Onboard network problem

K

Kalyandra

Geek Trainee
I have an Asus A7N8X-E Deluxe motherboard, and I'm using the onboard network chip. I've noticed that my network activities (games, surfing, and the like) are very much slower than my roommates who use normal network cards. Is this because I'm using a chip, is it that this particular brand sucks, or is there something wrong with mine?

I have tried reinstalling the drivers for it, and that hasn't helped. If any of you have any ideas, please let me know.
 
Your NForce2 chipset is capable of gigabit data transfers, so that shouldn't be the case. There are a *lot* of factors that can effect your network speeds. For instance the class, quality & length of your network cable, your operating system, network configuration, CPU speed, RAM speed & amount, web browser, etc. Also, for Windows users spyware can be a major problem. Spyware is generally unwanted software which eats up bandwidth, resources, performance and even Windows' already limited stability. Get, install & run Spybot Search & Destroy. If you remove more than 200 pieces of spyware (or fewer *really* nasty pieces), that was probably at least part of your problem. If you're running Windows XP, it has some really horrible network discovery habits, which can severly hurt your network performance. Turn them off! :good:
 
Hmmm....

I am using Windows XP, and one of my roomies is using XP and another is using 2003. As far as we can tell my network settings are the same as theirs. I check for spyware reguarly so I don't think that is it, this is more a problem that has been happening for a long time, not really suddenly.

I was thinking that maybe I should get a new cable. That way I would know for sure that it is not that. What kind of "network discovery habits" are you speaking of?
 
Kalyandra said:
What kind of "network discovery habits" are you speaking of?
Click to expand...
XP likes to constantly try to find and map / install network resources. You have no idea how irritating and troublesome this can be on a big network. ;)
 
I think a very good way to diagnose your network speed issues would be to download & burn a Live-CD Linux distro such as PCLinuxOS, run that from CD, and see if your network performance varies at all. If so, we'll know it has something to do with your software environment. If not, we'll know it has something to do with your hardware environment.
 
I am using the nvidia nic. I'd prefer not to run something like that, but if you could give me some things to check on my XP network, I would be most thankful.
 
Kalyandra said:
I am using the nvidia nic. I'd prefer not to run something like that, but if you could give me some things to check on my XP network, I would be most thankful.
Click to expand...
Regarding PCLinuxOS, it's a 'live' Linux distro, meaning it runs straight from the CD (i.e. you don't have to install it to your HDD or change any settings). If you still don't want to run something like that though, we won't be able to pinpoint as easily whether your problem is software or hardware.

As far as tweaking XP's networking habits, take a look at these:

*HOW TO: Disable Automatic Search for Network Printers and Folders in Windows XP
*Re-Issue of Security Patch that is Known to Cause Network Slowdowns in Windows XP
*Latest Windows XP patch can slow down PCs

Also, try networking without Windows XP firewall turned on, if you haven't already. It fixes the problem for a lot of people, and your LAN should really be behind a hardware router anyway. Also make sure you have DMA turned on for all IDE drives, as this bogs down the whole PC. You should definately also try the other NIC to see if the NIC itself is your issue.
 
Something very similar was happening to me and I have 2000 pro, not XP. I did not solve the problem in any particular way, I just switched to the other NIC, the 3com. Haven't had any troubles yet. But it's definetely something weird; it seems like the Nvidia and the 3com nics behave differently somehow. Other wise, why would Asus place 2 different kinds of nics on their board :confused: ? Why not just one type? If they did it this way, it probably means that the two nics need to have some differences. what do you guys think?
 
Not sure. It makes it stand out. I believe only Epox 8RDA3+ has dual NIC's. Remember, one of the A7N8X-E Deluxe NICs is a gigabit one.
 
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