PCI or ISA NIC?

[gangstawrapper]

I have two systems that are quite crowded inside. Ideally I would like to install (cheap 10mbps) NICs into both and would prefer to use up my vacant ISA slots than my precious PCI ones. Would I lose out in performance if I used ISA cards? Could someone go over the advantages of PCI V ISA please?

[a Bill]

Hopefully someone will jump in on this, but I believe the only difference between the two type cards is the PCI card uses fewer CPU cycles. I use ISA cards myself simply because my PCI slots are spoken for already.

Ah, good, others with more knowledge have spoken. In my case, not only were PCI slots at a premium, but the ISA cards were free, maybe I should have mentioned that earlier

I didn't know that the ISA cards limited me to 10BaseT with no hope of 100. Eh, I probably wouldn't notice the difference anyway. It's good to know that though.

[This message has been edited by a Bill (edited 06-03-99).]

[Jin Vitas]

well ISA only allows 10mbs... of transfer.. PCI .. 10/100 .. therefore I would go with a PCI.. NIC.. just incase you wanna upgrade.. the system and keep the NIC.. and go 100mb.. full duplex. .throughout ur little LAN.

[800XL]

There are a very few 10/100Mbit ISA cards out threre, but they are insanely expensive in comparison. Also, since they are bound by the bandwidth of ISA, they do not perform that well at 100Mbit. I have a whole slew of ISA cards and at 10Mbit I can't measure much of a difference from my PCI 10/100 cards. I would have to say though, unless you have a serious lack of PCI slots, go with 10/100 PCI cards. ISA cards are fine if you can get them cheap (<$10), but they leave you stuck with no upgrade path. You can get some very usable 10/100 PCI cards for around $20 these days that will perform well, and allow you to just drop in a new hub and get better speed. I would recommend Netgear for low cost PCI 10/100 NICs. Netgear is a subsidiary of Bay Networks, who makes high end networking hardware. The support for Netgear products is quite good that I have found. I don't have their website right handy, but I was able to find Linux drivers for a Netgear card with no trouble. I can't say the same for some higher priced cards.

[MadMax]

Read ^^^^^ as "3Com sucks"..... fotfl

[800XL]

Actually, I don't have anything really against 3com. They have made some ****, but then who hasn't? I'm actually running two 3com cards in my machine right now and fairly happy with them. Mind you my NT machine has an Intel card (ISA ), just to avoid what I've run into with 3com vs NT in the past. Netgear cards are just dirt cheap without sacrificing much if any quality. (A friend actually swears by NG. They solved some major NT probs he had with Intel and 3Com cards.)I honestly haven't checked in a while, but 3Com 10/100 PCI NICs usually run well above the $20 range.

To really answer gansta's post, ISA cards will put just a little more load on the CPU, and may give a teansy bit slower performance than PCI cards. The big difference that I see is that you are limited to 10Mbit without spending $100-$200 for an ISA 100Mbit (Intel made these I think) or buying a new card later. I guess when it comes down to it though, $20 is nothing much to drop for new cards if you ever do move to a better hub. You can also get away with no hub if you buy 10Base2 cable and terminators with ISA nics. I've seen only a couple PCI cards with a Coax BNC connector on them.

[Jin Vitas]

Make sure you know how to use the product. before you say it sucks

Jin-Vitas
3Com Certified

[800XL]

Boy, they're certifying everything these days aren't they? Did I say 3com sucks? I didn't intend to if I came across that way. I just think the bang-for-buck factor is better elsewhere. Most NICs these days are pretty much the same, only the drivers/utilities shipped with them make any major difference at all. 3Com has a nice little diagnostic utility for theirs, but I have never had need of it myself. I've always been able to solve my problems with good old experience and know how.

-800XL
"Microsoft Bob Certified"

[MadMax]

Jin Vitas~I placed "3Com sucks" in my post and it was a joking reference to what 800XL said about high priced cards in general. I have placed other posts about 3Com cards and as a joke, I think it's appropriate. Lighten up.

800XL~I am sorry if any others have come to the conclusion that what I said came from you. It was supposed to be a joke but I guess people in this forum have NO sense of humor.

[cobain1crt]

ISA=slightly slower, PCI=more valuable for other stuff, 100mb optional, but if you only want cheap stuff anyways (wich is why there is no room, he has one of those mobos with like 3 PCI), PCI is only good for fewer CPU cycles. And ISA is generaly cheaper. So go with ISA. It is not dead just yet.

[Virus]

Netgear sucks! Startech rocks!