[lug] Realtek-based NICs

[George Sexton]

I have a box with a RTL8139 card and I suspect that it's the cause of major
instability on it. The box just randomly locks up every 3-4 days. I am
planning on changing to a Dec Tulip based card 21143. From looking at the
source code for the RTL8139 driver, the chip is really poorly designed and
you are not going to get much in the way of performance out of it.

Personally, I won't buy another...

George Sexton
MH Software, Inc.
Voice: 303 438 9585
Fax: 303 469 9679
URL: http://www.mhsoftware.com

-----Original Message-----
From: lug-admin at lug.boulder.co.us [mailto:lug-admin at lug.boulder.co.us]On
Behalf Of McIllece, Matthew W
Sent: Thursday, January 27, 2000 6:02 PM
To: 'lug at lug.boulder.co.us'
Subject: [lug] Realtek-based NICs


I've seen the posts recommending Realtek-based NICs because they work with
Linux and are cheap.  Now I'm in the market for NICs to use with Linux on
hand-me-down P133-based systems.  Can someone help me with questions
regarding the differences between various Realtek-based cards.  I found the
following at http://www.pricewatch.com/:


generic; Realtek 10/100BT PCI Ethernet Card; w/ Drivers 1 Year Warranty; $7;
Dealer: Memory Maximus, Inc; part# NIC-CX-RL100TXP

generic; Realtek 10bt ne2000 ISA Ethernet Card; RETAIL BOX 1 Year Warranty;
$7; Dealer: Memory Maximus, Inc; part# NIC-REA-10/100/ISA

generic; Realtek 10/100 PCI Ethernet Card; Retail Box w/ Drivers 1 Year
Warranty; $7; Dealer: Volume Software; part# - (PHO-RTL8139RB1 from vendor's
website)

generic; 10BT, 100BT PCI Adapter, Lifetime Limited Warranty by Mfg; Realtek
Chipset, NO Boot ROM Socket; $8; Dealer: I-Market; Part# NC1032S


I understand the difference between a "retail box" and one that is not, but
what is the difference between:

10/100BT
10bt ne2000
10BT, 100BT (same as 10/100BT, no?)

Is "NO Boot ROM Socket" a big deal?

Also, are any of the above cards to be avoided (e.g. not Linux compatible,
unreliable, etc.)?

Are any of the above dealers to be avoided?

I know to check to see if the motherboards have PCI or ISA slots.

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