Re: [List] Nic card recommendation
Frank Leonhardt <[email protected]> Mon, 3 Nov 2025 22:25:08 +0000
| Newsgroups | gmane.os.freebsd.devel.hardware |
|---|---|
| Message-ID | <[email protected]> |
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On 03/11/2025 20:42, Frederick D Ullman wrote:
>
> I own a Gigabyte X870 AORUS ELITE WIFI7 motherboard which was intended
> when purchased to dual boot Windows 11 and FreeBSD 14.3. Th windows
> side is already installed and fully functional. My understanding is
> that there are two major compatibility issues between this motherboard
> and FreeBSD: graphics and the included ethernet lan interface.
> Graphics is not a current concern. But access to the Internet is
> vital. The workaround I’ve seen suggested is to add a PCIe network
> card supported by FreeBSD. I’d prefer a 1GB card to match what my ISP
> provides but even a lower speed card will do to give me Internet
> access from FreeBSD. I freely admit my FreeBSD experience is quite old
> and rusty. I’ve just spent almost a full day going back and forth
> between the FreeBSD 14.3 release notes, Nic cards available for retail
> purchase online, and trying to determine the underlying chips of what
> I find available. I have absolutely nothing to show for my efforts
> other than the realization that many cards listed as compatible with
> some release of FreeBSD are many years obsolete. If memory serves, I
> don’t recall having to even think about Nic drivers the last time I
> installed FreeBSD. I’m recently retired and hoping someone will take
> pity on a struggling senior citizen by recommending a specific pcie
> Nic card or two that are known to be compatible with FreeBSD 14.3,
> stable, reliable and currently available, for example, on Amazon..
>
Quick answer is Intel for 1Gb and Chelsio for 10Gb. They're very well
supported 'cos the manufacturers make sure they are. I believe 10Gb
Intel chips are well supported now but I've been doing this a while.
There are a lot of other perfectly good NICs that are supported, but as
you get a more capable chip (and therefore more expensive) it's a bit of
a waste if that particular feature isn't used. I'm talking about the CPU
offloading work to the NIC. the higher the price, the more the NIC _can_
do. The better supported, the more the NIC _will_ do. Other perfectly
good chips makers like Broadcom have some variants that are better
supported than others and you want an straightforward answer.
But I guess you're not running a server here, because you can spend a
lot of money. How about something with an Intel i226? 2.5Gbps, single
port, not silly money. Older 1Gb chips like 82576 are also fine for what
you need. Don't forget to make sure it comes with a low/high profile
bracket as needed!
These are fine:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dual-Port-Gigabit-Network-Express-Ethernet/dp/B09D3JL14S/
Twin port 1Gbps, older chip. Never had a problem with the chip, and not
a lot of money. They're all cheaper in the USA.
Regards, Frank.
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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 03/11/2025 20:42, Frederick D Ullman
wrote:<br>
</div>
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<p class="MsoNormal">I own a Gigabyte X870 AORUS ELITE WIFI7
motherboard which was intended when purchased to dual boot
Windows 11 and FreeBSD 14.3. Th windows side is already
installed and fully functional. My understanding is that there
are two major compatibility issues between this motherboard
and FreeBSD: graphics and the included ethernet lan interface.
Graphics is not a current concern. But access to the Internet
is vital. The workaround I’ve seen suggested is to add a PCIe
network card supported by FreeBSD. I’d prefer a 1GB card to
match what my ISP provides but even a lower speed card will do
to give me Internet access from FreeBSD. I freely admit my
FreeBSD experience is quite old and rusty. I’ve just spent
almost a full day going back and forth between the FreeBSD
14.3 release notes, Nic cards available for retail purchase
online, and trying to determine the underlying chips of what
I find available. I have absolutely nothing to show for my
efforts other than the realization that many cards listed as
compatible with some release of FreeBSD are many years
obsolete. If memory serves, I don’t recall having to even
think about Nic drivers the last time I installed FreeBSD.
I’m recently retired and hoping someone will take pity on a
struggling senior citizen by recommending a specific pcie Nic
card or two that are known to be compatible with FreeBSD 14.3,
stable, reliable and currently available, for example, on
Amazon..<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
</blockquote>
<p>Quick answer is Intel for 1Gb and Chelsio for 10Gb. They're very
well supported 'cos the manufacturers make sure they are. I
believe 10Gb Intel chips are well supported now but I've been
doing this a while.<br>
<br>
There are a lot of other perfectly good NICs that are supported,
but as you get a more capable chip (and therefore more expensive)
it's a bit of a waste if that particular feature isn't used. I'm
talking about the CPU offloading work to the NIC. the higher the
price, the more the NIC _can_ do. The better supported, the more
the NIC _will_ do. Other perfectly good chips makers like Broadcom
have some variants that are better supported than others and you
want an straightforward answer.<br>
</p>
<p>But I guess you're not running a server here, because you can
spend a lot of money. How about something with an Intel i226?
2.5Gbps, single port, not silly money. Older 1Gb chips like 82576
are also fine for what you need. Don't forget to make sure it
comes with a low/high profile bracket as needed!</p>
<p>These are fine:<br>
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dual-Port-Gigabit-Network-Express-Ethernet/dp/B09D3JL14S/">https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dual-Port-Gigabit-Network-Express-Ethernet/dp/B09D3JL14S/</a><br>
<br>
Twin port 1Gbps, older chip. Never had a problem with the chip,
and not a lot of money. They're all cheaper in the USA.<br>
</p>
<p>Regards, Frank.</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p><br>
</p>
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