Need a new NIC card - Need advice

cube_

cube_

Mega Geek
My motherboard's integrated nForce Networking Controller is going bonkers. My internet randomly disconnects from the internet and reconnects when i disable the connection and re-enable it.
I'm not the only one with this issue - there are loads of users on other forums writing about their faulty nForce networking controller.

So after days and weeks of trying everything in hand to solve the problem, i've decided to get a network card. I'm a little confused when it comes to NIC's because of the "10/100/1000Mbps" numbers. Does it really matter if i get one that has the numbers above or can i simply get a "10/100" and get the same speeds?
Thanks folks
 
I'd say that the 1000mbps controllers are just a marketing thing - just like USB 3.0; or low-end video cards with 512 MBs of RAM - the technology is there but due to some reason (no external support or inner limitations), these parts never actually use their potential to the fullest.

As to NICs, 1000mpbs can probably be only achieved through high-speed LAN connections and not a simple Internet connection (unless you have an optical cable sticked right in your controller :D std cables utilize 100mbps anyway).

long story short - take the one that has the most trustworthy manufacturer.
 
Windows NT 6.x (e.g. Vista, Win7)'s drivers are still quite immature in many ways. This is especially true of 64-bit environments. 1000 megabit NICs will not make a difference for internet access unless you have a connections that bursts at higher than 100 megabit, which is pretty rare. It does make a big difference for LAN transfers however, and usually gig NICs are standard these days so there's no reason not to go that direction. If you want a quality NIC with good drivers, I would go with Intel.
 
Intel chipsets are probably your best bet. Broadcom NIC cards (or anything based on broadcom) tend to have lots of problems (especially when using TCP offload/chimney features)....
 
hdwtom said:
Intel chipsets are probably your best bet. Broadcom NIC cards (or anything based on broadcom) tend to have lots of problems (especially when using TCP offload/chimney features)....
Click to expand...
Some Broadcom NICs are great (keep in mind they make the ASICs in a lot of Cisco gear), but some are horrible. I've heard that some Broadcom NICs have so many hardware bugs the drivers do more work than the cards. That being the case, it makes more sense to just go Intel.

I usually buy my network hardware from Compuvest.
 
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