Q: Ethernet Card vs. USB for cable

[Garlisk]

Someone said Ethernet is faster than USB. Someone else said they were the same.

What do you fellas have to say about this? I want to use whichever is faster, and am wondering if I should bother to get the ethernet card working.

[WildBill]

USB is 12mb/sec. USB2 is 480mb/sec. Both those are theoretical peaks for short bursts -- it can't sustain that kind of speed.

Ethernet is either 10mb/sec, 100mb/sec, or 1000mb/sec. You probably have 10/100, which means it can run at 100mb/sec. In almost every case, ethernet will be faster than USB. And networking over USB is kinda stupid in the first place.

[Garlisk]

Ok, thanks, now to figure out why I can't get the cable to come through the Ethernet card...

[Anonymous]

Just use the USB dude. I assume you're talking about where to plug in your cable modem, not home networking as the chap above seems to think. If it runs at 12mb a sec and you've got a 0.5mb/1mb a sec connection then it's still at least 12 times faster than you need it to be.
I have mine plugged into the usb and it works a treat, so just do that rather than faff aroud with your ethernet.
Good luck!

[BobTheDog]

USB isn't anything close to a sustained speed connection. Never use USB to network. Networking cards are dirt cheap anyway.

[Garlisk]

No, im not networking, just using it for the net.

Whats the answer now?

(thanks for the continuing input)

[Salvage]

USB does not work for all Operating Systems, if you're just using windows then you're fine, but if you're planning on/are using other OSs then you would most likely have to go with Ethernet.

[BobTheDog]

No, im not networking, just using it for the net.

Whats the answer now?

(thanks for the continuing input)

Actually that's still networking. Just Wide Area Networking (WAN). I meant to clarify that I meant that too. USB could easily cap your speeds by not being steady enough and using really poor drivers as I've never seen very exciting USB to Ethernet emulation.

[Anonymous]

Well, I've got my modem plugged into the usb and it seems to work fine. Try it out and if you don't like it THEN start playing with your network card.......

[WildBill]

It would be kinda hard to compare without trying both. USB has no capacity for sustained speeds, although it has relatively high burst speeds. Using USB for networking of any sort is silly, and it's not like ethernet cards are horribly expensive.

Also, there's the software issue. I'm a bit tired to get into it, but suffice to say that USB is sure to less stable than a simple connection over ethernet.

[Garlisk]

I have an ethernet card in...but for some reason something between cable modem and card something is not happening.


(I've been using cable from USB for about a month now, but I want to get the most out of what im paying for. So Ill see what I can figure out with this Ethernet...thanks).

[Salvage]

Call tech support, that's part of what you're paying for.

[TED NUGENT]

Use the 10/100 and get tech help............Youll be glad you did

[Grank]

Keep in mind that USB is shared too. So if you have other peripheral's plugged in there it could effect your speed.

Their are other issues too but it seems they've been mentioned here for the most part. One that isn't is USB vs a Network card, the usb eats up a few more CPU cycles and isn't as reliable.

If you can go with the ethernet card.

[BobTheMad]

Speaking as a salaried computer-geek (programmer) who has a home network set up, So with the Ethernet. USB is NOT meant for sustained data transfer. You can get a decent ethernet 10/100 card for 40-50 bucks (75-85 for a good one). Or you might want to consider setting up a WiFi network. You still need ethernet cards in the PC's, but there are not cables running around everywhere. You can get a WiFi network up and running for 150 or so (not including ethernet cards)

Hope this helps.