Others say...

"Not reliable"
We had two of these. One of them failed altogether right out of warranty; it would drop all connections a few minutes after powerup. The other one was also behaving erratically and slowing traffic on the network for no apparent reason, even after frequent restarts.

"Avoid: Hangs intermittently"
My switch, model GS605 V2, stops working periodically, effectively disconnecting my computers from the network. The computer says "network cable unplugged", or sometimes the network just stops responding.

If I pull the plug, wait, plug it back in, everything is fine again, for awhile. I don't have to do this with my other switches: normally they work fine for several months, rarely hanging when there is a lightning storm, in which case power-cycling is the solution.

Often the network comes back on by itself after some time. Sometimes it comes and goes - computer says network cable is unplugged, then it goes online again, and repeats, sometimes frequently.

And then other times it works fine for a month or two. No obvious pattern here.

I suspect, but have not confirmed, that occasional very long delays in Web site response may in fact be a temporary hangup from this device.

I am pretty sure that the problem is with the switch, since power-cycling it solves the problem. Also, the computers are high quality; the cables are CAT-6 and very short.

At least three reviews posted here mention a problem with overheating that otherwise has the same symptoms as I have. These folks were more generous, giving the unit 2- and 3-star ratings.

I noticed that another model of Netgear switch has exactly the same problem I have, and is reported by many people. Thus, when I replace this unit, it will be a different brand.

A switch is a switch, except when it does not work reliably.

"Gigabit Switch"
I love a tech product that you can just hook up and forget about it. This is one of those products.

I had two Macs with gigabit ethernet built in, but my gateway/router was 10/100. Batta-bing! Hooked up the Netgear GS605, and batta-boom, I got gigabit transfers between computers. No configuration necessary. I just had to upgrade my cables to CAT-6.

CAT-6 from each computer's ethernet port to the Netgear. A CAT-5 from Netgear to my gateway/router, and any port will do. Batta-bing! Batta-boom! A HUGE DIFFERENCE IN TRANSFER SPEEDS.

"Fast and Easy"
This works great. Just plug it in and go. I also bought a gigabit ethernet card to go with it and I am amazed how much faster things load. It doesn't take up much space and looks pretty stylish too.

"Very easy to use, Fast Transfers"
I've been using this product for about a month now, and it works great. Setup was easy - just plugged in the power, connected one port to my Linksys router (which I wanted in-line first to provide wireless Internet) and connected my PCs to the remaining ports. Now file transfers between PCs are lightning fast (though as you would expect, there is no difference in Internet speed). The one thing I did find out was that two of my older PCs only had NIC cards capable of 10/100 -- these cards will need to be updated to 10/100/1000 in order to benefit from the higher network speed. But my newer PC and laptop communicate at full speed and transfer files at 10 times the old rate when plugged into the gigabit switch.