Originally Posted by tom2112

Back to Intel though: I have recently learned the hard way that Intel network cards are the bomb. I used to disparage their high priced cards. Back in the 10/100Mb days, the extra price made little difference. Now in the gigabit ethernet era, cheap and lousy NICs are all over - especially in RealTek chips embedded in motherboards. Slap in an Intel NIC and watch your throughput jump up about 20 to 30%. Amazing!