Product Name: NetGear GA511
Score Out Of 10: 8/10
Good Points: A cost effective Gigabit Ethernet device; specially designed for laptops; very easy to install and get running; good compatibility with IEEE 802.3, .3ab and .3u; automatically adjusts to the other end of Ethernet link i.e. 100Mbps, 100Mbps and even 1Gbps; depending upon the actual speed of your Ethernet you can expect top possible speed at your laptop.
Bad Points: Sometimes it may experience bad delays and unreliable connection when configured automatically; unnecessarily a warning pop up irritates about certification process by NetGear; lack of certified XP drivers; relatively large size can be troublesome especially when we need to use another PC card.
What We Thought: Nowadays we all need top speed possible due to the heavy use of different media files to be used in our personal as well as professional life. Until recently, there were a few options available especially for laptops where we had to be limited to USB modems and other devices, but with the introduction of NetGear GA511 we can enjoy all the goodness of Gigabit in our laptops. The device is very simple to use and install. The entire process is literally easy and trouble free where you need to just plug-in the adapter into the PC Card slot provided in your laptop and then run the provided software with this unit and with a few manual connections to connect RJ45 plug of Ethernet CAT5 cable into the card socket.
Within a few seconds your laptop would be connected automatically to the LAN and the top speed would be negotiated automatically depending upon the sped of your Ethernet link. However, sometimes unnecessary delays and poor connectivity can be experienced with the automatic negotiation so in that case the unit should be configured manually to see what top speed can be achieved on the network. On the negative side, however, you may experience a few general problems like lack of certified XP drivers and unwanted pop ups about the certification process. Hopefully sooner or later these initial problems would be solved.
Tags: GA511 review, Gigabit Ethernet review, NetGear GA511, NetGear GA511 review, NetGear Gigabit Ethernet device, NetGear review