onboard nic (p4c800) vs pci card

[David Wolff]

using a p4c800-deluxe (the original one not the p4c800-e). i'm using a
3com nic (3cr990-tx-97) which does some onboard processing presumably
decreasing cpu load. i use the nic only for internet access (dsl). the
lan use is very rare. would i notice any change in speed or cpu use if i
switch to using the onboard lan? i hate to mess with what's working but
i need to free up a pci slot.

thanks.

 

[Paul]

using a p4c800-deluxe (the original one not the p4c800-e). i'm using a
3com nic (3cr990-tx-97) which does some onboard processing presumably
decreasing cpu load. i use the nic only for internet access (dsl). the
lan use is very rare. would i notice any change in speed or cpu use if i
switch to using the onboard lan? i hate to mess with what's working but
i need to free up a pci slot.

thanks.

Good quality LAN interfaces use DMA and ring buffers, so with minor
variations, their performance should be equal. The only exception to
the rule is with Realtek LAN chips (the ones on $10 LAN cards). Those
require a copy operation to move data from the buffer area to system
buffers, so if you want a zero CPU load solution, the cheap Reakteks
are not the answer.

In any case, it won't take long to test it and find out for sure.

HTH,
Paul

 

[David Wolff]

thanks. i guess i'll try it.

Paul wrote, On 12/13/2003 3:52 PM:

 

[DaveW]

The onboard network adapter uses very few CPU resources. Go for it.