Performance difference between onboard LAN vs PCI???

[TygGer]

Just wondering if there were any performance differences between an integrated NIC vs PCI NIC?

 

[Smilin]

Depends on the chipset I think. It may be "onboard" but still on the PCI bus.

someone correct me if I'm wrong:
nForce 2's integrate the nic directly but many have an additional onboard 3com nic that internally hangs off the PCI bus rather than being integrated into the chipset.

 

[boyRacer]

Using the onboard made a whopping difference of 1 second in my case.

 

[0roo0roo]

surely there must be a difference. intel still has their nice network card for ~50 bux.

 

[thraxes]

my intel dual NIC PCI card beats the crap out of any onboard solution (unless its a server board which usually have high grade network chips). The difference to my old SMC was huge! I am not talking about transfer performance but CPU usage by the NIC, it was over 60% less and that is extremely noticeable. I wouldn't use anything else and I will cry the day this card should break.

 

[boyRacer]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
surely there must be a difference. intel still has their nice network card for ~50 bux.

i think that depends entirely on your needs... a casual user like me won't notice a difference... and i'm not on a network. from an onboard broadcom chip on an asus to my 3com server nic... can't even tell.

 

[eelw]

It depends on what LAN speed you referring to. If you're using 10/100BaseT, then there is really no difference between a PCI and intergrated NIC. Once you move to Gigabit though, intergrated LAN is the best solution. Gigabit will use the entire bandwidth available on the PCI bus and be forced to share it with other PCI devices.

 

[TygGer]

Ok... then is there a difference between the many brands of NICs 10/100? Some go for FAR and some are $$$...

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Originally posted by: TygGer
Ok... then is there a difference between the many brands of NICs 10/100? Some go for FAR and some are $$$...

Yes. Also note that Intel new CSA bus for the Gigabit networking helps out as previously mentioned. When you download lots of files, the cpu will handle it all making the PCU usage near 20% to 30% if you 're downloading from m any sources such as in KaZaA. This is where the new ones helps out because the network card will handle most of that processing lower the cpu usage quite a bit.

 

[Whitedog]

Originally posted by: TygGer
Ok... then is there a difference between the many brands of NICs 10/100? Some go for FAR and some are $$$...

3Com, Intel = Good. Netgear..etc. = no good.

My nForce2 board has some nVidia 10/100, but I'm using the also built-in 3Com 10/100, so I can't comment on if it is any good or not.

"MOST" mobo's these days come with some flavor of a built-in 10/100/1000. 99% of the time it is a good 3Com or something chip you can count on very much. Shouldn't be something to concern yourself with.

my intel dual NIC PCI card beats the crap out of any onboard solution (unless its a server board which usually have high grade network chips). The difference to my old SMC was huge! I am not talking about transfer performance but CPU usage by the NIC, it was over 60% less and that is extremely noticeable. I wouldn't use anything else and I will cry the day this card should break.

Must have been a total crap mobo with the built-in 10/100 you're talking about. Every mobo I've ever bought that had built-in 10/100 has been outstanding. (of course I buy quality mobo's too, not them cheap $79 ones.

 

[TygGer]

I was trying to figure out if it would be worth it to purchase the Abit IC7-G (which as an integrated LAN and a couple other features that I would not use) for $83 more than the IC7 (which does not).
What do you guys think?


If not, according to Whitedog I would probably get either a 3Com or Intel. Newegg carries the Intel: Intel Pro/1000 MT Desktop Network Adapter - Retail Box for $49 and the 3Com: 3COM 905CX-TXNM PCI 10/100 Network Card *No Wake-Up* - OEM for $31.

So should I pay an extra $83 for the IC7-G or get a seperate NIC? If so, please advise.

Thank you all!