When you're signing up for cable modem service, your provider will usually try to rent or sell you a modem, but you often have the opportunity to purchase your own. This gives you more choices, can often mean a better price, and lets you take advantage of any rebate offers. Just check and make sure that the modem you're looking at is compatible with a potential provider's service before you buy.

If you find D-Link's DCM-202 cable modem on the list of compatible modems, give it strong consideration. It doesn't have as many bells and whistles as some of the high-end cable modems out there, but it does include a lot of features that make it easy to set up and use.

For starters, the DCM-202 has both USB and Ethernet connectivity (both cables are included). That way, if your computer doesn't have an Ethernet port or you want to use it for connecting to a hub or router, you can hook up the DCM-202 to your main system via USB. Unfortunately, it's USB 1.1 and it only works with recent versions of Windows, so you'll have to use Ethernet with Windows 98 or earlier or with Apple systems.

You don't have to worry about this modem being a bottleneck for internet access. With a maximum downstream range of 38Mbps to 43Mbps, this DOCSIS 2.0 modem will be ready for tomorrow's cable ISPs. It's also firmware-upgradeable (via the Ethernet cable), so you can keep it up-to-date with any changes to standards.

The dark grey body of the modem stands upright and features a series of LED that keep you informed of its connectivity status. In addition to Power and Ethernet or USB (depending on how you connect it to your PC), there are LED for Cable and Status to let you know that you're hooked up to your ISP and that the signal is strong.

The DCM-202 also features TurboDOX technology that boosts the speed when downloading or uploading large files such as video streams or file sharing. It definitely seemed to add a good clip to direct downloads and gaming.

Under current rebate offers, you can get the D-Link DCM-202 for $40 to $50 at a variety of retailers. That's a great deal for a well-designed cable modem that covers all the basics for your new high-speed service.

Pros: USB or Ethernet, firmware upgradeable
Cons: USB only works with latest versions of Windows

Warranty
1 year