Re: cheap NICs

[Stephen Lee <sl@example.com>]

Jonathan Q <jq@example.com> wrote:
> Hector Akamine (akamine@example.com) wrote:
> 
> > How good is the support for "cheap" network cards in linux? We plan to
> > buy a new PC, and initially thought to use a 3COM card, but with cards
> > with less than one-third of the price (Corega, Netgear, Planex, I/O Data)
> 
> Corega uses the via-rhine chipset in their 10/100 PCI cards.
> [...] They used to be connected
> to a 10baseT hub, and when I replaced that with a 10/100 auto-sense
> switch (see below), I was quite pleased when those two links  both came
> as 100 megabit full duplex with no intervention on my part.

I have a DEC 21140AF-based card on Win2k that detects as 100Mbps FDX (both
leds on the card and the switching hub says so) but runs at abysmal speed
(less than 10baseT speed).  I switched the driver option from autodetect
to 100Mbps FDX and it now works at the expected speed.

The same card works fine with linux, so this is probably a driver problem...

Stephen