network adapter?

alinosa · Jul 10, 2003

hi, i've looked all through the forums today and have been able to find squat on recommendations for a decent network adapter. i've heard intel and 3com are both good, but on newegg i've found other brands for far less. like d-link and even linksys... i want one that will allow me to continue overclocking my rig. (it's at 189 FSB now) i think that my current nic is dying... actually i think the connections are just worn out. sooo any help is greatly appreciated. thnx abunch

tread70 · Jul 10, 2003

Linksys is a good name brand and I have no problems running them. I have a friend that likes D-Link but i have never used them. I say go with whatever is name brand and middle of the road in price. There isnt a lot of difference in the most expensive and the cheapest except the quality(name brand) of the components that are put on the cards. Middle of the road I like the Linksys LNE100 if I can remember correctly off the top of my head.

Tread

Edit: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProdu...=27&manufactory=1413&DEPA=1&sortby=14&order=1

bubba gump · Jul 10, 2003

Intel and 3Com tend to be business/workstation solutions (I have no idea why, maybe just the OEM's who make them want more $$$). D-link's, Linksys' are fine. I use the D-Link DFE-530TX+, works like a cahrm and haven't had a problem with it

. But I'm not sure how much of a PCI bus it would be able to take. But I have taken one of my rigs to 175 w/a d-link in it and it was still functional...

Fold and Frag on
Brian

xtrmeocr · Jul 10, 2003

they are pretty much all the same i wouldn't spend more then $5-10 on a network card.

Kingslayer · Jul 10, 2003

xtrmeocr said:
they are pretty much all the same i wouldn't spend more then $5-10 on a network card.

No they are not pretty much all the same.

If you spend $5-$10 on a NIC it isn't going to handle your OC, and if it does, it won't be for long.

I have a 3Com 905C-TX. This is the only nic that I will ever recommend for high FSB OC's. I have been running mine at 167mhz FSB for over a year and it hasn't failed, where other cheap NIC's have failed repeatedly.

JohnnyTheRed · Jul 10, 2003

While browsing through the 10/100 NICs at newegg, I noticed they seem to be in two price ranges, the $5 - $10 group, and the $30 group. What is the main difference between these two groups of cards? They both seem to support the same speeds and codes. Is it that the $30 cards have a processor of some sort on them to help alleviate the use of the computers processor? Or what?

- Thanks.

xtrmeocr · Jul 10, 2003

If you spend $5-$10 on a NIC it isn't going to handle your OC, and if it does, it won't be for long.

pretty much a non-issue nowa days with the PCI/AGP being locked on almost every new motherboard.

also looking at the mobo in his sig it has a 1/5 divier on it.

Kingslayer · Jul 10, 2003

Not everyone has new systems with locked dividers. I don't. I have killed 3 NIC's in my system with a 1/4 divider. That's 41.5 Mhz going across my PCI bus. The 3Com is the only card that has lived in that environment.

ThePCGuy · Jul 10, 2003

3com network card

3com network cards are without a doubt the top of the line cards. They are excellent cards and if you go with the 905x version, it has a life-time warranty. The SOHO cards (small office home office) however do not. The necessity to run 3com network cards arises from the need of efficiency and reliability, two components required to run a stable database. They are excellent at transmitting data, they are reliable, and they have a lifetime replacement. Think of it as the last nic you'll ever buy. However for a simple file sharing system, game playing, etc. The cheaper cards (realtek, d-link, gigafast, linksys, etc) are quite nice. If you want a nice cheap network cards look for the RTL8139b cards, they can be found for 5-10.00 and are quite the performer.

alinosa · Jul 11, 2003

well i would like to thank everyone that replied. right now i have the 1016 bios (i think) which supports the 166MHz bus so my fsb is at 189/38 if I'm not mistaken. i've been able to find the linksys online (thnx tread70) for $20 (free s/h) while the D-link is only $5 (+$5 s/h), but for $31 (free s/h) i can get the 3Com... while all points are good, i am pretty worried about the high fsb problem, because i think that's an issue with my el-cheapo now... i think i'll spring for the 3Com... now i gotta pitch it to the boss.... my wife... thnx again guys.

Kingslayer · Jul 11, 2003

Alinosa, If you have a BX chipset heatsink laying around put it on the main chip of that 3Com card. It gets pretty hot. I just put mine on with Artic Silver and superglue in the corners.

alinosa · Jul 11, 2003

any rough dimensions for that heatsink? sorry, i'm not familiar with the bx chipset... i've only been doing this for about a year now... wow actually about a year and a half now...

Kingslayer · Jul 12, 2003

Its a heatsink for your main chipset. Much like the one's on today's motherboards only not as tall and no fan.

Any small heatsink that is the same size or a little bigger than the main chip on the NIC will work, just as long as it's not that tall and doesn't block the port beneath it.

I'd rip mine out and take a pic for you to see, but then I wouldn't be able to type this. lol.

If I get time tomorrow I have an old Intel i740 video card that has a heatsink like a BX chipset heatsink and I'll get a pic of it and post it. Someone will probably see this and post one before I do anyways. HINT.

alinosa · Jul 12, 2003

hmmm... i've got some ramsinks that i imagine would work they're 2.5 in by about 7/8ths of an inch...

alinosa · Jul 19, 2003

alright, i've got my nic... the main chip is the one imbedded in the pcb right? the one in the middle....right?

network adapter?

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