nic processors disabled by default in Win2k and XP!

[Fat Tone]

Found this in PcPro. They got it from Winguides:

http://www.winguides.com/registry/display.php/954/

If your network adapter has an onboard processor, designed to offload network processing from the system CPU, it is disabled by default. This setting allows you to enable it and increase the processing speed of your system.

Anyone with a sluggish system and a half decent nic should welcome this! I can't beleive the arrogance of MS!

[Gurm]

If you knew the historical reasons for this "arrogant" action, you might think twice about complaining about it.

Let's put it this way - this "feature" of NIC's caused more problems, system crashes, and incompatibilities than every nVidia Detonator driver combined.

- Gurm

[Guru]

I have a 3Com 3C905C-TX should I enable it?

[Fat Tone]

Surely these things have matured enough that we should be allowed the chance to try them? Wouldn't it be better to have the switch the other way with a modern OS and h/w on the HWCL?

I admit I don't know all the history, only that mentioned in the PcPro article, which really only talks about processing speed and bandwith.

I have the same nic as you Guru, but it is only talking to my router atm, so it isn't a big issue for me. However I'm sure there are many who may welcome some free cpu-offload, such as the many networked PCs at work (a Uni) that only just meet the minimum spec for Win2K.

Tony.

[Guru]

My comp is working as a ICS/file server so I would not like to fvuck it up! Have you tried the tweak?

[Fat Tone]

Afraid I've only got 98SE running here atm. will have XP & 2K on 2nd rig after christmas!

[Guru]

Originally posted by Tony Andrews
I'll give it a try...

Ok tell me how it worked!

[Jammrock]

hehehehe...I have a 3Com 3CR990-TX-97 that offloads a ton of stuff off the CPU. Haven't had a single trouble in XP or Win2k and I have all offloads enabled.

Of course mine is the newest high end card 3Com has to offer for 100 Mb ethernet.

Jammrock

[Guru]

Originally posted by Jammrock
hehehehe...I have a 3Com 3CR990-TX-97 that offloads a ton of stuff off the CPU. Haven't had a single trouble in XP or Win2k and I have all offloads enabled.

Of course mine is the newest high end card 3Com has to offer for 100 Mb ethernet.

Jammrock

And it got is ass kicked (in almost every test) by the 3Com 3C905C-TX here!

[Technoid]

Whats the diferences betven 3c905B and 3C905C ?

[Jammrock]

HAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA...did you just link to Tom's Hardware

Nice try. But if you insist...

For business and IT shops that are running Windows 2000 the choice seems clear with the 3CR990-TX-97. With the additional of IP Sec support for later this card seems to have no equal under Windows 2000. Although we found the card to be expensive, we still found the extra performance worth the money. The 3C905C-TX also proved to have good scores under Windows 2000 and would be the best second choice for Windows 2000 users.

And since I use Win2K/XP and IPSec, I win

Jammrock

[Novdid]

I also have a 3C905C-TX and I will give it a try later.

[Guru]

Originally posted by Jammrock
HAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA...did you just link to Tom's Hardware

Nice try. But if you insist...



And since I use Win2K/XP and IPSec, I win

Jammrock

Well show me some benchmarks where a card beats the 3C905C-TX !

[Rags]

Originally posted by Guru


Well show me some benchmarks where a card beats the 3C905C-TX !

Oh yeah? Well let ME show you some benchmarks where my courier pigeon beats the 3qwerty606xx Rev3 99.

Rags

[Jammrock]

Guru,

You asked for it...

1) Tom lost his ability to do good testing years ago. You're not going to convince many people on MURC with anything from Tom's Hardware.

2) For a valid test, the server NIC should have been a known good 3rd party NIC, that was not being reviewed in the tests. Of course the 3C905C is going to run faster than everything else, it's running a cross-over cable directly to a card of the exact same type. Same timing, same drivers, same everything. The server setup was completely wrong.

3) Most of the tests are run on Win98SE, where the drivers for the 3CR990 are not optimized. And since the 3CR990 is a business card and is designed for Win2k/XP, it's running out of it's environment.

4) The ghost test is pure BS!!! I've pushed a 500 MB ghost file on a local LAN in 59 SECONDS!!!! If it took them 2:35-3:07 to push 242 MB, then something is screwed up! Hell, it took me less than 15 minutes to create a 9 GB Ghost file, max compression, sending from a Xircom PCMCIA NIC in a LAPTOP to my 3CR990 through a switch!

Tom's tests are anything but good. Just my opinion though.

Jammrock