Solid choice for today & the future.
Written: Jan 30 '00
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Pros: Reliable Network Ferrari with an automatic transmission
Cons: Nitpicky stuff (see tips in epinion)
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| Superdale's Full Review: NetGear SB104 Network Starter Kit Networking Hub |
If you are looking at starting a home network and don't know were to go, let me show you the starting line. This is and good kit and I have some tips that make it GREAT!
If you have 2 operating machines with PCI card slots (A Pentium class computer or greater) and this kit, you can have network connectivity in less than an hour with limited networking knowledge. The SB104 kit contains a very sturdy steel encased (NOT plastic!!) 4 port 10bt hub with an uplink switch for future expansion of your network. Also included are two high quality Category 5 cables of decent length including jack boots; however, the reason I bought SB104 kit is because of the 2 10/100bt DEC based PCI cards. These are auto sensing cards so in the future if (when) you upgrade to a 100bt network, these cards will automatically adapt to the match the higher network speeds. Also I can vouch that Windows 95 release B (you can check your version by right clicking My Computer and selecting Properties from the menu) ,Windows 98 and OpenLinux will autodetect the cards with no driver configuration or requests, though it will list the card as DEC not Netgear, either way it will work without a hitch.
Some quick tips I have to improve this product would be to get a zip tie to attach the power cord to the hub as the two get separated easily if the hub is moved or a network cable gets yanked. Also with the Cat5 cables, the jack boots should be slid down cable slightly or it is difficult to trip the pluglock and unplug the cables from your computer. If you plan to expand your network in the future you may want to purchase the Netgear version of this kit with the auto sensing 10/100bt hub.
I purchased this hub 1-year ago and there is STILL no better product I have seen in the marketplace. I am a computer tech at a large global company and we get many orders of hubs and network interface cards that are bought because of their low price, and I spend much of my time fixing, replacing and trouble shooting these 'bargain' network products. Networking can be hard enough without equipment failing. This product has not let me down.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 49.99
Driver Availability: Windows & Linux
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Epinions.com ID:
Superdale
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Location: Portland, Oregon
Reviews written: 1
Trusted by: 1 member
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