10/100 Ethernet Vs Gigabit ethernet

dioX · Mar 27, 2010

differences between 10/100 Ethernet and Gigabit ethernet

eibgrad · Mar 27, 2010

Gigabit is 1000mbps (megabits per second) Ethernet, which is 10x faster than 100mbps Ethernet, which is 10x faster than 10mbps Ethernet.

elel · Mar 28, 2010

Unless you are transferring large files regularly (movies is the only common scenario that I can think of) 10/100 should be fine, imo. You should also remember that gigabit is backwards compatible with 10/100 so if you want to get just some fast adapters now you will be able to use them, and then upgrade the rest of the system later.

Bojingles03 · Mar 29, 2010

Unless you are unsatisfied with your transfer rates between two devices on your own network, gigabit ethernet is most likely an unnecessary expense. There is no benefit gained as far as you connection to the internet goes, because your isp caps bandwidth at a much smaller number than even 10/100 can achieve (there are exceptions, but based on your question, i'm going to assume your not sitting on a backbone running your own isp. Gigabit will offer increased speeds between the devices on your network, though, as long as the transfer is between two "gigabit" devices.

Akram666 · Mar 29, 2010

Yeah 100mbEthernet more than enough if your on a home network

KidHorn · Mar 29, 2010

If you're planning on building an in house network, I would build a gigabit. The cost difference between the hardware isn't much. I probably wouldn't upgrade any existing 100mb devices, but anything new would support gigabit.

huntluck · Mar 30, 2010

transfer rate in 10/100 Ethernet is upto 100Mbps and if you have VPN then it will show 10Mbps....

and in Gigabit ethernet is 1024Mbps

A simple school level question!!!!!!!!!!!

hope you understand now

elel · Mar 31, 2010

huntluck :

Please don't demean other posers, huntluck. Actually, I believe that gigabit is 1000 Mbps, but this is such a common question that I am going to do some research and write a definitive answer to post in these threads.

kaa0653 · Mar 31, 2010

Ethernet standards 802.3z (1000BASE-X Gbit/s Ethernet over Fiber-Optic) and 802.3ab (1000BASE-T Gbit/s Ethernet over Twisted pair) both specify 1000 Mbps as the transmission speed.

Do a little research next time huntluck.

dsnooks70 · Mar 31, 2010

Ignore huntluck

There are couple of things to understand ...
10/100 is measured as Mbps (megabit per second)
this is VERY different from MBps (megaByte per second)
A bit is a single piece of data (a 1 or a 0) a byte is 8 bits
If the "b" is lower case it refers to bit, if upper case it refers to Byte

10/100 Ethernet will run at 10Mbps or 100Mbps depending on each piece of hardware that is connected.
Gigabit Ethernet is 10/100/1000.
For example, a DSL modem that was built in 2001 will have a 10Mbps port on it. If you want to share that DSL internet connection, you would hook up a router like a D-Link DIR655. The gigabit WAN port on the router (which is connected to your DSL modem) will operate at 10Mbps to match the modem. You connect a old desktop from 2005 which is using a 10/100 ethernet adapter to the router. That port on the router will operate at 100Mbps to match the card. You connect 2 new desktops with gigabit ethernet adapters. Those ports on the router will operate at 1000Mbps.

SO ...
Any data that is coming from the Internet (through your modem) will be capped at 10Mbps.
Any data that is transferred between the old desktop and one of the new desktops will be capped at 100Mbps.
Any data that is transferred between the 2 new computers would go at 1000Mbps.
While typing this reply I moved a 1.86GB file between my 2 computers at 100Mbps and then at 1000Mbps.
At 100Mbps the file was transferred at 11.5MBps and took 165 seconds (2 minutes 45 seconds) to copy.
At 1000Mbps the file was transferred at 55MBps and took 35 seconds to copy.

Real-world transfer rates depend very much on a number of factors. Some of the bandwidth is reserved for overhead. Normal hard drives cannot read and write information fast enough to fully utilize a gigabit connection. I think WD Raptor drives are close, but for that kind of money you are better off going with a SSD (solid state drive).
As you can see from my results, I was able to saturate the 100Mbps connection (100Mbps/8=12.5MBps) however, I didn't even come close to saturating the gigabit connection (1000MBps/8=125MBps). This is because of my hard drives. I am using 1TB Seagate 7200.12 in one computer and 500GB Seagate 7200.11 in the other.
That being said, moving the file in 35 seconds instead of 165 seconds makes the choice between 10/100 and gigabit a no-brainer really.
Sorry if this post is a lot wordy ... I wanted to be clear, if not concise

huntluck · Mar 31, 2010

gr8 know just tell me from where did u copy paste that

TomBrooklyn · May 18, 2012

How does one know what speed their network interface card (NIC) or motherboard integrated ethernet is running at?

I checked the Device Manager on a system built with an Asus P8Z68-V LX motherboard and it told me nothing.

I ran CPU-Z on the same system, and it did not divulge that information.

granigus2000 · May 19, 2012

TomBrooklyn :

From Windows 7 you can go to device manager, click on the arrow beside network adapter, it will tell you the speed of your card. you can also check the manual of your computer, or go to your manufacturers website for the documentation of your device.

dsnooks70 · May 20, 2012

TomBrooklyn :

The link speed is shown on the Connection Status window. In Windows 7 go to Control Panel\Network and Internet\Network Connections and then right click on your network adapter. Choose Properties from the list and you will see the Connection Status window.
The P8Z68-V LX has a gigabit NIC, if it is connected at anything other than 1Gbps, pretty good chance it is because of what you are connected to.

@granigus2000

I don't know of an easy way to get the link speed information from Device Manager (it can be done, but it's not simple)

webmasterspride · Aug 15, 2014

Only multimedia users need gigabit Ethernet.

Kewlx25 · Aug 15, 2014

webmasterspride :

Only race card drivers need a car that goes faster than 25mph.

elel · Oct 28, 2014

webmasterspride :

Well, maybe. I'd generalize that to only people who need to transfer large files or high bandwidth streams need gigabit. Local file sharing or backup devices would really benefit from gigabit - remember that 100 Mbit ethernet won't even be able to saturate a USB2 external hard drive. And there are other, non-bandwidth related reasons to use gigabit. Future proofing is one. And part of the gigabit standard requires ports to have auto-MDIX so that you'll never need to worry about crossover cables again.

Edit: sorry, I should have known better than to give this thread legs again

Paul NZ · Oct 28, 2014

Look at the leds on the NIC. Thats why theyre there. That'll tell you what youre connected at

http://imgur.com/8cBLvQG

Victoria Sowers · Oct 28, 2014

i believe the correct answer should be gigaBIT is better. why? even if you are NOT transferring HD video (or similar size files) smaller files will transfer faster on a network with gigaBIT capacity. also if there comes a day when you need to transfer many gigaBYTES of data, you will wish you had a network capable of gigaBIT speeds. also just FYI 8 bits make a dollar, DUH! =)

Paul NZ · Oct 28, 2014

I do have a GB network. The NICs are GB so is the modem/router. But I dont use it.

I'm using a dual band wireless modem/router and dual band USB adapters

Kewlx25 · Oct 28, 2014

Necro'd

10/100 Ethernet Vs Gigabit ethernet

Distinguished

Splendid

Distinguished

Distinguished

Distinguished

Distinguished

Distinguished

Distinguished

Distinguished

Distinguished

Distinguished

Distinguished

Honorable

Distinguished

Reputable

Distinguished

Distinguished

Polypheme

Reputable

Polypheme

Distinguished

Share this page