HP NC7170 support

[acoustiq]

Hi guys,

I currently have an NC7170 PCI-X NIC [dual Gbit, Intel controller] - the card is properly detected with the em driver. However, which combo would give the best results?

1. AM2 board [Sempron LE-1200 + 2GB DDR2 800] with regular PCI
2. Dual Tualatin [P3 1.26GHz + 1GB SDRAM PC133 ECC Reg] with PCI-X

I'd rather go with the AM2 solution, since it's mATX and fairly quiet/low-power, but I don't really know if I'm loosing anything when it comes to throughput between the interfaces [both will be LAN on the NC7170]. WAN will be on an Intel 1000GT, so that's not the problem [80Mbit down / 40Mbit up link]. The Tualatin kit is huge [EATX] and the HDD would also be slower [compared between SCSI U160 7200rpm and S-ATA2 7200rpm, also there's less hassle with S-ATA2].

This is for my home setup, so I won't invest in any other hardware - I'm just wondering which setup would give me the best throughput between the LANs. One one hand, AM2 is definitely a lot faster than socket 370, but the Tualatin has native PCI-X and might be better.

I have very little free time, that's why I thought I'd ask for opinions before I start modifying my network [although it really needs an update :D]

Also, is pfSense 2.0 beta worth the upgrade from the stable 1.2.3? I think most people would say yes, but… will it do me any good at home? I have 2 servers [SAN on one of them, so the traffic will go through the server], about 10 workstations and some media streaming to my TV.