Suggestion for NIC Card?

[ahartman]

Thanks for all the great info! The install is less than 3 weeks away!

Based on my needs and the feedback, I'll probably pick up a Linksys 10/100 this weekend.

Thanks again!

[Gurm]

Switch People:

Now, the real question here is:

Is it worth changing to a switch if you already own a hub? For example, I have an internal network running at 100bt, and the uplink of the 100bt hub runs into a 10/100 switch out to the cable modem.

I only run 2 computers (mine and my wife's) 24/7, any others are one-time only, or short-term use (like my laptop).

So would a switch increase my performance, given that my maximum bandwidth (as prescribed by Media One) is only 1.5mbit? I think not.

Shaqdaddy:

The Etherlink III gives substantially more than 1mbit/sec. The maximum throughput of the card is, in fact, limited to 768kilobytes/sec., simply because that is the effective bandwidth of the ISA bus (I may be off by a hair, nobody flame me for inadequate accuracy on 10-year-old technology!).

However, it will handle 10bt connections at up to 5 or 6 mbit... not bad for a little baby ISA board. Obviously that's the maximum of the ISA bus as well.

The same chipset, on a PCI card, can handle the full 10mbit put out by the 10bt connection. Those cards enjoyed a very limited run (3c590).

Ahartman:

Get a 3com card. Save yourself the worry. They're the single best available cards. You can pick up a 3c905 (Fast Etherlink XL) for under $70. You can pick up some of the cheaper older models for even less (order away, no longer carried in stores).

It's not NECESSARY to get the 3com card - Intel cards are also nice. But the 3com has substantially less CPU overhead than practically any other card on the market, and that's just the way it is.

- Gurm

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Listen up, you primitive screwheads! See this? This is my BOOMSTICK! Etc. etc.

[Jammrock]

Good points Gurm, but my opinion still varies slightly from yours. My thoughts are, why pay close to $70 for one 3Com or Intel NIC when you can pay $97 for 2 NIC's, 2 15' CAT5 cables, a 5-port switch, Internet sharing software and a game (Decent 3 last I checked)? LinkSYS may not be the best, but for home networking purposes it does great. I use this exact set-up at home and I get great transfer rates and have had no troubles. If he was connecting his computer to a corporate network I would say 3Com or Intel without hesitation.

As for switch vs. hub to connect to DSL, like I said, I told it how it worked for my friends on DSL. I guess I should have used the word 'responsive' instead of faster. They said that there was a noticable increase in response time to the Internet over the DSL once they switched to a switch (LinkSYS) from a hub (3Com 10/100). My $0.02.

Jammrock

[Jammrock]

IceStorm,

The IPX header thing was a joke. Ha ha, funny, joke, laugh laugh...

Jammrock