Best NIC? Intel, Killer, Broadcom, Realtek, Qualcomm etc. Whats best and why?

[elliott35]

I have been watching some of Wendell's videos (over on teksyndicate) and he often implies that the Intel Nics are good. I don't really understand what makes one better than another. Anyone have any insight? I couldn't find much on the topic besides random BS in other forums... Is there something technically superior about Intel? Whats the difference between the Intel I218V, Intel I217V, Realtek RTL8111GR, Killer E2205 and others? 

[d3sl91]

I have been watching some of Wendell's videos (over on teksyndicate) and he often implies that the Intel Nics are good. I don't really understand what makes one better than another. Anyone have any insight? I couldn't find much on the topic besides random BS in other forums... Is there something technically superior about Intel? Whats the difference between the Intel I218V, Intel I217V, Realtek RTL8111GR, Killer E2205 and others? 

Intell has a good reputation, as they make great server-grade NICs all the way down to cheap consumer grade NICs. 

 

They just seem to work, and no frills or crazy applications/drivers to make them seem "cool" and "gamey".

 

 

Unless I need 24/7 reliability - I literally just sort by lowest price and look for one with good reviews and buy it.....generally works fine. 

[Blebekblebek]

Intel has hardware built in to process data flow

other NIC use software mode (using CPU power)

 

back when CPU is merely hundred Megahertz (or lower) it helps a lot since it doesn't use CPU resource

 

Killer NIC is just another cheap chipset with gimmick with their software.

but nowdays, using 1-5% for network is not that heavy enough to bring whole system crawl, so pick anything you prefer, no need to spend more money for gimmick if you just need connectivity.

 

btw: wendell is oldschool, I like that guy.

[elliott35]

Im not buying any. Just curiosity. lol But if they are all the same why does intel have more than 1 gigabit nic?

[Blebekblebek]

almost every NIC had different chipset depends on their lineup

it could be revision, grade difference (server grade, or consumer grade, etc)

[Footy]

Im not buying any. Just curiosity. lol But if they are all the same why does intel have more than 1 gigabit nic?

 

This should explain things

http://ark.intel.com/compare/68668,49184,49185,49186,59064,59065,59062,84804,59063,84805,50396,49187,50397,50398,50481,50482,50483,50484,50488,50486,22192,50489,50490,50491,22191,50494,50495,50496,50497

[Darren]

Im not buying any. Just curiosity. lol But if they are all the same why does intel have more than 1 gigabit nic?

 

They're not all the same.

 

Intel make very good server and consumer NICs. No reason to need anything else.

 

But, my actual opinion is that unless you're actually doing a Gbps+ of traffic, you don't need to buy anything extra. What you have will do the job just fine.

[TheProfosist]

Intel or killer. The gui for killer is quite nice if u have the need. Anyone else remember the original killer cards that had the npu?

[vembutech]

I would say intel which is pretty good one.