Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!iuvax!cica!gatech!gitpyr!is813cs From: is813cs@pyr.gatech.EDU (Cris Simpson) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.lans Subject: Smart vs. Dumb Ethernet Cards Keywords: Does smart on fast => slow? Message-ID: <8960@pyr.gatech.EDU> Date: 11 Aug 89 16:53:25 GMT Reply-To: is813cs@pyr.gatech.edu (Cris Simpson) Distribution: usa Organization: VA Rehab R&D | Ga Inst of Technology Lines: 21 This may be a religous question and has probably been asked before: I have heard that "smart" Ethernet cards actually reduce throughput on fast PCs. This seems to be because the 80188 on the card working full time is slower than a 80386/20 or 25 working part time. Is this true? If so, at what processor speed does this make a difference? In particular, does anyone have experience with the 3com 3c503 (Etherlink II) vs. the 3c505 (Elink Plus) ? Eternal gratitude, etc. , etc. cris l in -- || Gee, do you think it'd help if I plugged in both ends of this cable? || Cris Simpson Computer Engineer VA Rehab R&D Center GATech Atlanta,GA is813cs@pyr.gatech.edu ...!{Almost Anywhere}!gatech!gitpyr!is813cs