Ok...try removing the TCP/IP protocol and reinstall it on the NIC w/reboot inbetween. eliminate IE7 as the bottleneck and download firefox. if it doesnt work, i'll put my money on your assumption of a bad NIC. A bad piece of new computer hardware? Microsoft isnt the only screw up out there! LOL
Rolled over an older switch to a newer unit (10/100 to a 10/100/1000)
FireFox: no worky Still sees site, trys to get content and then times out..
Half Duplex : no worky..
dump and reinstall all the networking componets no worky
so back to an original fear... defective driver (Nvidia has their issues)
dumped the device reloaded with a couple different drivers and hit a magic spot.. something in the supplied driver is borked... (go figure)
anyway. I hate new stuff...