As far as the drawbacks to the
Network Adapter go, they are more problems with individual ISPs rather than problems with the
Adapter. While most people I have talked to have had no problems with configuring their connection, some ISPs need to be 'released' in order to be used on for both your PC and PS2. In most cases, the 'Auto Setup' configuration will take care of this, but in the event that a problem arises, contact you service provider. This problem can be avoided entirely by purchasing a Router. This device, which runs about 50-60 dollars (a wireless one will run about 150-200 dollars) depending on where you buy, allows your connection to be split between different devices and remain online at the same time. As far as Routers go, I would recommend the
Linksys 4-port Cable/DSL Router, which is the one I use. Not only is this Router very easy to set up, but I have had no problems with it.
Since Sony is not running the servers for all its games, the quality of your connection will depending on the time of day you're playing and which game you're playing. Some of the less popular games such as NFL GameDay and Frequency usually have lag free games while more popular ones like Madden generally have good connections with little lag. The game I had the most lag problems with was SOCOM. Since this is arguably the most popular game on the system it is understandable that there would be some lag. However, I encountered frequent connection drops and instances of lag. Hopefully this will be cleared up in due time.
