inexpensive pc with dual intel lan

[DiceAir]

Thanks for all the info so far so here is maybe a plan.


My office PC is an i5-12400 with 32 GB DDR4 3200 MHz on a Gigabyte B660 D3H, which already has an Intel i226-V NIC. So all I really need is to add another Intel-based network card and I'm sorted for OPNsense.

In short, I'll upgrade my own PC — maybe to an i5-14400 or even a mini-PC — since I don't have to worry about Intel NIC compatibility there. The OPNsense box needs Intel NICs because they just work best, especially on the WAN side.

Using my 12400 for OPNsense should give me great performance for everything I plan to run, and adding another i226-V or similar Intel NIC will be more than enough.

I'm mainly looking at upgrading my workstation because I need a better iGPU than what the 12400 offers for other tasks.


So if someone can maybe give me an amazon link to a really cheap intel lan card even if it's a single port i226-v. I heard there's so many fake cards out there.

[pfry]

[...]
Using my 12400 for OPNsense should give me great performance for everything I plan to run, and adding another i226-V or similar Intel NIC will be more than enough. [...]

What are you plugging into? LAN and WAN. There are lots of NIC options - I tend to think of UTP by default, but SFP+ with DAC cables can be pretty cheap and relatively low power (though not as low as the i226). I'm not familiar with the market where you are, but there may be some decent options on Amazon.

[DiceAir]

I'm going rj45 no SFP, SFP+ or so on yet and not for a long time

[pfry]

The only i226 I'm certain of on Amazon would be labeled "Intel® Ethernet Network Adapter I226-T1". UPC should be 735858517027. It, or an OEM, can usually be distinguished by the diagonal orientation of the i226, along with a dual-row header at the top of the board (8 pins populated on the photos I've seen).

QNAP makes Intel-based cards, but all they make at the moment are i225s: QNAP QXG-2G1T-I225 and QXG-2G2T-I225. I have the single port card - it's well made, v3 chip, and uses the Intel drivers. I can't say about the NVM updater, as I haven't attempted to update it or looked at the files.

LR-LINK/Linkreal cards are pretty good - well-made OEMs. I've never used their Intel-based cards, though. The LRES2031PT is an i225; the LRES1059PT is an i226.

Other folks here likely have better pointers. The i226 is the more desirable device, as the i225 uses more power and the v1 and v2 revs were junk.

[BrandyWine]

The i226 is the more desirable device, as the i225 uses more power and the v1 and v2 revs were junk.

From online info, I thought i225 was rebranded as "new" i226 just because of all the issues 225's were having. IIRC, the latest 226's are rev(4) (need verification). Not clear to me if 226 "rev(4)" was just a continuation from the 225 "rev(3)", 226 is mostly a 225 with some changes. Even Intel plays the game with names and numbers.

[pfry]

From online info, I thought i225 was rebranded as "new" i226 just because of all the issues 225's were having. IIRC, the latest 226's are rev(4) (need verification). Not clear to me if 226 "rev(4)" was just a continuation from the 225 "rev(3)", 226 is mostly a 225 with some changes. Even Intel plays the game with names and numbers.

True. I was just going by the power figures from the i225-T1 and i226-T1 product briefs. They are pretty close to identical.

[meyergru]

I would not call a difference of 1 Watt (i.e. 2.39 Watt vs. 1.4 Watt at 2.5 Gbps) "pretty close to identical".

[BrandyWine]

I would not call a difference of 1 Watt (i.e. 2.39 Watt vs. 1.4 Watt at 2.5 Gbps) "pretty close to identical".

At 1Gb the watts might be about the same?, but since 226 can do more, more power perhaps?

Maybe being competitive these days should be more like "we do all these features under 2W of power".

[pfry]

I would not call a difference of 1 Watt (i.e. 2.39 Watt vs. 1.4 Watt at 2.5 Gbps) "pretty close to identical".

Heh. I was referring to the briefs. But I have to wonder at the difference - that's some significant badness in the i225.

Then again, Marvell went from 2.5W for the 88x3110 (100M/1G/10G) to 3.5W for the 88x3310 (100M/1G/2.5G/5G/10G), seemingly because they slapped on an entirely separate transceiver for 2.5G/5G. Don't ask me why.

I'd say Realtek has 'em beat, at 700mW for 2.5Gb. But likely not by as much as the numbers would indicate, as Intel power figures tend to be pretty pessimistic.