Modem / Ethernet for a Home Theater PC
To connect to the internet you’ll need a modem or a network card. If you are going to use a dial-up connection you’ll have to buy a modem. The current standard is V.92 which provides a 56 Kbps connection and allows receiving phone calls while connected. The Best Data Products 56FW92 (B000069E1R) provides a V.92 internal modem and also V.44 data compression for faster web page downloads.
If you are planning on using broadband internet, you can use the onboard LAN found on most motherboards these days. If your motherboard does not provide onboard LAN you can buy a Network Interface Card (NIC) for your computer to connect to your LAN. I use the D-Link DFE-530TX+ (B00004SYNX) and it works perfectly.
Another popular option is to include a wireless Ethernet card to your HTPC to reduce the wire clutter. The tradeoff is that you’ll need to buy a wireless router and a wireless card for your computer.