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In Windows XP, all network communication was handled with a single cpu core, regardless of how many processors you had in your system.
With Windows Vista, Microsoft introduced a new technology called receive side scaling (RSS) that divides network streams into multiple threads and distributes them across different processors and different processor cores. Microsoft says this significantly improves throughput and reduces cpu load on new, multi-core processors.
In order to function correctly, this capability must be supported by both the network adapter and its Vista driver. Unfortunately, many older network adapters do not fully support this new feature. Among those that do are the Intel 82566DM and new Realtek RTL8111C (not the older RTL8111B). The Nforce 570 and 590 network hardware apparently does as well, but perhaps not with the current driver. As far as I can tell, none of the Marvell adapters support this feature.
Since motherboard reviews rarely mention what network processor is used, does anyone know what -- if any -- of the popular motherboards use the Intel 82566DM or new RTL8111C? I've looked at the specs for some of the upcoming Intel P35-based motherboards, and most seem to use the older Realtek RTL8111B without this capability.
With Windows Vista, Microsoft introduced a new technology called receive side scaling (RSS) that divides network streams into multiple threads and distributes them across different processors and different processor cores. Microsoft says this significantly improves throughput and reduces cpu load on new, multi-core processors.
In order to function correctly, this capability must be supported by both the network adapter and its Vista driver. Unfortunately, many older network adapters do not fully support this new feature. Among those that do are the Intel 82566DM and new Realtek RTL8111C (not the older RTL8111B). The Nforce 570 and 590 network hardware apparently does as well, but perhaps not with the current driver. As far as I can tell, none of the Marvell adapters support this feature.
Since motherboard reviews rarely mention what network processor is used, does anyone know what -- if any -- of the popular motherboards use the Intel 82566DM or new RTL8111C? I've looked at the specs for some of the upcoming Intel P35-based motherboards, and most seem to use the older Realtek RTL8111B without this capability.