In reality, today there seems to be little to choose from between ethernet cards for the average user - wasn't always the case though. I have a number of usb-<->ethernet plugins and pcicards. Some are bonded (mix of usb and pci) and are mostly realtek though there is an intel or two. I am using a usb2->ethernet to the fibre based internet (1Gb AU NBN) without any speed problems. Note there is a linux kernel driver bug in an odd combination of realtek and usb2 for some versions which cuts throughput by ~1/3 unless patched - the dongles themselves are fine. Currently, with the covid supply chain issues its more a problem just getting "something" :)
BillK 1000/50 over usb2 realtek ~17.44pm - at other times its usually a little better. moriah ~ # speedtest Retrieving speedtest.net configuration... Testing from iiNet Limited (nnn.nnn.nnn.nnn)... Retrieving speedtest.net server list... Selecting best server based on ping... Hosted by Internode (Perth) [1.07 km]: 2.796 ms Testing download speed................................................................................ Download: 929.99 Mbit/s Testing upload speed...................................................................................................... Upload: 45.82 Mbit/s moriah ~ # On 6/11/21 4:13 pm, Frank Steinmetzger wrote: > Am Fri, Nov 05, 2021 at 08:03:32PM -0500 schrieb Dale: >> Manuel McLure wrote: >>> I highly recommend getting an Intel card. Back in the day the e1000 >>> cards were the ones to get, >>> nowadays https://www.newegg.com/intel-expi9301ctblk/p/N82E16833106033 >>> should be a good option for a single port card. Intel cards have been >>> well supported in Linux for a long time. > I have no idea how you came across that one first. Network cards are a > commodity and start in the single-Euro (so probably also dollar) range these > days. Intel cards start in the 20–30 range: > https://geizhals.eu/?cat=nwpcie&sort=p&xf=14063_Intel%7E14065_LAN-Adapter%7E14066_PCIe-Karte > >> I was looking at the mobo manual and noticed the built in network port >> is a 1Gb chip as well. It is a Realtec and the last time I tried to use >> it, it was a bit flakey. Sometimes it would work but sometimes I'd have >> to restart the network to get it going again. That was about a decade >> ago. > My PC is over 7 years old now and I’ve always been unsing its internal > ethernet port. Most consumer boards use Realtek chips, and so does mine, > because they are a little cheaper than Intel’s counterparts. Enthusiasts and > power users like Intel more because it does more in hardware and offers more > features, whereas the realtek driver puts some load on the CPU, AFAIK. But > in my view, that is counting crumbs, as we say in Germany. I’ve never had > bandwidth problems and always had the full 1 Gb to my NAS. For us normal > home user folk, it won’t make a difference, IMHO. (Except if you are a > purist and care about code quality; I think there were niggles with > Realtek’s code a longer while back.) > >> I wonder, is the drivers better today than they were then? I would have >> used it all this time if it worked well. Anyone have experience with this >> in the last year or so that is showing it working really well and stable? >> Keep in mind, I run 24/7 here. If that works fine, I could just use it. >> lspci shows this for the on board network: >> >> Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit >> Ethernet Controller (rev 06) > That’s the one veryone uses. I actually have two of those installed; one > one-board, the other one as a PCIe card that I got from my old employer. > >> I have 2 PCIex1 and one PCIex 4 slots open. The small ones are close to >> my video card and I'm not sure I can use them. > Sure you can. Are you a hardcore gamer? Does your card consume 100s of W all > the time? Usually the GPU is the top-most card except for cases that hold > the board upside-down (meaning hot air rises away). > >> Can I plug these types of cards into the larger slots? > Yes. Speeds are downward-compatible. One PCIe 2.0 lane is fast enough for 1 > Gb. > >> I think I read once that can be done. It's been ages tho. My old network >> card appears to be in a old PCI plain slot. It's a really old card, works >> faithfully tho. > If you change the filter in the link I gave you at the top, you can also > look for PCI-based cards (unselect PCIe first). It’s possible that PCIe, > though a faster interface, may be more frugal these days. When PCI was > invented, power saving was not an issue. > >> This may require some rearranging. Or using the on board network one. >> I'd really prefer the card tho. They just tend to work better. > Why should they? A hunch? The only real benefit is you can easliy swap them > in case of failure. But as long as you have it and it works – why not give > it a try with what you have before you spend more for something you may not > even need? >
