What is the best NIC out there for a desktop PC?

I would imagine anything with a 64-bit driver or that works with the generic driver included in Windows would do just fine. I don’t know of any specific models, but I’ve never had to look into it since NIC cards are generally pretty reliable.

Easily available: Linksys Gigabit Ethernet Network Interface PCI Card for a full height chassis.

I’ve always had a good experience with Intel NICs.

What kind of problems are you having? Ethernet cards are pretty reliable.

@IchtheosaurusRex – every so often the internet will just stop connecting.. it still recognizes that it’s connected to the network, but it won’t connect to the internet. i’ve checked every time, and it’s definitely not the router or the cable modem, and only happens on this computer.. none of the others in the house.

Have you checked your Cat-5 cable for any kinks or obvious signs of damage? Check the ends of the cable and see if all the wires are touching the leads as well. Sometimes it can come down to something as simple as a slight kink pulling the leads out.
Pretty much any motherboard manufactured in the last ten years has an on-board NIC and they do not fail too often. Replacing one with a plug’n’play $10 NIC is easy ‘cause pretty much anything will do. However you do need to go into the BIOS and disable the onboard NIC to prevent the issues from continuing.