need recommendation for "cheap" quality gigabit nic pci express x1 or x16

[esamett]

I bought a marvell chip based nic incompatible with freebsd/freenas 8. looking for good quality new/system pull unit for my consumer grade motherboard. intell nics I found are in the $35 range. looking to pay less if reasonable.

thank you in advance.

 

[Milhouse]

You can't go wrong with even a cheap Intel GigE NIC as they're almost certain to be supported by most operating systems. Maybe they cost a few pounds/dollars more than others but it's usually worth it in the end. If you buy something other than Intel, you'll save some money but then you usually get what you pay for.

Of course there are other decent non-Intel NICs out there, trouble is the quality is so variable (if not in terms of hardware, then software/drivers).

 

[survive]

Hi esamett,

I like the Broadcom BCM5721's. You can find them on e-bay for around ~$15.00...look for "broadcom pci-e nic".

There are both BCM5751's, which are listed as desktop NIC's and the 5721's which are server NIC's...these are usually pulled from Dell\HP\Compaq hardware that's come in off lease. Most of these guys have "more than 10 available" so personally I would get a couple or put together a group buy if you know folks locally who would want a few...see if you can't get them down to say $12 each!

-Will

 

[jafin]

EDIT Whoops OP wanted PCIe , suggestion was PCI. Which is more than enough bandwidth for gigabit.

Intel Pro 1000 GT's work fine here. Ebay about $13-$20

 

[esamett]

I am out of PCI slots. LOL

 

[esamett]

Is anybody using Broadcom BCM5721 or, BCM 5751 on a FreeNAS 8.x build? I haven't been able to find verification that FreeBSD 8.2 supports it.

Thanks in advance.

Here is the excerpt from the FreeBSD 8.2 hardware compatibility list for Broadcom NICs. The 5721 is not explicitly listed. The NetXtreme II is listed but the 5721 is "NetXtreme":

[i386,amd64] The bce(4) driver provides support for various NICs based on the Broadcom NetXtreme II family of Gigabit Ethernet controllers, including the following:

Broadcom NetXtreme II BCM5706 1000Base-SX

Broadcom NetXtreme II BCM5706 1000Base-T

Broadcom NetXtreme II BCM5708 1000Base-SX

Broadcom NetXtreme II BCM5708 1000Base-T

Broadcom NetXtreme II BCM5709 1000Base-SX

Broadcom NetXtreme II BCM5709 1000Base-T

Broadcom NetXtreme II BCM5716 1000Base-T

Dell PowerEdge 1950 integrated BCM5708 NIC

Dell PowerEdge 2950 integrated BCM5708 NIC

Dell PowerEdge R710 integrated BCM5709 NIC

HP NC370F Multifunction Gigabit Server Adapter

HP NC370T Multifunction Gigabit Server Adapter

HP NC370i Multifunction Gigabit Server Adapter

HP NC371i Multifunction Gigabit Server Adapter

HP NC373F PCIe Multifunc Giga Server Adapter

HP NC373T PCIe Multifunction Gig Server Adapter

HP NC373i Multifunction Gigabit Server Adapter

HP NC373m Multifunction Gigabit Server Adapter

HP NC374m PCIe Multifunction Adapter

HP NC380T PCIe DP Multifunc Gig Server Adapter

HP NC382T PCIe DP Multifunction Gigabit Server Adapter

HP NC382i DP Multifunction Gigabit Server Adapter

HP NC382m DP 1GbE Multifunction BL-c Adapter

[amd64, i386] Broadcom BCM4401 based Fast Ethernet adapters ( bfe(4) driver)

[i386,pc98,sparc64,ia64,amd64] The bge(4) driver provides support for various NICs based on the Broadcom BCM570x family of Gigabit Ethernet controller chips, including the following:

3Com 3c996-SX (1000baseSX)

3Com 3c996-T (10/100/1000baseTX)

Dell PowerEdge 1750 integrated BCM5704C NIC (10/100/1000baseTX)

Dell PowerEdge 2550 integrated BCM5700 NIC (10/100/1000baseTX)

Dell PowerEdge 2650 integrated BCM5703 NIC (10/100/1000baseTX)

Dell PowerEdge R200 integrated BCM5750 NIC (10/100/1000baseTX)

Dell PowerEdge R300 integrated BCM5722 NIC (10/100/1000baseTX)

IBM x235 server integrated BCM5703x NIC (10/100/1000baseTX)

HP Compaq dc7600 integrated BCM5752 NIC (10/100/1000baseTX)

HP ProLiant NC7760 embedded Gigabit NIC (10/100/1000baseTX)

HP ProLiant NC7770 PCI-X Gigabit NIC (10/100/1000baseTX)

HP ProLiant NC7771 PCI-X Gigabit NIC (10/100/1000baseTX)

HP ProLiant NC7781 embedded PCI-X Gigabit NIC (10/100/1000baseTX)

Netgear GA302T (10/100/1000baseTX)

SysKonnect SK-9D21 (10/100/1000baseTX)

SysKonnect SK-9D41 (1000baseSX)

 

[esamett]

For about $10 more I made a different purchase to avoid ebay delays and uncertainties:
Intel EXPI9301CTBLK 10/ 100/ 1000Mbps PCI-Express Network Adapter 1 x RJ45 - $24.99 shipped
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833106033

This is the "bulk" version version of the Intel pro/1000 CT NIC. I read on the HardOCP forum that the more expensive Intel PT is an older and less capable NIC and was not recommended over this CT version.

Please post your knowledge and findings on this thread and help out the community.

 

[survive]

Hi esamett,

The Broadcom BCM5721 & BCM5751 actually use the "bge" driver in Freebsd. I ran one for a couple of years in a bsd box and then moved it over to my FreeNAS box. Worked great in both.

I have since replaced it with an Intel quad-port NIC in the FreeNAS box and moved it to my Windows 7 box so I don't have to use the on-board RealTek.

-Will

 

[esamett]

thank you for reply