to the salesman, meant that you didn't need an Ethernet card at all, since the signal would go directly into the system via the USB port. He didn't seem to sure about what he was talking about, so I wonder if this is how it works? And second, are there any possible drawbacks of this kind of configuration? Does anybody have any experiences of USB ADSL modems?

 

[Grisu]

AFAIK, the only problem with USB-Modem is that you can't connect it to a router. So if you want to use your connection on more than one PC the one with the Modem would have to run all the time. Other than that I think it's no problem

 

[Hurricane]

Thanks. I'm still hesitating, since the company that offers the ADSL says they have found that USB ADSL modems are less stable than "ordinary" ones. Does anybody have any experience with them?

 

[Turner]

No, but I tried networking USB only. Didn't work out. Never figured out why.

You can get NIC cards pretty cheap. In fact, my cable modem provider provided both the modem and the card for free. Of course, I need to return them when I cancel the service, but they're mine for now.

 

[CrackedCrystal]

I used to have a USB modem. I did not like the USB at all.

I then switched to an internal PCI card. I still did not like that.

I moved to an Ethernet about a year and a half ago.

You still had to log on to the internet when you wanted to use it. Now that I have the ethernet modem and a router, the router logs on automatically.

Also, since USB (and PCI) modems require drivers, that just give you one more thing to worry about and can go wrong. With an ethernet, you have all you need with just the NIC.

 

[nihilistic]

You will be better off with ethernet, as it is specifically designed for this. And yeah, there is the flexibility argument of possible network expansion. Go with ethernet.

 

[Hurricane]

Thanks guys. I'll stick to Ethernet then.