Recommend me a PCI(e) NIC :)

[Vapor]

Well, just looked at the back of XBX2 for the first time after using it for nearly 3 weeks, just noticed it doesn't have two LAN ports

I need 2+, so I'm in the market for an NIC, but don't really want to spend much money....so I guess two (or more) ports on the NIC are a must, as is a good price

PCI or PCIe, both work

EDIT: wow, I can't even find one with 2+ ports that is inexpensive (at least for an NIC).....any good single port cards anybody can recommend that don't break the bank?

[pissboy]

syskonnect SK-9E21D
Intel Pro/1000 Pt Desktop http://www.techonweb.com/products/pr...=C37982&src=FG

and for not too much more - syskonnect SK-9e22 dual port

note that dual port cards won't be x1 and shouldn't be pci (if they're gigabit at least)

[Vapor]

Hmmmm, are things cheaper than that really bad? I don't really need it to do anything fancy (just need it to not suck), I have slower in-line hardware that'll bottleneck it anyway.

[nn_step]

well this beast will definitely take care of your needs
it will work in PCI but its true power will not show up until you put it in PCI-X
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16833316009

[Vapor]

Wow, way more than I need

I just couldn't bring myself to spend that much on an NIC....even if it doubled my bandwidth (well, maybe.... )

[nn_step]

fine, get two of these
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16833166003
since dual RJ-45 is usually on Server line cards, they don't come cheap

[Vapor]

Hmmm, cool....looks like it's worth the $$.

Thanks

[Omastar]

Originally Posted by Vapor

Hmmm, cool....looks like it's worth the $$.

Thanks

XBX2 has no PCI-Ex1 slots.

[Vapor]

But you can put PCIe 1x devices into larger slots.....

[nn_step]

Originally Posted by Vapor

But you can put PCIe 1x devices into larger slots.....

you can put PCIe 1x cards into:
32x
16x
8x
4x
2x
1x PCIe slots
but not into any PCI, AGP, PCI-X, or ISA slots

[Vapor]

You knew what I meant

[nn_step]

I know that you know, but I'm making sure that when some noob reads this thread they become wiser

[Knight]

I will.

[Omastar]

Hmm, didn't know you could drop 1x into PCI slots. So why do mobo manufacturers even care about making PCI-Ex1 for their boards? What, higher bandwidth or something?

[Vapor]

Omaster....PCIe 1x can go into any PCIe slot, not PCI. I have two open of both, so I didn't care which type of slot the card used.

[p0tter]

Originally Posted by nn_step

I know that you know, but I'm making sure that when some noob reads this thread they become wiser

haha, thanks for schooling me.

[Omastar]

Ah okay, had a brain fart there.

How about this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16833156139

[phelan1777]

wow I didnt know about this.

So if space is a concern, and I don't like most on board LAN chipsets anyway. I can get one of these, and the are particulary small.

[justin_c]

look at this:
http://www.wisp-router.com/itemdesc.asp?ic=RB44&eq=&Tp=

http://www.routerboard.com/rb44.html

i was going to build a ipcop box, but i just forgot about it.

[Madwand]

The SysKonnect PCIe NICs are really nice IMO. They're Marvell-based. Good performance, driver support, feature set, and CPU utilization. The PCI versions aren't as good for performance, but do the other things well. Price and availability's the hard part with them -- they both vary strangely.

You can sometimes find these and others often for good prices on eBay. That's probably the only way to drop the prices on multi-port cards. PCI-X Server pulls are very common, and generally backwards compatible with PCI, but you'll give up something in performance with them (if it matters).

The Realtek-based NICs, such as the TrendNet, tend to perform OK, but at relatively high CPU utilization. Intel-based NICs are generally a good choice, although often at a bit more than SysKonnect/Marvell.

[Vapor]

nn, got the Rosewill you suggested, worked out very well

Thanks for the help all.

Also, that NIC looks sweet, as small as it is (matte black PCB coating ).