network cards

[tundraa]

i'm thinking to buy a network card but don't really know much about them, i've seen the killer nic k1/m1 and thats the sort of thing im looking for but i think it costs more than its worth. i've seen other cards by intel and im wondering if theyre just as good, i want a network card that bypasses windows network stack

(i'm considering the Intel PRO XP9400PT)

cheers <3

[Blaineoliver]

IMHO if you have too much money to spend and want like 1-3 fps more, go for a NIC, some say they improve things, i am a sceptic. But feel free to try one out if you think it will benefit you.

[Jay]

why do you want to buy a new network card? For gaming etc the on board will be fine, if you want really good transfer speeds for a home network then the intel network cards are very good but you will also need a decent switch as well.

The killer NIC is just a ploy to get loads of cash for useless hardware, just like the old physx cards

[tundraa]

my spec is:
gigabyte ga p35 ds4
q6600
4gb ocz reaper
asus xonar dx
his hd4870
ocz 600watt
vista 32bit

basically my net randomly cuts off and the only way i can reconnect is to do a windows diagnose and repair, i think my network chip is on its last leg.
very frustrating when playing l4d/tf2/css and i timeout (pretty much everyday) but my connection on ventrillo is fine.

my isp is o2 and im on a 16mb package, ive spoken to them but i cant really say the problem is from them when i can do a windows diagnose and repair and reset the network adapter and the problem is sorted for a while.

edit: i don't want to buy a killer nic as they are very expensive and they look like a marketing gimmick, i just want a decent nic and im leaning towards the Intel PRO XP9400PT

[peterb]

I use Netgear Gigabit cards - available at around &#163;16, or go for a realtek generic type (can be bought for as little at &#163;5)

[Splash]

are you certain that it's not your modem/router dropping your connection? If it id then no amount of new NICs is going to solve your problem.

[Lourdes]

What do you currently have? A new NIC is unlikely to help you at all.

[tundraa]

i bought a nic and everything seems fine so im happy