GA311 Gigabit PCI Adapter
1 Fails on Win2K Server, web has no drivers & incomplete info
Summary: The GA311 card does not function with Windows 2000 even though Netgear's utility says it does. Netgear web info is extremely sparse: no drivers, no Windows compatibility info, nothing available at all that isn't already on the provided CD. With no functional drivers and no help on their web site, I recommend NOT buying Netgear GA311 adapters.
I installed GA311 cards on 3 different Win2K Adv Servers (SP4) and while the Netgear utility reports the cards fully functional, they fail to send or receive data on both existing 10/100 and 10/100/1000 LANs. Localhost loopback tests work (i.e. IP 127.0.0.1), but the GA311's can't communicate through their network jacks at all. I even used a LAN sniffer to confirm that the GA311's are NOT transmitting data even though the Netgear utility says they ARE sending data.
On the Netgear site, there are no drivers, only 2 pdf docs (included on the CD), and the only download is the initial firmware release which is totally useless because there is no other firmware to install (the only reason why you'd want the initial releae). On Netgear's operating system compatibility page, http://kbserver.netgear.com/kb_web_files/n101252.asp, the section for the GA311 is totally blank, indicating that the company's support people don't even have any info on their own product.
I've never had a problem with Netgear products and use them frequently. However, the GA311 card is a total bomb regarding Windows 2000. With a severe lack of support on the Netgear web site, I'd be leery of buying this card.
Personal note: I build & maintain Windows networks for a living. In 20 years, I've never seen a commercial network product with such incomplete company support. I am very surprised as the many other Netgear products I've installed have worked flawlessly.
2 Good speed, reliable
My on-board NIC was fried by a lightning during a thunderstorm, so I went out looking for a new NIC. I would have preferred 3Com's gigabit cards to NetGear's, but since I needed the card ASAP I rolled with NetGear.
Installation on XP is not complicated but not trivial either. The driver that they provide is not signed by Microsoft, so it may or may not be fully compatible with the system (for all who care, the Blue Screen of Death in Win2K and later versions is almost always due to faulty device drivers).
Right off the bat the card performed very well, giving me transfer speeds higher than what I previously had. The card can detect whether the network supports full duplex and turn this feature on, or alternatively it works in half duplex mode.
I will report any problems as an addendum to this review. Until then assume that the card works as expected.
3 Blazing speed for a low price!
Wow. I bought this NETGEAR Gigabit PCI adapter, and I was amazed at the speed! I was able to transfer a full length movie (4 GB in size) in a little under a minute, and an mp3 song takes just a blink of an eye - literally a fraction of a second..
And it is only a few dollars more than a 10/100 PCI NIC that is only a tenth the speed! A great buy...
