Re: debian-user: Firewire?
On 7/14/06, Ron Johnson <ron.l.johnson@cox.net> wrote:
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>> Think I'd be better off buying a PCI card with two ethernet jacks and
>> a hub? A FireWire cable is $30.
Well, that's iffy. On a good day, Fast Ethernet can reach 9MBps
(100Mbps / 8 = 12.5MBps * 72% = 9MBps) but 1394a is 400Mbps (which
also given 72% efficiency would give you 36MBps).
So, if you *need* 36MBps, 1394a might be the way to go, even though
it's more expensive.
OTOH, Gigabit Ethernet is built into most modern PCs, and cheap GiB
switches can be had at NewEgg for $30, and 25', 50' & 100' lengths
of Cat 5e cable are only $5.
Also, Ethernet is much more flexible. Once you network both
computers together, they can share an outbound internet connection
via a router and cable/DSL modem.
Ah, expensive in terms of CPU- I hadn't thought of that. I might
invest in a hub, but it'll have to wait till my financial aid goes
through, I'm kinda strapped. Also, what I was saying about ethernet
is that each comp only has one port. So even if I had a router, I'd
need an extra port for each machine if I wanted to connect the LAN and
internet at the same time. Or I could buy one 2-port card and put
both of the other ports on one box. So I'm buying a hub, a router,
and a PCI card. As for Gigabit, I'd love to use it, but one comp is a
G3 from around 99 and the other is from 2003. I don't think either
one has it, so that's even more investment. Plus I read that Gigabit
can't really be utilized without dual processors, don't know how true
it is.
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