Someone has asked my opinion on the NIC comparison so I figure I would get everyone elses opinion too... Onboard -vs- PCI NIC, is thier an advantage?
Most onboard stuff like audio, NIC and video have been greatly improved nowadays. The only downside about them is that they use additional ressources from the processor and the chipset and might not be as efficient as a dedicated NIC. Moving to a PCI NIC should likely take some load off the processor and improve the overall speed of the system (i.e. Ping times).
Well, i was thinking just the same thing too. Just think bout it. If onboard NIC, if lightning strikes that port, most likely it cannot be replaced. While as for PCI-NIC, it is possible to change it without changing a new mobo if NIC was onboard ...So there are actually pro and cons..Heck, do they even still manufacture PCI-NIC
onboard use additional resource from the CPU? i think even the PCI version also will use the CPU resource unless there is a dedicated processor on the card itself which i dont think there is. So for network card, i woud say they should be the same as the motherboard manufacturer simply build it into the board as network access is no longer a privilege, its a necessasity nowadays.
It has got nothing to do with using more system resources. Only cheap onboard sound that requires more CPU resources to decode EAX or related 3D sound. Both onboard and PCI NIC should consume similar amount of resources. PCI card might be slower because gigabit NIC requires more bandwidth than PCI bus can offer. But then, it also depends whether the onboard NIC is using PCI bus or PCIe bus. My Abit IP35 Pro uses onboard gigabit NIC, but it runs on PCI bus, so it cannot hit the gigabit speed. AnandTech: abit IP35-Pro: Houston, We Have a Winner Conclusion, it will only be an issue if you are using gigabit NIC.
Everything onboard is getting better I have an Auzentech X-Plosion sitting here I might stick back in my old machine. This Realtek onboard audio supports DTS connect and 7.1 digital surround so I really don't need it on here.
Yeah, whether it is built into the motherboard or not does not necessarily mean it will consume more CPU resources. Onboard audio chips are usually just audio codecs that require the CPU to do the actual job. On the other hand, onboard GPUs are actually true processors and offload the work, so there's very little CPU utilization. Onboard NICs, like Chai mentioned, should not use any more system resources than separate network cards. His explanation on PCI vs. PCIe is also correct. You have to check your motherboard's design though. Some motherboards designs place the onboard Gigabit LAN on the PCI bus while others put it on the PCIe bus. Naturally, you should try to put it on the PCIe bus. Other than that... onboard NICs should cost less (more or less free!) and use less power. Of course, using the onboard NIC would save space and a slot. It should also improve the circulation inside your case!
Hmmm.. I guessed I generalized too much about onboard devices there. I figured they followed the same trend of how onboard audio used the CPU and decreased performance like in games.
Thats true but what if the NIC port on the mobo suddenly malfunction ..We either have to rma it or actually get another new NIC card eh?
Integrated NIC should be faster than a separated NIC since it is integrated, the data path should be shorter and thus result in faster data transmission but the improvement is not really noticible
Theoretically, there should be some gain form having onboard NIC, but in the context that this came about was in a discussion about lowering pings for gaming. We never talked about sound but I completely agree with the PCI/PCIe information. IMO, for 10/100 NICs, gain if any, for either on board or PCI would be negligable in the grand scheme of things. Thanks All!!!
Oh, lowering pings for gaming? Is that on a local network.. or via the Internet? If it's a local network, the ping times would be very fast. I don't think the difference in ping times would matter. If it's online gaming... I also don't think the network card or onboard NIC would really affect the ping time. Biggest problem is always the Internet connectivity between the gamers.
Unless the NIC is overheating and adding significant latency to the connection, the NIC would not affect pings at all. Unless 100 dollar cards like the Bigfoot NIC can guide the invisible hand of the market to install switchless fiber lines for its user, but then it's a different story. Transit times over a motherboard is measured in fractions of miliseconds, too...
