Need help choosing NIC card for overclocked system...

[Insane3D]

I just got hooked up to cable modem service, DSL is not available in my area, and the Kingston KNE-100tx NIC card they gave me has died. They are going to replace it on Monday, but I can't wait. I would like some opinions on what ones are good. I am looking at 3Com because they make the best modems, so I am thinking it is the same with their NIC cards. What is the difference between "Fast Etherent" and just "Ethernet"? Any help is appreciated. My system specs are below...

 

[Descend492]

Just kidding

 

[pm]

I would have thought you'd do better in the Networking forum than the CPU forum, but...

First off, cable modems are pretty nice - I consider myself lucky to even have a cable modem... let alone a choice between DSL and a cable modem. Here at work a lot of the guys with USWest DSL are switching to AT&T@Home's cable modem service due to poor performance... but anyway...

Are you sure that the Kingston card is dead? What have you done to troubleshoot it?

Since they are giving you a new one in three days - I'd just get a cheap one. The two cheap NIC companies are Linksys and D-Link. My experiences with D-Link have been pretty bad, so I generally go Linksys. I haven't had a problem with any of their stuff and you can get a Linksys 10/100 card most places (Best Buy, Office Depot, etc) for $20 or less. I believe that ethernet is 10Mb/s, fast ethernet is 100Mb/s. It's hard to find a 10Mb ethernet card nowadays, so I'd get the 100Mb/s, but it's not going to make a difference since the cable modem maxes out at around 6Mb/s anyway (what's the make and model?) so either will work just as well.

 

[Insane3D]

Yeah, I know. I am running a o/c system, so I thought I would post it here. It seems to work, and my cable modem is online, but I keep getting this same IP adress that is dead. The tech lady said that it had tried to get a new IP over 30 times in one hour...I have been dealing with this problem for few days now. Everything seems good, but it just won't bring any websites up. When the tech person tries to ping the IP, it comes up dead (100% loss). My cable modem is nice, it is a Motorola SB3100. It is online and all working correctly, but no internet? I am gonna head up to best buy tommorow, I just wasn't sure if there was any difference in NIC's. It seems that they are all pretty much the same. Thanks.

 

[Mikewarrior2]

I'd also look into the SMC 10/100 Nics at CrapUSA... $15 will get you an excellent NIC(i have it in all my systems at home.

Works fine for me @ 37.5mhz PCI, but I have a friend running his at 40mhz pci.

Mike

 

[Insane3D]

Thanks Mike...I will look for that one...

 

[pm]

Are you getting a link light on the cable modem?
Do you see activity on the cable modem when you boot your computer?
Have you checked to make sure the cable is good?

If the woman at the office says that your NIC is actively trying to get a DHCP IP address, then I doubt it's a dead NIC. It sounds more like a software issue to me.

If you do a "winipcfg" and release, does it release the IP address? When you renew, does it just hang? Does the cable activity light blink?

It sounds like it's a DHCP error. What happens if you manually put in the IP address? Right click in network neighborhood and choose TCP/IP. Usually on your work order should be the IP address that they are going to assign you through DHCP. Put that in, then put in the gateway, the DNS server, etc. And then try.

If you don't know any of this info, put in a manual IP address like 128.0.0.1 and then try pinging yourself (open dos window and type "ping 128.0.0.1&quot. If you get a response odds are good that the card is ok.

My point in saying all this is to save you a wasted trip to the store. If the office says that you are unsuccessfully requesting a DHCP IP address, then I doubt the problem is the card.

Try reinstalling Windows.

BTW, nice cable modem... beats mine, anyway.

 

[Insane3D]

OK, here is the whole deal. I just did a fresh install of Windows, and I wanted to be able to update everything and I noticed that I could not open any web sites. I have five lights on that modem. They are Power, Send, Receive, Online, and Activity. I have solid lights on all but activity, which means I am connected. If I release the IP address and renew, it keeps giving me the same one. I tried unplugging my cable modem for over 6 hours to make it get a new IP and, still the same IP. The weird part is the Activity flashes all the time like I am surfing, but I get nothing. I have removed and reinstalled the NIC card drivers, TCP/IP and no go. When the problem first happened they told me that that IP was being routed to North Carolina, I am in New Hampshire, and that was the problem. They fixed it to route to the correct server, but I still can't open any sites. I called them again (day 2) and the IP is routed correctly, but she still gets 100% loss when she tries to ping me. The service, (Adelphia) does not support static IP adresses, and the settings I use are "Disable DNS", "Disable WINS Resolution", and "Obtain IP Automatically". The weird thing is no matter how many times I release and renew, I get the same IP? It does release, it says 0.0.0.0, and then it grabs that same damn IP. The weird part is that Activity light flashes all the time like I am surfing, even when the computer is off. What gives?

 

[potac]

I have a Netgear fa310tx and my fsb is runnig at 150 with no probs. I did have it at 155 (pci @38.7) and it went screwy but at 150 I know it runs stable.

 

[samelcamel]

I am assuming that you've reset the cable modem. If there is a reset button (very small) on the back of the modem, hold it in for about 10 seconds and let go. If there isn't a reset switch (like on my RCA cable modem) then you may have to unplug it for a short time. Also, depending on the service, it may not assign you a new IP address when you release, unless you release it before you go to bed and unplug the modem. When you wake up the next morning, plug in the modem and reboot the pc. When you run WINIPCFG, does it only show that you have one service installed? Make sure you're not looking at the "dial up networking adapter" settings and releasing the IP on that instead of on your NIC. You can eliminate that problem by completely removing the "dial up networking adapter" from your network properties. The only things in the networking properties should be TCP/IP, your NIC, and Client for Microsoft Windows. Also, we all assume you're running Win98SE. Win95 has a few problems with IP networking.

Good luck!

-sam

 

[Insane3D]

No, when I installed Win98SE again, I did not even install dial up networking...I have tried the reset switch, and unplugging for over 1 day. I still get the same IP. I called them again, and they are gonna try to fix that IP, becaue it is the only one I can grab... Thanks.

 

[SuperSix]

Do you get DNS errors? Can you open a DOS window and ping an IP? Try this one, it's www.anandtech.com. 209.166.167.16 If you get a response, you are having DNS (Dynamic name server) problems.
You may have to set your DNS server in your TCP/IP properties, I do in W2K, but not in 98SE. Some cable systems require you to specify your DNS server.

HTH