Warning RE: Intel Pro 1000/MT Quad Port
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Bought a couple of these as they are highly recommended.
Problem is the cards are pci 3.3v only, will not fit in a slot keyed for 5v.
Intel claim the cards are pci 2.2 compatible, but the 5v key was only deleted from the pci spec in rev 3 (pci 2.2 should allow both and 3.3v only slots are extremely rare!)
I have purchased twin ports with both 3.3v and 5v keys, but these do not appear to be available in quad port flavour.
Just a heads up to save anyone else from purchasing useless hardware.
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Did the card look like this one pictured here? http://www.amazon.com/Intel-PWLA8494MT-1000-Server-Adapter/dp/B00008PX2M. If so it looks like they left pins out where the 5v keyway notch would be but didn't cut the notch. The dual port versions I saw have the 3.3v and 5v notches, not sure why the quad port has to be 3.3v only. You are correct that 3.3v 32-bit PCI slots are extremely rare, but 64-bit PCI-X slots are almost always 3.3v which is actually what that card is designed for (though it will work in an appropriate 32-bit slot). Most server class and workstation class hardware had PCI-X slots before PCI Express became the new defacto-standard all around. They aren't useless cards, just that they are designed for a server environment (where it would have the available bus bandwidth to saturate those 4 gigabit ports). See the slot diagram on the right here for anyone interested in the differences: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conventional_PCI#Conventional_hardware_specifications
Joel
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Sorry I should have added, yes do they work perfectly in pci-x slots, actually as mentioned obviously much better than in a 32bit pci. It just surprised me as reading up it seemed like loads of people fitted them to regular mobos.
Suppose it's not a massive deal, just got to use a different old machine that's twice the size now!
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I got done by this too. Luckily the online store I bought it from waived the re-stocking fee (which would usually apply, as this was an order-in part), so I paid the difference between this and the PCIe version. I swear I did my homework before buying it… just not enough, apparently. ;D