I am tired of bad network cards on mainboards. Can someome who knows a marketing guy of a mainboard manufacturer please please tell them to integrate a good network card (Intel ones comes to my mind, but other non-RealTec ones are not bad either… if an Intel one is not possible at all)? They just need to sell those mainboards as gaming and/or multimedia optimized:
- a good network card transfers more data per second (even while the CPU is used much)
- a good network card does not take much CPU (good DMA engine and some IP-stuff-in-hardware features)
Similar things can be told about good/bad SATA controllers and USB controllers. If done right, they affect the system less and/or perform better than not so good parts.
Yes, most of this does not affect gaming in a significant way, but a lot of other hardware gamers buy does not affect the gaming significantly.
The point is, that they are willing to give more money to get something better. So please, give them the possibility to pay a little bit more for good quality so that good stuff will go mainstream.
And do not underestimate the power of mouth-to-mouth marketing. If you produce something better than other companies for a fair price (no need to play the we-are-the-cheapest game, just take care to not be the most expensive one), it will be bought.
BTW: This is similar to the marketing with good capacitors, just on an IT instead of an electrical level.