Netgate Discussion Forum
    • Categories
    • Recent
    • Tags
    • Popular
    • Users
    • Search
    • Register
    • Login

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

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Hardware
    43 Posts 18 Posters 29.0k Views
    Loading More Posts
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as topic
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
    • K
      Keljian
      last edited by

      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.

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • D
        deanot
        last edited by

        @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..

        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

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • M
          muktata
          last edited by

          @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.

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • Z
            zsi
            last edited by

            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?

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • ?
              Guest
              last edited by

              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.

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • C
                corvey
                last edited by

                @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.

                pfSensational™

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • Z
                  zsi
                  last edited by

                  @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.

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • C
                    corvey
                    last edited by

                    @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

                    pfSensational™

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • A
                      Aluminum
                      last edited by

                      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.

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • S
                        sos
                        last edited by

                        @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

                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • C
                          corvey
                          last edited by

                          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.

                          pfSensational™

                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • B
                            biggsy
                            last edited by

                            @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?

                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • C
                              corvey
                              last edited by

                              @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!

                              pfSensational™

                              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • M
                                MacUsers
                                last edited by

                                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

                                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • First post
                                  Last post
                                Copyright 2025 Rubicon Communications LLC (Netgate). All rights reserved.