Newbie: how good are these fake Intel nics?
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Hi all, sorry if I ask a question already debated:
I was looking for a cheap 2 ports Intel nic on ebay and I saw this:
http://www.ebay.it/itm/Intel-82576EB-Dual-RJ45-Port-E1G42ET-PCI-E-X1-Gigabit-Server-Adapter-ROS-VMare/272346169212?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649
While it's clearly a knockoff card, can it do its job or it's better that I keep the money in my pocket?
I saw someone tried some fake nics and they reported them to work "good" without much problems nor cpu usage.
Thanks in advance. -
they've been reported to work well but you're probably better off picking up a used server pull nic.
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Definitely go with a server pull if you can get a deal.
Interestingly, a dual port card for pcie x1. Could come in handy when there is only a pcie x1 slot open. Saves hacking the mobo or nic. For the price I would get it just to play but that is just me.
I bought a i350-t4 from the same seller years ago. It took 2 months to receive. Worked out of the box but had to flash the firmware from Intel for full compatibility with some OS. It is still used today.
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they've been reported to work well but you're probably better off picking up a used server pull nic.
Definitely go with a server pull if you can get a deal.
Interestingly, a dual port card for pcie x1. Could come in handy when there is only a pcie x1 slot open. Saves hacking the mobo or nic. For the price I would get it just to play but that is just me.
I bought a i350-t4 from the same seller years ago. It took 2 months to receive. Worked out of the box but had to flash the firmware from Intel for full compatibility with some OS. It is still used today.
I was looking for a server pull, but my mobo has just 2 pcie x1 and 1 pcie x16 and I didn't found pretty much anything on ebay that can be delivered here in Italy.
@gjaltemba
What do you mean with "had to flash the firmware from Intel for full compatibility with some OS", is that possible? Does this means that they're exactly like Intel ones? -
My i350-t4 has genuine Intel firmware downloaded and installed no problem. YMMV.
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My i350-t4 has genuine Intel firmware downloaded and installed no problem. YMMV.
Did you use bootutil like with the real ones?
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Yes. Used all downloaded from Intel. Flashed using ubuntu live.
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I contacted the seller on ebay: he says that the nics are OEM.
I'll buy one and test it, if it works well I saved some money -
I contacted the seller on ebay: he says that the nics are OEM.
I'll buy one and test it, if it works well I saved some moneyLooks like Winyao. I've tested a few, they work great.
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Perhaps belongs here but are we all in agreement purchasing something like this is a crapshoot?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BMZHX2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_dp_T2_d38uzbEQHN498
Basically, perhaps you get a genuine intel card, maybe you get an OEM card that is fine and maybe you get a knockoff?
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Sorry for hijacking the thread for a question but it seem related
Funny, I was looking at intel NICs at ebay and before ordering I thought I check out pfsense forum to see if there is anything about it and the top thread of hardware was this one. I'm looking to buy this http://www.ebay.com/itm/INTEL-I350-T2-Dual-Port-Gigabit-1000M-PCI-E-Network-Server-Adapter-I350-AM2-/251724682804?epid=1474629115&hash=item3a9bf5d634:g:s8MAAOSwofxUdqrT NIC and reading this thread it seem like it might not be a such a bad idea. I only have on expansion card slot in my router so it's either a dual NIC or a single NIC and use the realtek chip that's included on the mobo. I can get a single port intel NIC (EXPI9301CT) for about the same price as this dual port NIC from china.
Right now I'm using a pretty much unusuble TP-link NIC as a last resort that has started to get PHY read fail errors and I can only assume that that's the reason my internet is feels much slower than usual, tests gives me 80Mbps full duplex and it's usually at 100Mbps
Are these cards genuine intel or what are they selling?
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Sorry for hijacking the thread for a question but it seem related
Funny, I was looking at intel NICs at ebay and before ordering I thought I check out pfsense forum to see if there is anything about it and the top thread of hardware was this one. I'm looking to buy this http://www.ebay.com/itm/INTEL-I350-T2-Dual-Port-Gigabit-1000M-PCI-E-Network-Server-Adapter-I350-AM2-/251724682804?epid=1474629115&hash=item3a9bf5d634:g:s8MAAOSwofxUdqrT NIC and reading this thread it seem like it might not be a such a bad idea. I only have on expansion card slot in my router so it's either a dual NIC or a single NIC and use the realtek chip that's included on the mobo. I can get a single port intel NIC (EXPI9301CT) for about the same price as this dual port NIC from china.
Right now I'm using a pretty much unusuble TP-link NIC as a last resort that has started to get PHY read fail errors and I can only assume that that's the reason my internet is feels much slower than usual, tests gives me 80Mbps full duplex and it's usually at 100Mbps
Are these cards genuine intel or what are they selling?
It seems that they can be both knockoff or OEM. They've been reported to work well. I'll give it a try anyway
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This http://www.ebay.it/itm/Winyao-WYI350T-PCIe-dual-port-Gigabit-Ethernet-PRO1000-network-Card-intel-I350T2/132009714315?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649 is a Winyao clone of the I350T2. Why the original has a pci e x4 and the Winyao one has a pci e x1? ;D
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This http://www.ebay.it/itm/Winyao-WYI350T-PCIe-dual-port-Gigabit-Ethernet-PRO1000-network-Card-intel-I350T2/132009714315?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649 is a Winyao clone of the I350T2. Why the original has a pci e x4 and the Winyao one has a pci e x1? ;D
x4 is single data lane, enough for 2x 1Gbps ports.
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x4 is single data lane, enough for 2x 1Gbps ports.
These cards are all PCIe v2.0+, x1 is enough for quad port full duplex gigabit.
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Yeah, I wasn't sure if the cards are PCIe 2.0 or 1.0, but either way good.
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Yes, my question was more about the different pci connector from the Intel one. I thought that they were mere "clones"
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Now I have to choose from this two options:
http://www.ebay.it/itm/Intel-82576EB-Dual-RJ45-Port-E1G42ET-PCI-E-X1-Gigabit-Server-Adapter-ROS-VMare/272346169212?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649http://www.ebay.it/itm/Winyao-WYI350T-PCIe-dual-port-Gigabit-Ethernet-PRO1000-network-Card-intel-I350T2/132009714315?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649
The first one, is $19.95 + $25 fast shipping ($44 total) no brand, the second one is $45 with 20/25 days shipping, but it's a Winyao, which seems to be a good brand from what I read here -
I haven't looked recently but usually you can find a server pull i340-t4 with fast shipping in the $45-50 range.
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The x1 connector is actually a nice feature over the intel part. In the server market it really doesn't matter (I don't recall seeing any real servers with x1 connectors, they're generally at least x4 if not x8.) But in the small form factor space, there are a lot of boards with only x1 pcie which it's been a pain to get a dual port intel card into.
