Professionals, stay away!
Written: May 02 '00 (Updated May 02 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: cheap
Cons: only 10 Mbs which they do not disclose on the package
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| ptiemann's Full Review: NetGear SB104 Network Starter Kit Networking Hub |
This will be a very short epinion.
I bought this kit because I quickly wanted to get a hub and did not do any comparison shopping. Get to FRY's electronics, in there, grab something, pay and out.
They did not carry any separate hubs (which should run at $30).
For a price of $65 I got
- 2 networking cards (NICs). Useless for me, because I have 5 or 6 at this time for my 3 computers.
The value of such a card is about $20.
- 2 CAT-5 cables, 25foot long each. Good for 100 Mbs operation.
Value each $10
- the hub
Value $30
So if you add it up, the kit is worth 2 * $20 + 2 * $10 + $30 = $90
and they sell it for $65, a good deal at first glance.
The good:
It's really easy to install, but what do you expect? Plug your cable modem or DSL box in it, the computers too, and you are ready to share your files and internet connection across your home network.
Trying to list the good and bad of a hub reminds me to reviewing a pencil. Sorry, all I can say is "it works".
It has no thermal problems, no fan and therefore no noise, and it delivers the full speed as announced (see below).
Why I feel tricked:
The NICs offer both 10 Mbps and 100 Mbps operation and their driver allows an 'autosense' mode. Nice idea..
The manual says:
".. The kit is expandable to add users and can be upgraded for 100 Mbps operation. The same network cards, desktop software, and cables are used when upgrading to 100 Mbs; only the hub has to be changed."
The package from outside told me that the NICs support both 10 and 100 Mbs and that it is CAT-5 cable which is required for the higher speed.
I somehow assumed that the hub would do 100 Mbps as well.
Their statement "can be upgraded" is a joke. Yeah, I can upgrade it. I just have to replace the most valuable part of the kit, the hub. That's like saying your 50 hp FIAT can be upgraded into a 400 hp Lamborghini. All you have to do is replace the engine. You can actually use the same steering wheel.
Now, if all you intend to do is a little internet sharing on your network, 10 Mbs transfer speed might be enough, because even with cable or DSL you won't go beyond 1 Mbs data speed. 1 Mbs = 100 KBs, that's a good value for cable modems and DSL occasionally reaches 140 KBs. So, internet sharing will never push the hubs limits.
But if you want to heavily share hard disks across your home network, go for a faster hub.
And if you are a programmer or a small business and maybe have a database server on your network, by all means, you would make a catastrophic mistake to go for a 10 Mbs hub. I remember the day when we switched at work from 10 to 100, and the database access was so much faster!
I'm not returning it for a faster hub in exchange because I also bought a "low-speed" router, and - you guess it right - the weakest link in the chain determines the maximum speed.
All in all, I can recommend it for the personal use at home, but, as my title says, not for professional purpose.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
ptiemann
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Member: Peter Tiemann
Location: Capitola, CA
Reviews written: 260
Trusted by: 2822 members
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