Upgrading my network.

[pace282]

Currently my network consists of.
PC No.1
Celeron 366 128mbram.
The cable modem is connected to a Intel DC21041 PCI Ethernet Adapter.

I connect my second PC through a Realtek RTL8029 Ethernet Adapter.

PC No.2 Celeron 466 128mbram.
It uses a Realtek RTL8029 Ethernet Adapter.

Im looking at upgrading my 2 Realtek RTL8029 Ethernet Adapter to Intel PRO/100+ NIC. My only consern is that in Australia the Intel PRO/100+ NIC cost $100aus($60us)each. Would i see a vast improvement in my network from this upgrade. I am aware that there are cheaper cards but im having stability problems atm and have had many problems with generic NIC cards. Any help would be gratefull.

Pace282

[Fade]

Pace,
I can throw my two cents in here on this one. From the model of your Realtek card though, I can't tell if you are at 10mb or 100mb in speed currently. It also looks like you are going "peer to peer" without a hub.

I've had a number of cheap PC cards, both here at home and at my place of work. My thoughts ... you get what you pay for. I have had more headaches trying to get a cheap lan card to work well than anything else on my network. Stick with the Intel series, or 3Com905's. Both are excellent models and well supported. Given a choice in between the two, I'd go with Intel since 3Com officially left the PC card business.

However, if you are going peer to peer, you won't see the 100mb speed. I've never seen two peer to peer stations able to go 100mb full duplex. It may be possible but for the life of me I can't get it to work. If that's what you are wanting, I would recommend a 10/100 hub or switch where you will hook up both cards. If you go with a switch you can also go full duplex, gaining even more speed.

Good luck. Let us know what works for you...

-Fade