Ever since I actually experienced a REAL-WORLD test of 10/100 cards using the 825** shipsets from Intel and nearly ANYTHING else... I have been... stuck in Intel Gear for E-Net cards.

What I saw was, utilization *AND* throughput were on a relation ship similar to:

x = utilization, y = throughput/workdone

x:y2

I just fell in love... the cards (especially since the E10*+(e100+, e1000+, workstation and server classes) series came out) have never ceased to earn thier keep. I rarely find problems with them... if I do it is usually a bug in the module/driver supplied... and almost always NEWER E10*+ card and/or drivers == better/more stable performance.

Well, take it for what it is worth...