Network card question

[espguitarguy232]

I have a network card from a 10 year old dell that I am using since my onboard fried. It is rated at 10/100 Mbps, but i wanted to get one rated at 10/100/1000 Mbps like the onboard one I had before. My question is should I go with regular PCI or PCIe x1 for better speed? I heard somewhere that with PCI you can only go as high as 133 Mbps due to the data transfer rates. Also what cards would you recommend? I like plug and play and I would like to use as little resources as possible because I use the computer for gaming. Prices around $25 preferably

 

[capt_taco]

My question is should I go with regular PCI or PCIe x1 for better speed? I heard somewhere that with PCI you can only go as high as 133 Mbps due to the data transfer rates.

I don't think that's right. A 1000 Mbps connection is 1000 megaBITS. A regular PCI slot operates at 133 MBps -- that's megaBYTES -- which is more like 1600 Mbps. The capitalization of the B makes a difference by a factor of 12.5. PCIe x1 goes at more like 2.5 Gbps, which is more than you'll need for any Internet connection as well. So bottom line, either PCI or PCIe x1 is going to be faster than an Ethernet card, and you can use either standard.

I have actually heard of 2000 Mbps cards, but that's probably useless to most people because I don't think any ISP is going to give you service anywhere near that. Last year, they were excited that Comcast upgraded to 16Mbps in my area, although with the new DOCSIS 3.0 modems they may soon be breaking the 100Mbps barrier. So you probably are better off with a 10/100/1000 one than a 10/100 just due to future expansion.

I'd really just choose and 10/100/1000 card based on price and how many slots I have available.

 

[deadjon]

Please explain to me how you worked 133 MBytes = 1600 Mbits.

8 bits to a Byte.

So actually, it would work out at 1064 Mbits. Which, to be honest is still more than Gigabit Ethernet.

The need for Gigabit Ethernet as far as internet connections go is non-existent.

 

[espguitarguy232]

Thanks for the info. Now I have a new issue. When i take the computer out of standby i do not have a connection to the internet and either have to wait a minute or two, or i have to repair the connection to connect to the internet. This did not happen with the dell card, but did happen with the onboard one before it fried. Is this normal or do i have to adjust a setting?