Multi port NIC for miniITX board
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I'm looking forward to build a pfSense box for home use.
I'll be using an Asrock J3355B-ITX motherboard which has a PCIe x16 slot that works in x2 mode. I'll need extra ethernet ports (2 would suffice) and I'm wondering if PCIe x4 NICs will work on this motherboard since the slot works in x2 mode.Any help will be appreciated.
Some used cards I have available for purchase:
IBM 49Y7949 Broadcom NetXtreme II Quad Port
IBM 39Y6138 Quad Port
HP Nc-380t
Intel E34292-002 Dual Port -
According to what I'v been reading, the bandwidth of a PCIe 2.0 lane (~500MB/s) would be barely enough to support 4 gigabit port (125 MB/s each). Since this motherboard PCIe x16 2.0 slot works as "by 2", it should be enough.
I'll be picking up the motherboard this week, but not the ethernet adapter since they're expensive. I'll use a router in the mean time and will update this post whenever I get the adapter.