3Com 3c905 cards?

petreza · 04-13-02, 02:39 PM

Hi,

I am trying to modify my system to be compatible with as many operating systems as possible. The biggest problem (after my video card - AIW-RADEON) is my network card ( 3Com 3CR990SVR97). It is comparitivly new and many OSes do not support it (yet).

I looked through the compatibility lists of these OSes:

RedHat Linux 7.2, Debian Linux, FreeBSD, QNX, Solaris.

The cards that are supported the most are 3Com's - 3c905-TX, 3c905B-TX (3c905C-TX does not seem to be supported by Debian).

When I checked 3Com's web site there was no information about these exact NICs. There was information about some "3C905something" cards that are newer models, I guess, and I do not want to buy them because the drivers might have problems with the newer features.

Q: What exactly is the difference between 3c905-TX and 3c905B-TX?

Q: Where can I buy these NICs?

Q: I found used 3c905-TX here but they say "short". Does that mean that it is small form factor for thin computers or it has small hight but its bracket will fit into the PCI-card opening of a regular case?

Thank you!

Diggrr · 04-13-02, 03:20 PM

I don't know much about the A, but here's a pic of one of my B's.
Good NIC, auto-installs itself justabout.
It's got an unused IC socket on it, but I have no idea what it's for...I have two NIC's and both have the empty sockets.

Hope this helps part way...

petreza · 04-14-02, 07:13 PM

Thanks!

nahmus · 04-24-02, 11:58 PM

that empty spot is for a boot prom. You don't see them in use much anymore

LandShark · 04-25-02, 12:03 AM

my favrite NIC is the 3C905B that i've used on pretty much all of my systems!! pretty much every OS has a driver built in for it. never had them ask for anything (drivers) when installing it! pretty much self-install!! works great & could stand quite high FSB too! (had 3 running 150+FSB)

i think the best place to look for is those local computer store since it's an old model.

oh, btw, since they r old and mostly used, they are pretty cheap too!

petreza · 04-25-02, 08:24 PM

thanks

I got 3c905B-TX. Installed with no problems. W2K recognized it right away and did not ask for any drivers. Red Hat 7.2 recognized it during install and there was no problem with it either.

When choosing the card I made a table of the Non-Win-OSes that I was interested in and the NICs from the major manufacturers that they supported in their most recent releases. 3Com's 3c905B-TX was the NIC that was supported the most. I got it new for ~26$.

Diggrr · 04-25-02, 09:55 PM

Cool beans. Glad it all worked out for ya!

LandShark · 04-25-02, 11:11 PM

good!

btw, i got all mine @ my local computer store, used, $10~15 each!!

04-13-02, 02:39 PM	Thread Starter #1
petreza Member Join Date: Jan 2002	3Com 3c905 cards? Hi, I am trying to modify my system to be compatible with as many operating systems as possible. The biggest problem (after my video card - AIW-RADEON) is my network card ( 3Com 3CR990SVR97). It is comparitivly new and many OSes do not support it (yet). I looked through the compatibility lists of these OSes: RedHat Linux 7.2, Debian Linux, FreeBSD, QNX, Solaris. The cards that are supported the most are 3Com's - 3c905-TX, 3c905B-TX (3c905C-TX does not seem to be supported by Debian). When I checked 3Com's web site there was no information about these exact NICs. There was information about some "3C905something" cards that are newer models, I guess, and I do not want to buy them because the drivers might have problems with the newer features. Q: What exactly is the difference between 3c905-TX and 3c905B-TX? Q: Where can I buy these NICs? Q: I found used 3c905-TX here but they say "short". Does that mean that it is small form factor for thin computers or it has small hight but its bracket will fit into the PCI-card opening of a regular case? Thank you!
	QUOTE Thanks

04-13-02, 03:20 PM	#2
Diggrr Underwater Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Gun Lake, MI. USA	I don't know much about the A, but here's a pic of one of my B's. Good NIC, auto-installs itself justabout. It's got an unused IC socket on it, but I have no idea what it's for...I have two NIC's and both have the empty sockets. Hope this helps part way... __________________ Rig1: C2D E8400 @3510 Ф Asus P5G41T-M-LX Plus mobo Ф 8 Gigs Ballistix DDR3 1333 Ф Asus GT520 Silent Ф 4 Deep Cool 92mm case fans Ф FSP 1U 460 Watt PSU External Watercooling: 40' Copper Coil Geothermal ground loop Ф Cooling modded MCP350 & MCP355 W/Swiftech white dual pump top Ф D-Tek Fuzion V2, 1/4" Rig2: Via Esther C7 1.5 @ 1.65 Ф Jetway 7F2WE1G5D mITX mobo Ф 1 Gig Generic Ram (max) Ф 120 watt Pico PSU. Life's Tragedy is that we get old too soon and wise too late. ~ Benjamin Franklin
	QUOTE Thanks

04-14-02, 07:13 PM	Thread Starter #3
petreza Member Join Date: Jan 2002	Thanks!
	QUOTE Thanks

04-24-02, 11:58 PM	#4
nahmus Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Sailing the Azure seas	that empty spot is for a boot prom. You don't see them in use much anymore
	QUOTE Thanks

04-25-02, 12:03 AM	#5
LandShark Super Shark Moderator Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Deep Blue Sea (Maryland)	my favrite NIC is the 3C905B that i've used on pretty much all of my systems!! pretty much every OS has a driver built in for it. never had them ask for anything (drivers) when installing it! pretty much self-install!! works great & could stand quite high FSB too! (had 3 running 150+FSB) i think the best place to look for is those local computer store since it's an old model. oh, btw, since they r old and mostly used, they are pretty cheap too! __________________ ~~~ Currently Inactive Mode ~~~ Got SOLD? MOVE your own thread! How many GHz of Intel + Nvidia folding power? Dunno! Lost count! \| F@H Vista Sidebar gadget \| F@H Yahoo Widget \| F@H iGoogle gadget \| \| My Heatware \| My New HTPC 3.0: Server/Client setup + Better energy efficiency \|
	QUOTE Thanks

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04-25-02, 08:24 PM	Thread Starter #6
petreza Member Join Date: Jan 2002	thanks I got 3c905B-TX. Installed with no problems. W2K recognized it right away and did not ask for any drivers. Red Hat 7.2 recognized it during install and there was no problem with it either. When choosing the card I made a table of the Non-Win-OSes that I was interested in and the NICs from the major manufacturers that they supported in their most recent releases. 3Com's 3c905B-TX was the NIC that was supported the most. I got it new for ~26$.
	QUOTE Thanks

04-25-02, 09:55 PM	#7
Diggrr Underwater Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Gun Lake, MI. USA	Cool beans. Glad it all worked out for ya! __________________ Rig1: C2D E8400 @3510 Ф Asus P5G41T-M-LX Plus mobo Ф 8 Gigs Ballistix DDR3 1333 Ф Asus GT520 Silent Ф 4 Deep Cool 92mm case fans Ф FSP 1U 460 Watt PSU External Watercooling: 40' Copper Coil Geothermal ground loop Ф Cooling modded MCP350 & MCP355 W/Swiftech white dual pump top Ф D-Tek Fuzion V2, 1/4" Rig2: Via Esther C7 1.5 @ 1.65 Ф Jetway 7F2WE1G5D mITX mobo Ф 1 Gig Generic Ram (max) Ф 120 watt Pico PSU. Life's Tragedy is that we get old too soon and wise too late. ~ Benjamin Franklin
	QUOTE Thanks

04-25-02, 11:11 PM	#8
LandShark Super Shark Moderator Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Deep Blue Sea (Maryland)	good! btw, i got all mine @ my local computer store, used, $10~15 each!! __________________ ~~~ Currently Inactive Mode ~~~ Got SOLD? MOVE your own thread! How many GHz of Intel + Nvidia folding power? Dunno! Lost count! \| F@H Vista Sidebar gadget \| F@H Yahoo Widget \| F@H iGoogle gadget \| \| My Heatware \| My New HTPC 3.0: Server/Client setup + Better energy efficiency \|
	QUOTE Thanks

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