From owner-freebsd-hardware@FreeBSD.ORG Thu Feb 5 12:00:14 2004 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-hardware@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.FreeBSD.org (mx1.freebsd.org [216.136.204.125]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id E996A16A4CF; Thu, 5 Feb 2004 12:00:14 -0800 (PST) Received: from dexter.starfire.mn.org (starfire.skypoint.net [66.93.17.236]) by mx1.FreeBSD.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id A452943D5E; Thu, 5 Feb 2004 12:00:12 -0800 (PST) (envelope-from john@dexter.starfire.mn.org) Received: (from john@localhost) by dexter.starfire.mn.org (8.11.3/8.11.3) id i15Jxp228142; Thu, 5 Feb 2004 13:59:51 -0600 (CST) (envelope-from john) Date: Thu, 5 Feb 2004 13:59:51 -0600 From: John To: Bill Paul Message-ID: <20040205135951.A28117@starfire.mn.org> References: <20040120224158.C34876@starfire.mn.org> <20040122183121.6A09016A4CF@hub.freebsd.org> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Disposition: inline User-Agent: Mutt/1.2.5.1i In-Reply-To: <20040122183121.6A09016A4CF@hub.freebsd.org>; from wpaul@FreeBSD.ORG on Thu, Jan 22, 2004 at 10:31:21AM -0800 cc: freebsd-hardware@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: RealTek 8139D chipset, the re(4) driver, and FreeBSD 4.9 X-BeenThere: freebsd-hardware@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list List-Id: General discussion of FreeBSD hardware List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Thu, 05 Feb 2004 20:00:15 -0000 On Thu, Jan 22, 2004 at 10:31:21AM -0800, Bill Paul wrote: > > This is going to be a bit convoluted. > > [...] > > This is _not_ going to be convoluted. I'd like to agree with you, Paul, but the 8139D is not mentioned in the version of the "rl" driver that I'm using, yet it works. Furthermore, nomenclature like "8139C+" is common in refering to "this version and later". That doesn't happen to be the case here, but it does happen. I won't buy any more of these cards, but with the information I had available to me at the time (and I had printed out the rl and re man pages and taken with me), it seemed worth a try. Trying to find a good card at a good price is not a crime, even if you are working on a tight time frame. When I have time to shop around on the internet and find cards based on the 8169S or the 8110S, I'll do that - but I have found more than once that it is nearly IMPOSSIBLE to find out what chipset a card uses without either looking at the actual card or writing to someone to ask. To compound my ill luck the store I went to happened to be out of the other RealTek-based card, so I couldn't even compare them. Their literature simply said "RealTek WOL chipset". > The man page for the re(4) driver says it supports the 8139C+ chip. > Not the 8139. Not the 8139A. Not the 8139B. Not the 8139C. And not > the 8139D either. You have come to the erroneous conclusion that > the 8139D has the same features as the 8139C+ just because it looks > like it's a newer chip rev. The manual page tells you _EXACTLY_ what > chips it supports: It wasn't an erroenous conclusion - it was a calculated risk. I can still afford to risk ten bucks. -- John Lind john@starfire.MN.ORG