Author: Dave Farquhar

Ever since I first saw gigabit Ethernet, sometime around 1999 or 2000, I wanted it for my home network. Of course it was crazy expensive then. But today it’s not very expensive, and I want it. But do I need gigabit Ethernet? Do I need a gigabit router? Do you?

It depends on the speed of your Internet connection. If your Internet connection is 100 megabits or lower, a gigabit router or gigabit Ethernet won’t make your Internet faster. On the other hand, if you have a 200 megabit Internet connection and only a 100 megabit router, you’re wasting half your Internet speed. So even though gigabit sounds like overkill for a 200-megabit connection, you need it.

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Dave Farquhar

David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He has written professionally about computers since 1991, so he was writing about retro computers when they were still new. He has been working in IT professionally since 1994 and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He holds Security+ and CISSP certifications. Today he blogs five times a week, mostly about retro computers and retro gaming covering the time period from 1975 to 2000.

dfarq.homeip.net

There aren’t a lot of big computer brands left today, unlike the 1990s. Here’s a look at the most popular computer brands of today and what you might need to know about each.

Personally, I don’t worry a lot about brand anymore. Most popular computer brands actually use the same suppliers these days, so there isn’t a lot that differentiates them besides styling. All of them have outsourced their tech support. And all of them run the same computer software, at least if you buy a PC. But let’s run through the most popular computer brands and then I’ll tell you what I look for in a computer beyond brand name.

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Dave Farquhar

David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He has written professionally about computers since 1991, so he was writing about retro computers when they were still new. He has been working in IT professionally since 1994 and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He holds Security+ and CISSP certifications. Today he blogs five times a week, mostly about retro computers and retro gaming covering the time period from 1975 to 2000.

dfarq.homeip.net

I’ve always heard, going back to the 1990s, that you should go with an Intel NIC vs Realtek or another low-tier brand. But why? “Because the most expensive one is obviously the best,” and “because I like Intel CPUs” aren’t good answers.

I often noted the Intel advocates weren’t ever spending their own money. It’s easy to say the more expensive solution is better when someone else pays the bill. So let’s try to take a look at this objectively and quantify the differences between the two. And I’ll also share my secrets for finding high-performance cards for $10-$15, shipped.

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Dave Farquhar

David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He has written professionally about computers since 1991, so he was writing about retro computers when they were still new. He has been working in IT professionally since 1994 and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He holds Security+ and CISSP certifications. Today he blogs five times a week, mostly about retro computers and retro gaming covering the time period from 1975 to 2000.

dfarq.homeip.net