Whats the Deal with NIC's?

[Partial]

How does the quality of the NIC affect stability, performance and quality of network traffic? If I look on pricewatch, I can find a NIC for $5 or I can pay $250. Does it make a difference buying a more expensive NIC? IF so, what are the qualities of the NIC that make a difference in the performance variables?

[RoundEye]

I can't tell you exactly why one NIC is better than the other, but I can tell you what I've experienced with different ones.

3Com - I think they are the best. In a large network they just seem to have better throughput. I also have more options to configure the card. I would guess that it has better quality components and more money sank into research and development of the product, since it's such a large company.

Linksys - My favorite budget card. Great card for small LANs. Seems to have decent driver support and regular updates to the chipset itself.

Realtek Chipset cards - Umm, they suck. We have some software at work that seems to have fits with any Realtek chipset card. Also when I had a problem with my home connection, the Cox tech gave me a Realtek card because mine was bad (it wasn't the problem). My connection speed dropped from about 2.5 meg to about 1.8 or so meg. I tested the card and speed multiple times over a week or so, and it was consistently lower than the Linksys that was taken out. Put my Linksys back in and my speed went back up instantly.

I've since put in a 3Com in my server to replace the Linksys and noticed no increase in download speed. Since I'm using my network to serve DNS and to transfer large files to another PC that has a burner, I wanted to get a quailty card.

[Partial]

Thanks for the input Roundeye. I have a linksys100tx v4 in my server. After a few days, my cable modem connection just stops working and I have to reset it. It looks to be still connected, but when I try to ping out or access websites directly from the server, nothing works. I found some log notes on my server that said the NIC has failed and the connection lost....if you have not disconnected the card, then this may indicate that it has malfunctioned.

I also get random connection errors with my cable modem. I realize they could be server side errors, they could be my software, or they could be my hardware errors. (It's that easy) So I started wondering if my NIC was crappy and responsible for my problems. I thought I would ask some users who have more experience with NIC's than I do. I normally just find a cheap card and think they're all the same (minus some features).

[BaLa]

well, the main diff btw Realtek chip based Network cards is
CPU Load

another thing Roundeye forgot to mention is that Intel Network Cards are generally pretty good as well, though I think not as good as 3Coms

[Stu]

Just to add to what RoundEye said. In addition, 3Com cards have a lifetime warranty--I don't know of any other NIC manufacturers that do that for their whole product line. So, if it dies 5 years from now, they'll replace it (in my experience--with no questions asked, send them the dead card, they send you a new one). Which is always a good deal.

[YeOldeStonecat]

Just like everything else, there is a difference in quality, and therefore, performance. You have cheap modems (which disconnect all the time, have terrible throughput, etc), cheap soundcards, cheap video cards, cheap computers, etc etc. And yes you can have cheap NICs too.

Differences can be system compatibility, throughput, CPU utilitzation, performance under loads and concurrent connections, if it lives through a thunderstorm, etc.

Now the performance difference in the better NICs to the el cheapo NICs isn't as large as some other items like graphics cards or modems, but yes it's still there. Does the average AOL websurfer notice it? Nah, but does the hardcore gamer who demands the fastest connection, lowest ping, and lowest CPU utilization notice it? Most definitely yes. And does the person who setups an online gaming server or some other server that has many concurrent connections see the performance of his server to his clients notice it? Again, yes.

Only NICs I'll touch, 3COM, Intel, and in a pinch...NetGear.

[HalfLifer]

Good post YOSC.


I must say, true that about the living through a thunderstorm. I had 2 Linksys nics die in my gateway thru a storm, where my 3com thats been in there hasnt.

[FlyingMonkey]

I have four DLinks - one in each computer. The driver support is far beyond excellent. Windows 95, 98, 2000, ME, XP - I even installed Linux a while back and didn't have a single problem.

I've got the D-Link DFE-530TX+
$15 Nic. It's cheap - best one I've played with for that price.

[Partial]

Thanks guys....

That is some valuable input. I guess like many things I hadn't thought yet about how quality and price are connected. But that usually seems to be the case. I don't know that this gives me any idea about whether my linksys is failing though. Has anyone heard of programs that can test system compatibility with modems? I have seem some that tell you...yes you're modem does work, or worse when the modem clearly is not working and a program tells you that "it appears that you're modem is not working."

Perhaps I should swap out NICs and see if get any of the same errors.