network cards

[tundra]

i'm thinking to buy a network card but don't really know much about them, i've seen the killer nic k1/m1 and thats the sort of thing im looking for but i think it costs more than its worth. i've seen other cards by intel and im wondering if theyre just as good, i want a network card that bypasses windows network stack

cheers <3

 

[tundra]

one question, why do you want a network card that bypassses the windows network stack?
the only ones I know that do that are those killer network cards that you have said about.

windows vista keeps messing up and i have to keep reseting the network adapter which is quite frustrating

 

[tundra]

my spec is:
gigabyte ga p35 ds4
q6600
4gb ocz reaper
asus xonar dx
his hd4870
ocz 600watt
vista 32bit

basically my net randomly cuts off and the only way i can reconnect is to do a windows diagnose and repair, i think my network chip is on its last leg.
very frustrating when playing l4d/tf2/css and i timeout (pretty much everyday) but my connection on ventrillo is fine.

my isp is o2 and im on a 16mb package, ive spoken to them but i cant really say the problem is from them when i can do a windows diagnose and repair and reset the network adapter and the problem is sorted for a while.

edit: i don't want to buy a killer nic as they are very expensive and they look like a marketing gimmick, i just want a decent nic and im leaning towards the Intel PRO XP9400PT

 

[tundra]

thanks for the help but updating the drivers hasnt changed anything :/