Is my NIC good enough?

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  1. Posts : 118
    Home Premium 64bit
       #1

    Is my NIC good enough?


    nVidia nForce 10/100/1000 Mbps ethernet NIC is this good for dual band router, at the moment I'm running a single band router, before I upgrade to dual band, I want to know that I haven't got to spend anymore money on a NIC, your thoughts as always most appreciated.
    ps.
    How could I find out myself without asking?, upto yet I don't know where to look!
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  2. Posts : 1,872
    Windows 10 Pro x64, Windows 8.1 Pro x64, Windows 7 Ultimate x64 SP1,
       #2

    A dual band router has both wireless (the wireless is the dual band part) and Ethernet connections (newer ones have 10/100/1000 Mbps connections). The NIC connects to the Ethernet part of the router and the NIC you mentioned is adequate for the most common dual band routers.
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  3. Posts : 118
    Home Premium 64bit
    Thread Starter
       #3

    Cheers for that pbcopter. My motherboard is an old Asus M2N-Sli, would that support 2.4 & 5gig? at the moment I have single band BT Home Hub 3, which is now 3 years old, also now have various tablets, touch phones, laptops etc, also smart tv with netflix/blinkbox capability, so extra bandwith might suit me.
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  4. Posts : 21,482
    Win 7 x64 Home Premium (and x86 VirtualBox VM)/Win10
       #4

    A correction is needed here.
    Dual-band refers solely to Wireless Networking, and refers to the number of frequencies available - from memory they are 2.4GHz and 5GHz
    What Is a Dual Band Router (and Wireless Network)?

    (hey, I was right!)

    If you're only using Wired (Ethernet) Networking, dual-band is irrelevant, and only need to be looking at the quoted speed of the Ethernet connection. Most modern routers are Gigabit-rated - (1000Mb/s) - your NIC is rated as 10/100/1000, which means that it is compatible with the Gigabit networks.

    If you're using wireless networking at all then your router needs to be able to communicate with all your wireless devices - not just the computer (if it's connected wirelessly) Most modern routers will have fall-backs so that they can connect to most devices rated lower than the router.
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  5. Posts : 1,872
    Windows 10 Pro x64, Windows 8.1 Pro x64, Windows 7 Ultimate x64 SP1,
       #5

    NoelDP said:
    A correction is needed here.
    Dual-band refers solely to Wireless Networking, and refers to the number of frequencies available - from memory they are 2.4GHz and 5GHz
    What Is a Dual Band Router (and Wireless Network)?

    (hey, I was right!)

    If you're only using Wired (Ethernet) Networking, dual-band is irrelevant, and only need to be looking at the quoted speed of the Ethernet connection. Most modern routers are Gigabit-rated - (1000Mb/s) - your NIC is rated as 10/100/1000, which means that it is compatible with the Gigabit networks.

    If you're using wireless networking at all then your router needs to be able to communicate with all your wireless devices - not just the computer (if it's connected wirelessly) Most modern routers will have fall-backs so that they can connect to most devices rated lower than the router.

    What correction was needed?
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  6. Posts : 21,482
    Win 7 x64 Home Premium (and x86 VirtualBox VM)/Win10
       #6

    You gave the impression (at least to me) that you meant that the distinction between single-band and dual-band was that between having or not having wireless.
    Perhaps Clarification would have been a better word to use?
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  7. Posts : 1,449
    Windows 7 ultimate 64-bit
       #7

    I agree with some if not all of the others. Your nic should definitely be good for a dual band router. Most newer nic's i do believe have the capability to support dual band connections; so as long as you do go with dual band; you should be good to go as far as that goes.
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  8. Posts : 1,872
    Windows 10 Pro x64, Windows 8.1 Pro x64, Windows 7 Ultimate x64 SP1,
       #8

    NoelDP said:
    You gave the impression (at least to me) that you meant that the distinction between single-band and dual-band was that between having or not having wireless.
    Perhaps Clarification would have been a better word to use?

    I don't believe I gave that impression but if that is how you read it, thanks for the clarification.
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  9. Posts : 17,545
    Windows 10 Pro x64 EN-GB
       #9

    peter4076 said:
    Cheers for that pbcopter. My motherboard is an old Asus M2N-Sli, would that support 2.4 & 5gig? at the moment I have single band BT Home Hub 3, which is now 3 years old, also now have various tablets, touch phones, laptops etc, also smart tv with netflix/blinkbox capability, so extra bandwith might suit me.
    You don't get any extra bandwidth, it remains the same regardless if dual band or not. Especially regarding your original question a dual band router has none whatsoever effect in communications between the NIC you mentioned and the router.
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  10. Posts : 2,752
    Windows 7 Pro x64 (1), Win7 Pro X64 (2)
       #10

    Seems to be some confusion here, and I think it's semantics which is the culprit.

    Dual-band refers to WIRELESS, and has nothing to do with WIRED.

    If you use a wired connection (with an ethernet cable) from your PC's ethernet connector on the wired NIC to the 1-4 LAN ports on your router, this is completely unrelated to the router's wireless capabilities, or the PC's wireless NIC capabilities which may also exist in addition to wired (separate from its wired NIC).

    The speed of the wired connection (from PC to router) is a function of (1) the rated speed of the router, (2) the rated speed of the NIC, and (3) the type of ethernet cable you're using. If your router is only rated 10/100 then it doesn't matter what your PC and NIC are capable of, you will only get at most 100Mb/s speed to the router. Similarly, if your router is gigabit capable (i.e. 10/100/1000) as is your NIC, but you're using CAT5 cable which cannot support speeds above 100Mb/s, you'll again only get at most 100Mb/s speed to the router. You need to use CAT5e or CAT6 cable from PC to the router to get faster than 100MB/s wired connection speed.

    Wireless is entirely separate. Dual-band refers to 2.4Ghz vs. 5Ghz connectivity, but does not describe the actual "connection speed". Connection speed is more tied to the wireless protocol used over that 2.4Ghz or 5Ghz connection pipeline, namely 802.11a/b/g/n/ac. Each of these unique wireless protocols is capable of progressively faster wireless connection speeds, but you need a wireless router that supports those faster protocols, and over one band or the other or both (i.e. 2.4Ghz or 5Ghz).

    In general, the 5Ghz band supports faster wireless connection speeds than 2.4Ghz, but is more vulnerable than 2.4Ghz to "interference" in the house and in general has shorter distances for reliable high-speed connections.

    And of course, there is absolutely no guarantee at all that even with all the proper equipment and capability in place, that the physical characteristics of your home will support maximum wireless connection speeds over either wireless band, depending on distance to the wireless router, physical makeup of interfering walls or floors, etc.

    Finally, just because you have high speed connection to the router (via wired or wireless), that has nothing to do with the actual DOWNLOAD/UPLOAD speed you get to the Internet itself which must further go through your modem and be handled by your ISP through whatever service tier level you've paid for. This variable is directly tied to your ISP.

    Note that within your LAN (managed by your router), inter-PC and inter-device connection speeds are a function of wired vs. wireless, and ethernet cables used, and router capabilities as well as device capabilities. Outside of your LAN (i.e. through the router to the modem and out to your ISP and the Internet) you're now governed by whatever speed you've purchased from your ISP.


    Bottom line: if you want MAXIMUM LAN CONNECTION SPEED (for the home PC's and devices within your home LAN network), use wired when possible along with CAT5e/CAT6 cable and a gigabit router (10/100/1000).

    If you want maximum wireless speed, your wireless devices need to be relatively near the wireless router (or access points) so that 5Ghz band can be used, and need to be capable of 802.11n/ac speeds (N150 and N300 and N600), which needs a wireless router (or access point) capable of supporting 802.11n/ac protocol.

    Anything less will see reduced or compromised wireless and wired speeds.
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