Nforce4 On Board Nic?

[gate1975mlm]

Are the On Board Nic card on the Nforce4 Ultra ok to use? Or are they too much of a problem? I have been seeing some people having problem with On Board Nics and say you are better off using a Add in PCI Nic card.

 

[Promethply]

The nVidia onboard Gigabit LAN controller's excellent -- I connect it to my multiport router to access the internet, with not a single problem for about 4 months.

It has the added benefit of a hardware based firewall and "active armor" for added protection, and has a simple user-interface for easy setup.

 

[gate1975mlm]

I use Sygate firewall. Would I still need to use that?

 

[GadgetBuilder]

The nVidia NF3/NF4 NIC coupled with the nVidia drivers are an enigma

Most owners find they work great. However, a small number of users encounter serious problems, mostly when they use the nVidia firewall in combination with the NIC.

Visit the nVidia mobo forum to get a feel for the considerable variety of problems which are possible:
http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?s=f3...ead353326152f9b12af806c46&showforum=34

My situation is that the original nVidia driver set and firewall from the Chaintech CD works (with a few obvious problems) on my VNF4. Updating to nVidia's 6.39 or 6.53 release causes a BSOD from the firewall instantly on net access. Most VNF4 owners don't seem to have a problem with the new releases...

Bottom line: you'll have to try it yourself and see how it goes in your specific system.

 

[Promethply]

Originally posted by: gate1975mlm
I use Sygate firewall. Would I still need to use that?

You probably don't need to use the Sygate firewall, and

when you enable the nVidia firewall, it usually ask you whether you still want to use WinXP firewall in conjuction with nVidia firewall (anti hacking mode only),

or disable the WinXP firewall, and use the full feature of the nVidia firewall.

Having said that, I successfully use the Norton Firewall together with the nVidia Firewall.

 

[gate1975mlm]

I forgot to add I will also be using a Buffalo Wireless router firewall.

 

[KoolDrew]

Originally posted by: gate1975mlm
I forgot to add I will also be using a Buffalo Wireless router firewall.

Just use that along with Windows firewall. You can still use Sygate if you wish though.

 

[Promethply]

I think if you setup your firewall properly, you shouldn't encounter any problem,

but you may want to use Google to find out about others who may've had very similar setup as yours.

 

[ChicagoPCGuy]

I highly recommend not using the nVidia firewall/Active Armor/Network Access Monitor (NAM). It is very very broken for many users and can cause weird and difficult to track down issues. I would load the nVidia NIC driver from the 6.39 pack, but not NAM. Further, if you are using a SPI router firewall, then simply keep the XP firewall enabled and you will be fine. No need for Sygate or ZoneAlarm or Norton.

 

[Promethply]

I wouldn't recommend using the WinXP firewall over the nVidia ones

Most of the problems encountered relates to the sequence drivers, etc are installed, and

Not to the nVidia standalone drivers.

Check out this thread:

Asus A8N-SLI FAQ

 

[gate1975mlm]

Originally posted by: ChicagoPCGuy
I highly recommend not using the nVidia firewall/Active Armor/Network Access Monitor (NAM). It is very very broken for many users and can cause weird and difficult to track down issues. I would load the nVidia NIC driver from the 6.39 pack, but not NAM. Further, if you are using a SPI router firewall, then simply keep the XP firewall enabled and you will be fine. No need for Sygate or ZoneAlarm or Norton.

Doing this will also stop out going traffic?

 

[ChicagoPCGuy]

Originally posted by: gate1975mlm

Originally posted by: ChicagoPCGuy
I highly recommend not using the nVidia firewall/Active Armor/Network Access Monitor (NAM). It is very very broken for many users and can cause weird and difficult to track down issues. I would load the nVidia NIC driver from the 6.39 pack, but not NAM. Further, if you are using a SPI router firewall, then simply keep the XP firewall enabled and you will be fine. No need for Sygate or ZoneAlarm or Norton.

Doing this will also stop out going traffic?

Yes. The XP firewall will ask you if a program should be allowed out to the internet. It is just that it does not seem to always ask. For example, the EPoX flash utility I have can check on the net for a newer BIOS and XP asked if I should allow it access. Adobe's update tool did not get intercepted. It is possible that XP has preset permissions for certain applications that are considered "trusted" and therefore will allow them out. For ones it does not recognize by default, it will ask.