USB 10/100 nic - am I gettting really 10/100 or am I limited by the USB port?

[PeeluckyDuckee]

Is it really 10/100 or 12mbps (usb controller's bandwidth?) ?? Thx.

 

[JackMDS]

Yes they are!

The average practical ?speed? is 6 Mb/sec.

Some manufactures are trying to hide it.

Linksys is honest they start with:

?Now you can connect to any 10, 100, or 10/100Mbps hub or switch without having to open your PC. The EtherFast® 10/100 USB Network Adapter from Linksys allows you to instantly connect to a network from a USB-enabled desktop or notebook PC ?

And finish with:

?You'll be networked in no time. The EtherFast® 10/100 USB Network Adapter is bus-powered -- it draws power from the host PC and requires no external power cords. The 10/100 USB Network Adapter features a maximum of 12Mbps throughput (the maximum throughput supported by USB), easy-to-read LEDs, compact design, a 1-year limited warranty, and free world-class technical support!? (The bolding is mine).

A quote from Linksys: USB100TX - EtherFast® 10/100 USB Network Adapter

 

[PeeluckyDuckee]

Oh yeah, so that's only neglibly faster than the 11Mbps standard on 802.11b. Oh well, can't fit another PCMCIA nic ontop of the wireless PCMCIA nic anyhow, so that'll have to do.

 

[Garion]

Well, with a 10/100 card at 100Mb/s, you're getting a full duplex connection. This means you really CAN transmit at 12Mb/s. a 10Mb/s card is half duplex, and you really get an average throghput of about 6Mb/s. Granted, you'll never see 100Mb/s. but in reality, about 2Mb/s is fine for most computer use, save big file transfers.

- G

 

[blstriker]

Yeah, I find it really misleading that the manufacturers put 10/100 when you'll really get pretty low rates. Here's my take on the subject: Network Card Roundup - Which is the Best USB Network Card?