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    Can I use a PCI-e v2.0 network card in a PCI-e v1.1 slot?

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    • provelsP
      provels
      last edited by

      More of a general hardware question than a pfSense one, though I do run pfSense in a VM under Hyper-V. I'd like to move to an Intel-based quad card rather than my onboard Realteks. Looking at mostly the HP NC364T (v1.1, 82571EB) and NC365T (v2.0, 82580EB). I understand the card will still run at v1.1 bandwidth. Just a home hobbyist user here. Thanks for any advice and feedback.
      Peder

      Peder

      MAIN - pfSense+ 24.11-RELEASE - Adlink MXE-5401, i7, 16 GB RAM, 64 GB SSD. 500 GB HDD for SyslogNG
      BACKUP - pfSense+ 23.01-RELEASE - Hyper-V Virtual Machine, Gen 1, 2 v-CPUs, 3 GB RAM, 8GB VHDX (Dynamic)

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      • GrimsonG
        Grimson Banned
        last edited by

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCI_Express#PCI_Express_2.0 get the NC365T if you can, it allows multiple queues and uses about half the power of the NC364T (which also means less heat).

        provelsP 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
        • provelsP
          provels @Grimson
          last edited by provels

          @Grimson Thanks for the link. I had Googled much, but anything I found related to my question seemed to only refer to video cards. Might not really matter in my use, but didn't really want to throw so much money away (~$20, :) ) if it simply would not work. I did happen to run across a couple of threads at servethehome.com that didn't answer my question but I found useful in shopping the market, together with what I have read here.
          List of NICs and their equivalent OEM parts
          https://forums.servethehome.com/index.php?threads/list-of-nics-and-their-equivalent-oem-parts.20974/
          Comparison: Intel i350-T4 Genuine vs Fake
          https://forums.servethehome.com/index.php?threads/comparison-intel-i350-t4-genuine-vs-fake.6917/
          Might help somebody in the future.
          Thanks again.
          Peder

          Peder

          MAIN - pfSense+ 24.11-RELEASE - Adlink MXE-5401, i7, 16 GB RAM, 64 GB SSD. 500 GB HDD for SyslogNG
          BACKUP - pfSense+ 23.01-RELEASE - Hyper-V Virtual Machine, Gen 1, 2 v-CPUs, 3 GB RAM, 8GB VHDX (Dynamic)

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          • T
            tman222
            last edited by tman222

            It looks like the NC365T you're considering uses the Intel 82580 controller - that's the same controller present on the Intel i340-T4 (and the HP probably uses the same reference design or might be a rebadged card, judging by the looks of it):

            https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ethernet-products/gigabit-server-adapters/ethernet-i340-server-adapter-brief.html
            https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/49186/intel-ethernet-server-adapter-i340-t4.html

            I recently installed and 82580 based Intel i340-T4 quad port card on pfSense and it works great (uses the FreeBSD igb driver).

            Hope this helps.

            provelsP 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • provelsP
              provels @tman222
              last edited by provels

              @tman222 Thanks. I ended up ordering the IBM version from Ebay. Using virtualization now, but should be good if I end up going back to a physical box, too.

              Peder

              MAIN - pfSense+ 24.11-RELEASE - Adlink MXE-5401, i7, 16 GB RAM, 64 GB SSD. 500 GB HDD for SyslogNG
              BACKUP - pfSense+ 23.01-RELEASE - Hyper-V Virtual Machine, Gen 1, 2 v-CPUs, 3 GB RAM, 8GB VHDX (Dynamic)

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