FYI Those cheap Chinese i350-T4/AM4 nics on ebay work!

corvey

I just ordered the i350-T4 knockoff. Wish me luck that I get a good one that works. :D

Looks like it'll be a couple of weeks delivery time, though. I'll be sure to keep you all updated with my feedback when that day comes…

Harvy66

I don't need bleeding edge, but I care about quality. If I can't find reviews on it, I don't buy it. I haven't had a hardware failure in 20 years, and I've gone through quite a few computers. I don't plan to start buying cheap stuff any time soon.

Anyone want my lucky rabbit's foot? I seem to be working.

Guest

I don't need bleeding edge, but I care about quality.

Who is not thinking so!? Spare or computer parts based on a good quality might be the
only thing that lets you sleep well with 40% - 60% of all hassle the others are working on.

If I can't find reviews on it, I don't buy it.

Often the best, but sometimes and only for private usage it will be really good to test out some stuff
or experiment with those hardware. If you get these NICs and after 5 years you got not one failure
and all other things links the driver stability and support are also really nice and liquid, for a home
usage it will then more then a benefit. But if I see the prices we are talking here about (~$60) I can
also really get my hands on an original Intel Quad Port Server adapter used or refurbished, but original!

I haven't had a hardware failure in 20 years, and I've gone through quite a few computers.

And this is the profit you got from this point of view, but not the only one because all the time that you was
not pressed to search for failures others get as beside effects or bypass options are the real benefit.

I don't plan to start buying cheap stuff any time soon.

Surely not for the business usage at all.

corvey

Update. My i350-T4 knockoff card just arrived within 7 days from China. Unbelievable speed considering the distance across the globe. So fast in fact, I wasn't even able to order the CPU yet for the new PFsense build, heck wasn't expecting the NIC til November! Wow! I have a new ITX 1155 MB and 8GB of ram waiting on a CPU, though.

It's funny, after I read about security in China online and from Bytecoder in this thread about hardware backdoors, I got paranoid too and was able to snag a real authentic i340-T4 on fleabay yesterday for $35 bucks. Sigh, not sure if I trust the Chinese knockoff now or not. I guess I need to test thoroughly somehow with more than just a packet sniffer.

Unfortunately, I'm still a week or two away from testing the new PF rig.

![7daydelivery- i350-t4.jpg](/public/imported_attachments/1/7daydelivery- i350-t4.jpg)
![7daydelivery- i350-t4.jpg_thumb](/public/imported_attachments/1/7daydelivery- i350-t4.jpg_thumb)

Keljian

For crying out loud, there is so much FUD out there.

Prove to me that these Chinese branded nics are sending stuff to their motherland

By that rationale 60% or more of the computer hardware out there would be.

deanot

@bytecode:

Call me paranoid, but a cheap clone 4 port NIC from china is the last thing i'd be putting into a firewall.

IMO these would be the perfect piece of hardware to stick backdoors in, as they will likely end up in western firewalls or servers.

But hey, they are your packets.

Everything is made in China, what makes you or anyone else think a top quality card would be any different?. It is just hardware, we block at a software level with PFSense..

muktata

@deanot:

@bytecode:

Call me paranoid, but a cheap clone 4 port NIC from china is the last thing i'd be putting into a firewall.

IMO these would be the perfect piece of hardware to stick backdoors in, as they will likely end up in western firewalls or servers.

But hey, they are your packets.

Everything is made in China, what makes you or anyone else think a top quality card would be any different?. It is just hardware, we block at a software level with PFSense..

No doubt it is the same Chinaman on the same assembly line making these. The one issue that might be overlooked is these cards, like so many other "clones" are products that might have failed some portion of QA testing. The defect might not even affect performance for most real world applications. To me it is worth taking the chance if a substantial savings can be had.

zsi

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Intel-I350-T4-PCI-Express-PCI-E-Four-RJ45-Gigabit-Ports-Server-Adapter-NIC-/251671290126

I assume this is a "fake" or a chinese version of the I-350? If so, could anyone recommend a real one, but with a reasonable price?

Guest

but with a reasonable price?

You pay cheap nor right and get mostly what linked here.
You pay less as the real price for perhaps for refurbished ware and get a real but budget like one.
You pay the real price and will be mostly on the save side to get a real and original NIC thats 1st class.

corvey

@zsi:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Intel-I350-T4-PCI-Express-PCI-E-Four-RJ45-Gigabit-Ports-Server-Adapter-NIC-/251671290126

I assume this is a "fake" or a chinese version of the I-350? If so, could anyone recommend a real one, but with a reasonable price?

The one in that link is not a i350-T4, but a i340-T4 knockoff. This is the guy I purchased the i350-t4 knockoff from:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Intel-I350-T4-PCI-Express-PCI-E-Four-RJ45-Gigabit-Ports-Server-Adapter-NIC-/251590258135?hash=item3a93f2add7:g:03UAAOSwQJhUdvyS

I've been stressing testing it and so far it's working fine.

zsi

@corvey:

@zsi:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Intel-I350-T4-PCI-Express-PCI-E-Four-RJ45-Gigabit-Ports-Server-Adapter-NIC-/251671290126

I assume this is a "fake" or a chinese version of the I-350? If so, could anyone recommend a real one, but with a reasonable price?

The one in that link is not a i350-T4, but a i340-T4 knockoff. This is the guy I purchased the i350-t4 knockoff from:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Intel-I350-T4-PCI-Express-PCI-E-Four-RJ45-Gigabit-Ports-Server-Adapter-NIC-/251590258135?hash=item3a93f2add7:g:03UAAOSwQJhUdvyS

I've been stressing testing it and so far it's working fine.

Any difference between a "real" I350-T4 and a "knockoff"? I would prefer a real, genuine one though.

corvey

@zsi:

@corvey:

@zsi:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Intel-I350-T4-PCI-Express-PCI-E-Four-RJ45-Gigabit-Ports-Server-Adapter-NIC-/251671290126

I assume this is a "fake" or a chinese version of the I-350? If so, could anyone recommend a real one, but with a reasonable price?

The one in that link is not a i350-T4, but a i340-T4 knockoff. This is the guy I purchased the i350-t4 knockoff from:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Intel-I350-T4-PCI-Express-PCI-E-Four-RJ45-Gigabit-Ports-Server-Adapter-NIC-/251590258135?hash=item3a93f2add7:g:03UAAOSwQJhUdvyS

I've been stressing testing it and so far it's working fine.

Any difference between a "real" I350-T4 and a "knockoff"? I would prefer a real, genuine one though.

Read the first page of this thread and you'll find the link containing pictures showing differences between real and fake. If you want genuine Intel, go here to pay genuine price:

https://www.cdw.com/shop/products/Intel-Ethernet-Server-Adapter-I350-T4-network-adapter/3522854.aspx

Aluminum

You don't have to pay $400 to cdw for real intel i350s, that is about the last place I'd look for parts.

Pfsense store has supermicro OEM i350t4 for $200, you can find legitimate server pull variants in the low $100s if you are a sensible shopper on fleabay. (hint: too cheap is first sign to move on)
Random note: SR-IOV is disabled on dell versions because reasons.

sos

@zsi:

@corvey:

@zsi:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Intel-I350-T4-PCI-Express-PCI-E-Four-RJ45-Gigabit-Ports-Server-Adapter-NIC-/251671290126

I assume this is a "fake" or a chinese version of the I-350? If so, could anyone recommend a real one, but with a reasonable price?

The one in that link is not a i350-T4, but a i340-T4 knockoff. This is the guy I purchased the i350-t4 knockoff from:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Intel-I350-T4-PCI-Express-PCI-E-Four-RJ45-Gigabit-Ports-Server-Adapter-NIC-/251590258135?hash=item3a93f2add7:g:03UAAOSwQJhUdvyS

I've been stressing testing it and so far it's working fine.

Any difference between a "real" I350-T4 and a "knockoff"? I would prefer a real, genuine one though.

FWIW, the card I bought from ebay for $54 looks exactly like this $220 one linked to here, down to the individual chips, capcitors, transistors, heatsink, labels on the chips and embossing. If mine's not the real deal, albeit sourced via a different channel, then neither is the $220 part:

https://forum.pfsense.org/index.php?topic=86065.msg471899#msg471899

corvey

I've been testing my i350-t4 knockoff for the past couple of weeks in my main rig without any issues. The rest of my new server rig's parts arrived here on Saturday which was the 1265LV2 Xeon CPU I've been trying to get for awhile on fleabay - that's a tough cookie to find! I stress tested the components together all day Sunday and it seems 100% stable so far. Monday, I updated the NIC's rom and learned how to use ESXI. It's been quite the adventure today!

I'm proud to say, I have ESXI running PFsense on directpath I/O with the quad nic . And, it also has Windows 7 and Fedora 23 installed! It's all still routed through the old Firebox for testing until I feel it's safe to retire, but so far so good!!! Hopefully it is solid like the old 2.1.5 Firebox! I will keep you all updated on its stability using Pfsense 2.2.5.

biggsy

@corvey:

… 1265LV2 Xeon CPU I've been trying to get for awhile on fleabay - that's a tough cookie to find! ...

Nice processor. They were tough to find two years ago when I got mine. Are you using it in an HP G8 Microserver?

corvey

@biggsy:

Nice processor. They were tough to find two years ago when I got mine. Are you using it in an HP G8 Microserver?

No, I pieced it together. When I was shopping, I knew I wanted to keep the power down as much as possible . I needed at least a 4x slot for the quad nic and also wanted all the features of a Xeon CPU, like AES, ECC, etc., with multiple cores so I could go ESXI and have just the single box to do multiple tasks. What I ended up luckily getting was a brand new sealed Intel DQ77KB motherboard for cheap, yes cheap, on fleabay - don't be afraid ask if ya can! The only thing I messed up was this board does not support ECC ram, which was a bummer, but in the future I will just pick up a real server motherboard and go for the full 32gig ECC ram to put in it and re-use the 1265Lv2 cpu of course.

My new pfSensational rig, with the i350-t4 knockoff and Pfsense 2.2.5 seems to be working great so far in ESXI! 24+ hours now with no disconnects and it's fast! Seems to be handling the load and network traffic just fine. No issues gaming through it either.

Peace everyone and good luck!

MacUsers

JFI….......

Just received my Chinese I350-T4 and working just fine for pfSense on SuperMicro server. I don't see Intel written any where on the board, but pciconf -lv reports these:

igb0@pci0:3:0:0:	class=0x020000 card=0x00018086 chip=0x15218086 rev=0x01 hdr=0x00
    vendor     = 'Intel Corporation'
    device     = 'I350 Gigabit Network Connection'
    class      = network
    subclass   = ethernet
igb1@pci0:3:0:1:	class=0x020000 card=0x00018086 chip=0x15218086 rev=0x01 hdr=0x00
    vendor     = 'Intel Corporation'
    device     = 'I350 Gigabit Network Connection'
    class      = network
    subclass   = ethernet
igb2@pci0:3:0:2:	class=0x020000 card=0x00018086 chip=0x15218086 rev=0x01 hdr=0x00
    vendor     = 'Intel Corporation'
    device     = 'I350 Gigabit Network Connection'
    class      = network
    subclass   = ethernet
igb3@pci0:3:0:3:	class=0x020000 card=0x00018086 chip=0x15218086 rev=0x01 hdr=0x00
    vendor     = 'Intel Corporation'
    device     = 'I350 Gigabit Network Connection'
    class      = network
    subclass   = ethernet

and this is by dmesg:

igb0: <intel(r) 1000="" pro="" network="" connection,="" version="" -="" 2.5.3-k=""> mem 0xfae00000-0xfaefffff,0xfad7c000-0xfad7ffff irq 30 at device 0.0 on pci3
igb1: <intel(r) 1000="" pro="" network="" connection,="" version="" -="" 2.5.3-k=""> mem 0xfac00000-0xfacfffff,0xfabfc000-0xfabfffff irq 37 at device 0.1 on pci3
igb2: <intel(r) 1000="" pro="" network="" connection,="" version="" -="" 2.5.3-k=""> mem 0xfaa00000-0xfaafffff,0xfa9fc000-0xfa9fffff irq 39 at device 0.2 on pci3
igb3: <intel(r) 1000="" pro="" network="" connection,="" version="" -="" 2.5.3-k=""> mem 0xfa800000-0xfa8fffff,0xfa7fc000-0xfa7fffff irq 38 at device 0.3 on pci3</intel(r)></intel(r)></intel(r)></intel(r)>

Not sure if that actually mean anything.

-San

FYI Those cheap Chinese i350-T4/AM4 nics on ebay work!

PFSense System Specs. –--------------- Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.40GHz 4 CPUs: 1 package(s) x 4 core(s) 4 port HP Branded Intel Ethernet Card

PFSense System Specs.
–---------------
Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.40GHz
4 CPUs: 1 package(s) x 4 core(s) 4 port HP Branded Intel Ethernet Card