$4.99*:TP-Link Gigabit PCI Express Network Adapter Model # TG-3468 Version 2.0 at Woot!

artcab

Pro

Jan 31, 2026 09:24 PM

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Joined May 2010

artcab

Pro

Jan 31, 2026 09:24 PM

2,186 Posts

Amazon reviews indicate a low profile bracket is included, and that it's a Realtek chipset (unsurprisingly).

dclive

Yesterday 12:02 AM

6,108 Posts

Joined Mar 2008

dcliveYesterday 12:02 AM

6,108 Posts

At $4.99 there's a market for this. Otherwise, a (Realtek...) 2.5GB is $15-$20 these days, and a 5GB is $32.

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kozg

Yesterday 12:23 AM

1,165 Posts

Joined Apr 2012

kozgYesterday 12:23 AM

1,165 Posts

Quote from artcab

:

Amazon reviews indicate a low profile bracket is included, and that it's a Realtek chipset (unsurprisingly).

Is that bad?

artcab

Pro

Yesterday 12:30 AM

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Joined May 2010

artcab

Pro

Yesterday 12:30 AM

2,186 Posts

Quote from kozg

:

Is that bad?

Depends on the use case, it wouldn't be suitable for a lot of high speed file transfers if transfer speed is important, but if you just need a second inteface or the original on board NIC is fried, this is just fine. I think the Realteks use the CPU for networking, versus something like an Intel NIC that handles all the network duties on the NIC. The Intel NICs are generally more expensive though.

dclive

Yesterday 12:33 AM

6,108 Posts

Joined Mar 2008

dcliveYesterday 12:33 AM

6,108 Posts

Quote from kozg

:

Is that bad?

I assume you're asking about the chipset.
Most networking folks prefer Intel, other popular names are Mellanox, Chelsio, QLogic, Realtek. Realtek's advantage is that it's cheap, and for the home space, that's by far the most important criteria.

dclive

Yesterday 12:36 AM

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Joined Mar 2008

dcliveYesterday 12:36 AM

6,108 Posts

Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank dclive

Quote from artcab

:

Depends on the use case, it wouldn't be suitable for a lot of high speed file transfers if transfer speed is important, but if you just need a second inteface or the original on board NIC is fried, this is just fine. I think the Realteks use the CPU for networking, versus something like an Intel NIC that handles all the network duties on the NIC. The Intel NICs are generally more expensive though.

I would question "all" as unfair; there are some CPU operations, particularly in a heavily virtualized environment (read: not for home use) for which Intel gives a good advantage.

Transfer speed differences are tiny. A percent, perhaps? Half a percent? Less?

For home use, it's hard to see that anyone would possibly care. Even homelab, it's not as if that improvement is going to matter to anyone.
From a support point of view, though, Intel advantages are significant - inbox drivers for VMware (and other OSs) being a key advantage. (But for Windows, doesn't matter; everything works in Windows.)

Last edited by dclive January 31, 2026 at 05:42 PM.

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cHEMEAUTOMATION

Yesterday 01:10 AM

27 Posts

Joined May 2013

cHEMEAUTOMATIONYesterday 01:10 AM

27 Posts

I had bad experiences with Realtek NIC. For some reasons, the NIC will hide themselves while creating duplicate network adapters. When it happens, the static IP addresses are erased from the original network adapters. It happens on Windows 11. I switch the Intel NIC and I don't have the same problem.

$4.99*:TP-Link Gigabit PCI Express Network Adapter Model # TG-3468 Version 2.0 at Woot!

$4.99

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