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Integrated Network Interface

Integrated network adapters are relatively rare on motherboards. In some ways, this is one of the least offensive of the integrated controllers discussed in this section, provided it emulates a common standard (such as NE2000-compatible 10 Mb/second Ethernet), and it comes with good drivers. Still, with generic NE2000 adapters selling for $20 or less, paying a premium for a motherboard with this support doesn't make a lot of sense. In addition, if you want to move up to 100 Mb/second Fast Ethernet, you will probably want a PCI-based network card, and you will be back to the "disable the integrated circuitry, put the new card in, and hope it works" routine that makes integrated video often a nightmare.

Some newer PCs now come with integrated 10/100 Ethernet functionality, and this can be very useful in a network environment (as long as you aren't paying too much extra for it.)

Next: Integrated SCSI Controller

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