I bought this Netgear GS608 8 port Gigabit switch from Amazon UK for about £33 early in 2010 though it's price has now risen to about £40. The reasons for it's choice is obviously due to it's low cost for an 8 porter and also because my Apple Mac Pro 2009 computer & NAS utilize this speed of signal transmission.

The Netgear GS608 8 Port Gigabit Switch comes complete with an external power adapter and it looks very similar to the very popular Netgear DG834G Modem Router from version 2 onwards. A similar stand is supplied so that this switch can be used vertically if you wish. This is ideal if you like your units to look alike.

After setting my NAS to use Jumbo Frames and using Cat6 Ethernet cabling between these units I find that streaming music, video and photos is a joy to watch/listen to, increasing my enjoyment. As I also use HomePlug networking units to connect a laptop in my bedroom to my network and this switch automatically switches to the slower speed of 10/100 Mbps. Even this speed is very good when I watch multimedia such as BBC's iPlayer fed to my laptop via my home's electricity supply!

The differences between these speeds are indicated by a different colour LED being lit on whatever port is in use:

Green = Gigabit;
Amber = 100 Mbps;
Red = 10 Mbps (I think, though as I don't have any equipment running at such a slow speed, I cannot be certain!)

All in all a piece of cheap networking equipment designed for home use that I highly recommend!