HP - USB or Ethernet?

[smudge]

I phoned NTL this morning, informing them that the Broadband service we are paying for, is just lately, far too slow for my liking. I have also been reading some NTL reviews & find that I'm certainly not alone!

I was then told by one of their tech's, that my HP PC would be more reliable using Ethernet rather than USB, which we've been using for years.

On putting the Ethernet cable into the back of the modem & hard drive, I've now discovered there is no Ethernet card inside it anyway!

So, is it worth installing an Ethernet card (�20), or using a new USB to Ethernet cable (�10)?

Or, shall I just stick to USB & hope that NTL get their act together & fasten up their Broadband?!!!!

I thank you!

[Kerplunk]

Your internet connectin is slow...it took me ages to read that question.

But seriously, this is how the speeds compare:

standard USB = 12mbps

USB2.0 = 480mbps

ethernet = 10/100mbps

USB shouldn't cause you a problem, but ethernet will allow more throughput.

[smudge]

Thank you for your reply to my long question Kerplunk!

If Ethernet can give me more, I will certainly look into it.

However, I'd also like to know whether it would be best to install an Ethernet card, or USB to Ethernet cable.

Cheers!

[Kerplunk]

You will still get a "bottle neck" using the usb connection. You will get ethernet speed up to the USB cable, but the you will still only get 12mbps into / from your pc. But you would not generally notice a difference between ethernet and usb speed using home broadband, ethernet is just more reliable.

[Fitzer]

Have you tried doing a speed test to see what speeds you are getting, always useful when dealing with NTL ;-)

Try the one here

[fo3nix]

ethernet is the standard. but USB takes a little bit more memory for windows to control it than ethernet.

[smudge]

Thank you Kerplunk, Fitzer & fo3nix for your help.

I have tried that link Fitzer, but because the service from NTL is very slow today, it keeps showing page can't be displayed!!!! Have you got the actual web address & I'll type it in instead. Thank you.

[Fitzer]

If you hover over the link it should show the address in your bottom bar but it is http://www.adslguide.org.uk/tools/speedtest.asp Whereabouts in the country are you based as the cable forum at http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/ indicates that people in the Beds/Herts area have been having problems recently.

[Ralph]

Using USB or Ethernet will not make your connection faster. Both are way way faster than any broadband readily available in this country so they aren't a limiting factor at all in your case.

In the long run, ethernet is a better way to connect your connection to your computer. It's specifically designed for networking and works entirely in hardware, no special drivers necessary, particularly in XP. It's also expandable easily to more computers through a wired or wireless router.

USB on the other hand, needs speciality drivers to work properly which can fail to load and cause problems. The PC can also decide to turn off USB devices every 5 minutes which is a frequent problem. Many people use it fuss free though.

�20 for an ethernet card? Here's one for �7.50ish delivered. It would be better than a ethernet to USB adaptor (those drivers again).

Long and short of it is that the problem is with NTL. Changing the way you connect to them will make no difference at all. If you're using a USB modem and it normally works fine, stick with it.

Sorry for the long answer!

[smudge]

Thank you Fitzer, I'll try that. We're in South Beds which apparently is renown for NTL problems!

Thank you very much for your very informative answer too Ralph - it was very helpful.