Does Network Card really matter?

[dmbsuperfan]

I was just wondering if the brand of network card really mattered...the cable modem company told me they couldn't install their cable modem with the network card already in my computer because of security reasons, and they installed their own. THe one I had in my computer originally was a Netgear one, and they installed one that doesn't even have a name on it...it's just in a brown box. Thanks in advance....

 

[odog]

thats complete BS....

take the one they gave you out and reproduce the settings on the netgear... bingo you just got a free 10mbit pci nic(realtek 8029?)

 

[obenton]

Some ISPs might use NIC's MAC address for user verification.

 

[rpeAMP]

<< Some ISPs might use NIC's MAC address for user verification. >>



In that case, you could install the NIC of your choice, then call the cable company and tell them that you had to get a new NIC and you need to register it's MAC address with them.

 

[dmbsuperfan]

will installing the Netgear card give me anymore beneficial effects though? I don't want to go through a bunch of trouble for nothing...thanks for the tips...

 

[guitronics]

The card the cable company gave me was a half-duplex card,I believe it was an SMC.It works, but sure isn't anything to get excited about.

I'm gonna replace the card with a LinkSys LNE100TX Fast Ethernet card, which is among the top cards I saw reviewed on some hardware site.

 

[bozo1]

<< ill installing the Netgear card give me anymore beneficial effects though >>


If you have one computer and your Cable connection, then no, it would be a waste of time to replace it. If you are running a home network then going to a 100Mbps NIC will give you greater speed between the 2 computers, but no benefits for your cable connection.

 

[Kingofcomputer]

Network Card Roundup - Which is the Best PCI Network Card?

if you use dsl/cable sharing router, it allows you to set the mac address to pretend you're using the nic from the isp in case your isp requires that.

 

[dmbsuperfan]

I have the cable modem hooked up to a switch (Linksys) and then the switch hooked up to my computer and my roommates. I just want to make sure that if I install this card, it won't injure the cable modem in anyway. Thanks again....

 

[whitelight]

no, you shouldn't have any problems.