what do the bits tell me?

In the pc Ethernet cards, I see some that state 16 bit. Are there 32 bit
ones, too? If so, what do you lose by using a 16 bit one as opposed to a 32
bit one? Or, do some of the laptops limit Ethernet cards to 16 bits, while
others allow 32 bits?

On Feb 27, 6:46 pm, "rb" <r...@bellsouth.net> wrote:
> In the pc Ethernet cards, I see some that state 16 bit. Are there 32 bit
> ones, too?

Yes.

>If so, what do you lose by using a 16 bit one as opposed to a 32
> bit one?

Not much, it's a compatibility issue.

> Or, do some of the laptops limit Ethernet cards to 16 bits, while
> others allow 32 bits?

Yes, and yes.


If you provide us with the make and model of your laptop, we may be
able to tell you which kind ethernet card is compatible.

Many will accept both 16 and 32 bit cards. Some older ones can only
accept 16bit.

This is the exact same post I sent to another thread on this board 12
hours ago:

With regard to PC Cards, the "type" (type 1, 2 and 3) only refers to the
card thickness. Electrically, they are the same.

There are two types of PC cards, 16-bit and 32-bit (32-bit cards are
also known as "cardbus" cards ... same thing, just a different name).
Laptops made after approximately 1997 (in the range of Pentium I 133MHz
to 166MHz) will normally have 32-bit (cardbus) slots, which are
backwards compatible and support 16-bit cards as well. A 16-bit card is
the laptop equivalent of an ISA card, a 32-bit card is the laptop
equivalent of a PCI card. Note that there is no connection between the
thickness of a card (it's "type 1", "type 2" or "type 3" designation)
and whether it's 16-bit or 32-bit.

You can find the cards anywhere. There are probably thousands if not
tens of thousands of them listed on E-Bay, there is an entire category
for them (plus they show up in other categories as well). There are
lots of PC Card sound cards.

****************

With respect to an Ethernet card, either will work unless the laptop is
truly ancient (about 1998 or earlier), a 32-bit card might be faster (on
a 10 mbps network, it probably won't matter at all or much, but on a 100
mbps network, the difference might be significant).

rb wrote:
> In the pc Ethernet cards, I see some that state 16 bit. Are there 32 bit
> ones, too? If so, what do you lose by using a 16 bit one as opposed to a 32
> bit one? Or, do some of the laptops limit Ethernet cards to 16 bits, while
> others allow 32 bits?
>
>

The laptop would have to be truly ancient not to accept both 16 and
32-bit PC Cards. Approximately, it would have to have been made in 1998
or earlier, and likely it would have to be a Pentium [one] 166MHz or
older. Anything more recent ... and even some older laptops ... should
accept either type of card.


wrote:
> On Feb 27, 6:46 pm, "rb" <r...@bellsouth.net> wrote:
>> In the pc Ethernet cards, I see some that state 16 bit. Are there 32 bit
>> ones, too?
>
> Yes.
>
>> If so, what do you lose by using a 16 bit one as opposed to a 32
>> bit one?
>
> Not much, it's a compatibility issue.
>
>> Or, do some of the laptops limit Ethernet cards to 16 bits, while
>> others allow 32 bits?
>
> Yes, and yes.
>
>
> If you provide us with the make and model of your laptop, we may be
> able to tell you which kind ethernet card is compatible.
>
> Many will accept both 16 and 32 bit cards. Some older ones can only
> accept 16bit.
>
>

On Feb 27, 10:28 pm, Barry Watzman <WatzmanNOS...@neo.rr.com> wrote:
> The laptop would have to be truly ancient not to accept both 16 and
> 32-bit PC Cards. Approximately, it would have to have been made in 1998
> or earlier, and likely it would have to be a Pentium [one] 166MHz or
> older. Anything more recent ... and even some older laptops ... should
> accept either type of card.
>

I agree with that... it's just that LOTS of these truly ancient beasts
are still in daily use.


> pau...@efn.org wrote:
> > On Feb 27, 6:46 pm, "rb" <r...@bellsouth.net> wrote:
> >> In the pc Ethernet cards, I see some that state 16 bit. Are there 32 bit
> >> ones, too?
>
> > Yes.
>
> >> If so, what do you lose by using a 16 bit one as opposed to a 32
> >> bit one?
>
> > Not much, it's a compatibility issue.
>
> >> Or, do some of the laptops limit Ethernet cards to 16 bits, while
> >> others allow 32 bits?
>
> > Yes, and yes.
>
> > If you provide us with the make and model of your laptop, we may be
> > able to tell you which kind ethernet card is compatible.
>
> > Many will accept both 16 and 32 bit cards. Some older ones can only
> > accept 16bit.

Mine is a Micron Trek 2. I know it can use the 16 bit cards, but not sure
about 32 bit ones.

On Feb 28, 9:27 pm, "rb" <r...@bellsouth.net> wrote:
> Mine is a Micron Trek 2. I know it can use the 16 bit cards, but not sure
> about 32 bit ones.

What little info I've found on this notebook suggests it's an Pentium
2, circa around 1999. So it's probably safest to stick to the 16bit
card. Keep in mind that there's little advantage to a 32bit card for
your era notebook.

The support site is here. Unfortunately you need a serial number to
access the stuff. Which MIGHT (but not definitely) contain info on
whether or not 32bit cards are supported.

http://support.mpccorp.com/

(yes, this is the right company)

It must be truly ancient, as Micron hasn't made PC in a long, long time.
What is the CPU? When was it made? I'd almost suspect that it's too
old to be useful, even for your limited use. And that you may have paid
way too much for it.


rb wrote:
> Mine is a Micron Trek 2. I know it can use the 16 bit cards, but not sure
> about 32 bit ones.
>
>

Well, apparently it's a low-end Pentium II, in which case it's still
somewhat usable, and it is virtually certain to support Cardbus (32-bit
PC Cards).


rb wrote:
> Mine is a Micron Trek 2. I know it can use the 16 bit cards, but not sure
> about 32 bit ones.
>
>

The transition from 16-bit only cards to 32-bit cards (which are
normally backwards compatible) occured in about 1997 in the time of
Pentium [one] 133 to 166MHz. Any Pentium II machine is almost certain
to support Cardbus (32-bit cards).


wrote:
> On Feb 28, 9:27 pm, "rb" <r...@bellsouth.net> wrote:
>> Mine is a Micron Trek 2. I know it can use the 16 bit cards, but not sure
>> about 32 bit ones.
>
> What little info I've found on this notebook suggests it's an Pentium
> 2, circa around 1999. So it's probably safest to stick to the 16bit
> card. Keep in mind that there's little advantage to a 32bit card for
> your era notebook.
>
> The support site is here. Unfortunately you need a serial number to
> access the stuff. Which MIGHT (but not definitely) contain info on
> whether or not 32bit cards are supported.
>
> http://support.mpccorp.com/
>
> (yes, this is the right company)
>