How important is a network card in gaming online?

[timvu83]

I have a Netgear FA311 Fast Ethernet Adaptor 10/100 with a Netgear 108Mps router. Should I upgrade either of them if I plan on playing high graphic games online (ie. Battlefield)?

I have cable connection with a 4mb connection. My specs are below for my computer.


CAS: ATX MEDIUM TOWER CASE 350 WATT [-26] (BEIGE COLOR)
CASUPGRADE: NONE
CS_FAN: Default case fans
CPU: (Sckt775)Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo E6550 CPU @ 2.33GHz 1333FSB 4MB L2 Cache 64-bit
CD: (Special Price) 18X DVD+/-R/+/-RW + CD-R/RW DRIVE DUAL LAYER (BEIGE COLOR)
CD2: NONE
CABLE: None
FLASHMEDIA: INTERNAL 12in1 Flash Media Reader/Writer (BEIGE COLOR)
FREEBIE_CU1: FREE Game! Lost Planet: Extreme Condition
FREEBIE_CU2: FREE! CyberPower Multi-Purpose Carrying Briefcase ($19.99 Value)
FREEBIE_CU3: FREE! Cyberpower Unleash The Power T-Shirt ($19 Value)
FAN: INTEL LGA775 CERTIFIED CPU FAN & HEATSINK
FREEBIE_VC2: None
FLOPPY: NONE
HDD: Single Hard Drive (200GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 8MB Cache 7200RPM HDD [-17])
HDD2: NONE
IEEE_CARD: NONE
KEYBOARD: PS2 MULTIMEDIA INTERNET CONTROL KEYBOARD (BEIGE COLOR [-3])
MOUSE: NONE [-5]
MODEM: NONE
MONITOR: NONE
MONITOR2: NONE
MOTHERBOARD: (Quad-Core FSB1333) Asus P5N-E nForce 650i SLI Chipset LGA775 FSB1333 DDR2 Mainboard
MEMORY: (Req.DDR2 MainBoard)2GB (2x1GB) PC6400 DDR2/800 Dual Channel Memory (Corsair Value Select or Major Brand)
OS: Microsoft(R) Windows Vista(TM) Home Basic [+89] (32-bit Edition)
PRO_WIRING: None
PRINTER: None
PRINTER_CABLE: None
POWERSUPPLY: STANDARD CASE POWER SUPPLY
RUSH: NO; READY TO SHIP IN 5~10 BUSINESS DAYS
SOFT: Microsoft(R) OFFICE(R) 2007 BASIC EDITION [+159]
SERVICE: STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS 24/7 LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT
SOUND: 3D WAVE ON-BOARD 5.1 SOUND CARD
SPEAKERS: NONE [-5]
TEMP: NONE (AS SHOWN)
TVRC: None
USB: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports
UPS: None
USBHD: NONE
VIDEO: NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT 512MB 16X PCI Express [+165] (Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA)
VIDEO2: NONE
VIDEOCAMERA: NONE
WNC: NONE

 

[Nodsu]

The line from your modem to the internet is four megabits, the line from your computer to the router is one hundred megabits. What do you think, which one is the bottleneck?

The router is another matter. You could try connecting to the net without the router and with the router and compare the speeds/pings to see if the Netgear is slowing things down noticeably.

 

[DelJo63]

your Graphics card will have more impact (which you can change) than the
network thruput which has limitations that you can not change -- as Nodsu suggests