Just get the 3com card.  We use them at our campus and have very little
problems with them.  There are many, many other cards that will do the same
job but I recommend the 3com for one main reason they suggest it.

Picture this scenario.  You can't connect one morning.  You call the campus
help desk.  They ask you what NIC is in the machine, you tell them it is an
XYZ brand.  They may tell you that it is not a problem of theirs but to
call XYZ corp.

If it is a 3com they can't use the "We don't support that brand" excuse for
any problems.

Also I have a friend away at a college that recommends 3com because of
3com's lifetime warranty. If something goes wrong with your card, the
University is authorized to replace from the University's stock and they
then return the card to 3com for an exchange.  Much faster than you having
to send it back.

Also go with the PCI.  If the college runs at 10/100 you will only get the
100 with a PCI card.

-Rob

>I will be attending college in the fall and there is Internet access
>available in my room via a TCP/IP ethernet port network. Therefore, I am now
>in the market for a ethernet card. I do not know much about these cards or
>networks, so I thought I would pose some questions to this adroit group. I
>believe the card must be compatible with a 10BaseT ethernet connection.

>1)  Which would be faster for this connection, an ISA or PCI card.
>2)  Are some brands/models/features faster than others? More reliable?
>3) The college reccomends using a 3COM Etherlink III 10baseT Ethernet card,
>such as the 3C509 or 3C900 ethernet card. Does anyone else on this list
>support this? Are there other cards out there that would do the same job for
>less money?


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