Does the Network Card matter?

Does the Network Card matter?
Are some better than others?

I'm trying to track down ADSL problems and inconsistencies - and it has
just occurred to me that a particular NIC might possibly be relevant.

It is a Netgear FA331, which was given away free when I bought my first
Netgear DG834 router.

It may (or may not) be affecting the noise margin.

Any thoughts, experiences, suggestions?
--
Chris

On Fri, 23 Dec 2005 09:27:43 +0000, Chris wrote:

> Does the Network Card matter?
> Are some better than others?
>
> I'm trying to track down ADSL problems and inconsistencies - and it has
> just occurred to me that a particular NIC might possibly be relevant.
>
> It is a Netgear FA331, which was given away free when I bought my first
> Netgear DG834 router.
>
> It may (or may not) be affecting the noise margin.
>
> Any thoughts, experiences, suggestions?

The NIC won't affect the noise margins of your ADSL in any way at all. The NIC
is only used for you to connect to the router. The router handles the ADSL
aspect. As long as you have a reliable CAT5 lead from the nic to the router
there won't be a problem.

But, to check the nic you could run pingplotter (freeware version) and ping the
router for a few hours to see the delays in a nice graph format.

http://www.pingplotter.com/freeware.html

The NIC won't affect SNR and consistency. Things that do in my experience:-

1. (worst).........BT's line and pickup from other lines/outside
interference. Not a lot you can do yourself, it's a BT job. Some master
sockets may not be wired up to best effect and this can cause a poor SNR.
Info at http://yarwell.blogspot.com/2005/08/adsl-tweaking.html
2. Filter...........I've had several microfilters, borrowed several more,
used a BT ADSL faceplate, and the best by far is the adslnation XF-1e which
got me 3dB more signal and 6dB better SNR and a much clearer sounding phone.
3. House generated interference.........Mains AC2DC adapters are terrible
for radiating rubbish, they never use snubbers or decent diodes so there is
loads of radio frequency stuff being sent down the DC cable which acts as an
aerial. It doesn't even have to be the mains adapter that's powering your
router or wireless phone to cause problems. Try plugging adapters into
different sockets, ferrite rings on the DC lead, or swap with different
compatible adapters.

Doz <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> On Fri, 23 Dec 2005 09:27:43 +0000, Chris wrote:
>
>> Does the Network Card matter?
>> Are some better than others?
<snip>
> The NIC won't affect the noise margins of your ADSL in any way at all. The NIC
> is only used for you to connect to the router. The router handles the ADSL
> aspect. As long as you have a reliable CAT5 lead from the nic to the router
> there won't be a problem.

A combination of a faulty NIC, and poor filtering in the router, could
concievably cause a problem.