half-height or usb card

i have a dell dimension c521 which has a small format case and no wireless facility onboard and am having difficulty finding suitable hardware for going wireless. i am joining BT so will be getting one of their home hubs. i have heard that it is possible to buy a normal card and just cut down the the fixing bracket to suit. can anyone give me any pointers

cheers

I use a Buffalo PCI G54S which came with a low profile bracket in addition to it's full size one.
You could modify a bracket, it's just a holder for the antenna and most remove pretty easy, but it can sometimes look sloppy afterwards.
There's an advantage to the pci card, it's antenna connection can be changed from the stock one to directional or higher gain if needed. USB adapters with this ability can be found too, however don't believe all claims of power.

any one pin on a PCI card has more surface area than all four pins on a USB card.

USB is limited to 5V @ 100 milliamps, tops.

PCI has 12V and 5V at whatever amps.

USB is a Yugo, PCI is a diesel pickup.