Well, my Intel PRO/1000 network interface card (NIC) went on the fritz. The problem manifested itself by having my computer freeze. It even froze sometimes during OS boot time. I have come to expect this behavior from Windows. But when I booted to Linux and had the same problem, I suspected a hardware problem.

My first suspect were my hard drives. I have been getting SMART errors on them for a while. But I happened to notice that the system especially tended to slow down when it tried to access the network. I watched activity on my hub. My faulty NIC kept flashing on and off. The problem had to be the NIC.

After a quick trip to Circuit City and Best Buy I discovered that neither of them sell Intel or 3COM branded cards. I had to settle for a NetGear card for $25. The salesperson told me that they do not sell many Gigabit ethernet cards. I suppose since the 100 Mbit NICs were less than $10 after mail-in rebate that people opt for the cheapest card when installing a home network. Either that or they opt for a wireless network.