can the wire(and/or)hub that you use mess with your internet speed? When I plugged my internet directly into my computer, it was twice as fast as when I hooked it up through the hub.. And no one was on the other computer that it was connected to..

(we just got a new ISP, and it NEVER did this with the DSL i used to have -- same hub and wires, but the DSL i had was slow to begin with, do the hubs or wires by any chance limit speed?) Someone told me that it splits the connection half and half, but like i said, it never did that with my DSL.

edit:

P.S. Should I just get a router instead of a hub? (I don't know the difference, but the facts are that I share the internet with another computer in the house and I don't want it to only use half of the download speeds potential when I'm downloading..)

I am losing at LEAST 1/2 of my speed by plugging myself into the hub.. and it's bothering me.