Looking for a Intel Eepro 100+ with Polling-Mode- & Vlan-Support

Hello EEpro100-Gurus,

I'm going to buy some brand new intel network-cards but I'm not sure which
one is the right card for me.

My Pcs are several linux-servers with 2.4kernels. At the moment the machines
are using netsemi-cards that do not support polling mode. The're suffering
during dos-attacks and lock up. Looks like there are too many irq-requests.
Anyway.. Let's come to the eepro100-thing:

The first requirement is POLLING-MODE-support and the second one is
vlan-capability which means the ability to handle packets larger than 1500
bytes. This is done in the driver and I've patched drivers before but I'm
not sure if all cards from Intel can handle vlans.

My dealer made me a special deal for a 
Intel EtherExpress PRO/100+ 
PCI Wake on Lan, Bulk-Version
Type: PILA8460B,TP
Chip: 82559
But he told me that those card would require the "new intel drivers". 
He couldn't tell me if he meant windows or linux-driver or why the new
drivers are required. Any idea ?

Is there any disadvantage of the 82559 chip versus the 82558 ?
Would you recommend the PILA8460B or not ?


Thanks for your effort in advance,
Gunther