Killer Combo (3Com EtherLink 10/100 Combo Network Interface Card)

Member Name:

Product:	3Com EtherLink 10/100 Combo Network Interface Card
Date:	08/09/00 (46 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Excellent quality kit

Disadvantages: Can be slightly arkward to install

I have been using one of these network cards ever since I moved into student halls (I have an ethernet conection to the net in my room going through this card) and I love it. Other people in my halls are content to download from the net at up to 500K a second with their cheap nasty no-name network cards. I can get just under 1 meg a second over the exact same network using this card, which I think speaks for itself.

It is a lovely card to use once it is installed, but I had murder installing it on my PC. The first time it took about 2 hours to install because a lot of general messing around was needed, but it worked. Then a few weeks later I had to format my hard-drive and start all over again, which was the real killer. Because of the way I was reinstallign everything on my hard-drive, getting Windows 98SE to use the drivers from the 3Com website that I had sitting here rather than the ones it has built in was next to impossible. If anyone knows a way around this problem please let me know and I will add it to my opinion.

Apart from the problems with the installation (don`t attempt it if you don`t know a reasonable amount about computers) I haven`t had any other problems with the card. It is fast, efficient and doesn`t slow my computer down no matter how fast it is throwing data through the connection.

This is a perfect example of where it is worth spending that bit more money for something of infinately beter quality.

Summary: