[plug] Sound or Network Card

[Beau Kuiper]

On Thu, 23 Sep 1999, you wrote:
> Leon Brooks wrote:
> > 
> > Bill Cullen wrote:
> > > So I need to decide if I go
> > > out and buy a new network card or sound card.
> > 
> > If network performance is important to you, spring for the extra $ and
> > get a DEC-based (tulip chipset) network card. These all seem to do
> > remarkably well on speed and efficiency for not much cost. Mind you, a
> > PCI-based NE2000 clone (ugh!) only costs about $19 these days.
> 
> I don't really need any extra performance and I'd prefer to stay
> with my 10Base2. I had enough trouble with the last NIC I bought
> (a Realtek PCI PnP) under Windoze 95. I think I'd rather keep
> a card that I know will work and does all I need. I certainly 
> wouldn't buy another Realtek and might not even take one if you 
> gave it to me.

I have never had any problems with the Realtek PCI PnP cards. Are you sure the
card you got simply wasn't faulty. Even though I prefer not to use them in
heavy load situations, I ussually get about 1Meg per second over them (10Mbit)
without any side effects. (Are you also sure that window 95 wasn't being awfal
to you?) Anyway, they have always worked flawlessly for me under linux and
would recommend them to people looking for cheap 10Mbits ethernet solutions for
linux.

BTW, you should buy a new sound card. They are much more interesting (and
fun) then network cards.

My 2 cents,
Beau Kuiper
ekuiperba at cc.curtin.edu.au

> Really, I probably am better off keeping my existing NIC and 
> replacing the sound card. I'll replace my NIC later if I ever 
> need to implement a 10/100BaseT network (ie. if I ever build a new
> house and have the money left over to put in a patch panel and
> wire up every room - maybe I should get an Austel license :-)
> 
> Bill.
> -- 
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
>   Bill Cullen, ENFP, billc at wantree.com.au, Perth, Western Australia
>                Life's too important to take seriously.
> =====================================================================