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Looking for a solid ethernet network card
- Thread starter lDreaml
- Start date
GotNoRice
[H]F Junkie
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2001
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- 12,017
Sad to hear that it didn't work out with your ISP, but unless you have other options, 320Mbps should still be plenty fast for 99.999% of internet usage, even heavy downloading. In fact, I'd rather have a 100Mbps connection with no monthly data caps than a "1.5Gbps" service with restrictive monthly data caps, so speed really is not the only critical variable here.
For speeds faster than 1Gbps, I'm seeing lots of modems come out with 2-4 Gigabit Ethernet ports. I'm not talking about modem+router combo devices, but actual modems. For example, the Arris SB8200 Cable Modem comes with 2 Gigabit ports and advertises max of 2Gbps internet speeds. This is done via link-aggregation (using both 1Gbps ports simultaneously and combining the speed), assuming it's actually enabled by your ISP and supported on your router. Modern versions of Windows are also getting much better when it comes to link aggregation. Like for example I put a cheap quad-port Intel gigabit adapter in my file server, and an Intel dual-port in my main computer (along with the 2 Intel gigabit ports on the motherboard) and with all 8 of those links connected to the same switch, that gives me up to 4Gbps transfers between my main computer and my file server. This is all handled automatically by Windows, with each adapter having it's own internal IP and without setting up conventional NIC teaming or anything like that. It just works. The ISP site the OP linked says "Assuming optimal network conditions. A wired connection and at least one additional wired or wireless connection are required to obtain total speeds of up to 1.5 Gbps with Gigabit Fibe 1.5." at the bottom, which sure seems to imply that link aggregation might be the solution here. That is what I would have tried first if the ISP had actually seemed capable of providing those speeds.
For speeds faster than 1Gbps, I'm seeing lots of modems come out with 2-4 Gigabit Ethernet ports. I'm not talking about modem+router combo devices, but actual modems. For example, the Arris SB8200 Cable Modem comes with 2 Gigabit ports and advertises max of 2Gbps internet speeds. This is done via link-aggregation (using both 1Gbps ports simultaneously and combining the speed), assuming it's actually enabled by your ISP and supported on your router. Modern versions of Windows are also getting much better when it comes to link aggregation. Like for example I put a cheap quad-port Intel gigabit adapter in my file server, and an Intel dual-port in my main computer (along with the 2 Intel gigabit ports on the motherboard) and with all 8 of those links connected to the same switch, that gives me up to 4Gbps transfers between my main computer and my file server. This is all handled automatically by Windows, with each adapter having it's own internal IP and without setting up conventional NIC teaming or anything like that. It just works. The ISP site the OP linked says "Assuming optimal network conditions. A wired connection and at least one additional wired or wireless connection are required to obtain total speeds of up to 1.5 Gbps with Gigabit Fibe 1.5." at the bottom, which sure seems to imply that link aggregation might be the solution here. That is what I would have tried first if the ISP had actually seemed capable of providing those speeds.