Intel Ethernet vs Realtek Ethernet

[Dammm00]

Hi, could you tell me which ethernet is better between "Intel 2.5 Gb Ethernet" and "Realtek 2.5 Gb Ethernet"? (Windows 11, Wi-Fi 5Ghz goes to max 150 Mbps)

The first is on the mobo "Asus prime z790-A" and the second on the "prime z790-P"

 

[shovenose]

Realtek has come a long way, both are fine!

 

[Shou Miko]

Realtek has come a long way, both are fine!

True it's only for specific use cases that one are preferred over the other, but as a end user both are fine for you.

 

[InVasMani]

Realtek has come a long way, both are fine!

This answer works for me it perfectly describes my feelings on the matter w/o trying to shill for Intel being better due to largely frivolous differences that are both hard to explain or understand how to properly setup in the first place w/o a guide and even then you have a lot of disputes over that.

 

[Bill_Bright]

Your post is mixing apples and oranges. Ethernet and wifi are two, totally different network interfaces/protocols. One has nothing to do with the other. One uses wires, the other uses radio frequencies (wireless).

Also, ethernet protocols must comply with industry standards - standards that have been around for a very long time. In other words, both should work equally well. When choosing between two motherboards, I sure would not use that as a deciding factor.

 

[Shou Miko]

I h that Lenovo recently have a lot of issues with their laptops running Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX211 cards.

Last week I had reports of more then 5 issues where WiFi doesn’t find any ssids in both Windows 10 & 11 and Lenovo confirmed this over the phone to me.

so far no official fix from Lenovo other then replacing the WiFi cards this is on Legions and ThinkPads.

i have a AX200 in my own Asus Crosshairs VIII Dark Hero and no issues so it might just be a Lenovo think.

 

[P4-630]

I'm using Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX210 with a 200Mbps connection, and reaching 200+wireless , no issues.
Wired my board has Ethernet 10G/1G Marvell AQtion AQC113C.

 

[KrazyT]

I've read bad think about the intel chip ( the i225 ) reliability ...
( like "self destoying" on the long term )
Some of you are aware of this ?

 

[ThrashZone]

Hi,
Yep asus boards seem to have issues with intel nic 1225-V

 

[P4-630]

( like "self destoying" on the long term )

Never heared about "self destroying" intel wifi....

 

[shovenose]

I've read bad think about the intel chip ( the i225 ) reliability ...
( like "self destoying" on the long term )
Some of you are aware of this ?

Yes, early ones had this issue but it’s long been fixed.

 

[KrazyT]

Never heared about "self destroying" intel wifi....

It is not about the wifi chip, but with the lan chip (i225)

Yes, early ones had this issue but it’s long been fixed.

Hope so, i've bought an Asus Strix B550-A equipped with, for my sister new's PC.
Hope it's well fixed !

 

[eidairaman1]

Realtek has come a long way, both are fine!

Ive never hand as issue with Realtek. It was Atheros always dropping drivers, and then my 2019 asus notebook dropping wifi inspite of using intgrated intel wifi adapter with drivers.

 

[mclaren85]

Killer ethernet says hello!

 

[P4-630]

Killer ethernet says hello!

There were alot of issues with that one too, maybe they fixed the issues by now, not sure...

 

[Harlow]

If you visit the FreeNAS/TrueNAS forum, many people recommend using Intel NICs instead of Realtek hardware. Problems may occur in systems with high levels of network traffic between the server and multiple client computers. See link below:

Is my Realtek ethernet really that bad?

This resource was originally created by user: jgreco on the TrueNAS Community Forums Archive. Please DM this account or comment in this thread to claim it. One of the longest running issues faced here in the forums may be people who come to these forums, wanting to recycle an old PC into a NAS...

www.truenas.com

Similarly, if you are building a stand-alone pfSense (or similar) Firewall in a computer, dual port Intel NICs are sometimes more reliable, especially when you have numerous clients connected simultaneously.

I had trouble for several years with three Asus XC-100C 10GbE NICs, until I updated the Aquantia driver in April 2020. Now the XC-100C cards work seamlessly with my 10Gig SPF+ fibre optic network.

I'm not against Realtek NICs per se. I chose my new Asus Prime X670-P WiFi motherboard because it had a 2.5GbE (Realtek) NIC. All the other 'cheap' AM4 boards I could buy had 1.0GbE chipsets. I wasn't prepared to spend £500+ on a motherboard with 10GbE, even though the rest of my network runs at 10Gb/s

Most of the dire warnings on the TrueNAS forum relate to old 100Base-T and 1.0GbE systems, so the new Realtek 2.5GbE chipsets might be just as reliable as Intel NICs in high traffic/multiple client situations.

If you're not building a server or a firewall, I shouldn't worry too much about the manufacturer of the Ethernet chipset on your motherboard. You can always buy a plug-in multi-Gig PCIe card if the integral NIC proves unreliable. A low-latency (but flaky) NIC might be more desirable in a gaming system, than a more dependable NIC in multi-client server.

 

[eidairaman1]

It really makes no difference at what Network transceiver you have.

If you have problems check the router settings then transceiver settings/drivers. They still make pcie cards.

 

[Space Lynx]

Hi,
Yep asus boards seem to have issues with intel nic 1225-V

gigabyte boards as well.

my gigabyte b650 board was a fucking nightmare to deal with. internet would drop every 2-3 minutes then come back, it just was horrible.

also Intel LAN is always on ALWAYS ON if your PC is shut down, look behind your PC, the Intel LAN light will always still be blinking. creeps me the fuck out.

I am realtek LAN for life. fuck that noise, and fuck that gigabyte board for giving me biggest headache of my life for multiple reasons. I refunded it.

 

[natr0n]

You would think intel ethernet could be overclocked by now.

Im playing with an old system fx6300/970 board with intel ethernet works just the same... its almost irrelevant to think about at this point.

 

[mplayerMuPDF]

If you visit the FreeNAS/TrueNAS forum, many people recommend using Intel NICs instead of Realtek hardware. Problems may occur in systems with high levels of network traffic between the server and multiple client computers. See link below:


Most of the dire warnings on the TrueNAS forum relate to old 100Base-T and 1.0GbE systems, so the new Realtek 2.5GbE chipsets might be just as reliable as Intel NICs in high traffic/multiple client situations.

If you're not building a server or a firewall, I shouldn't worry too much about the manufacturer of the Ethernet chipset on your motherboard. You can always buy a plug-in multi-Gig PCIe card if the integral NIC proves unreliable. A low-latency (but flaky) NIC might be more desirable in a gaming system, than a more dependable NIC in multi-client server.

I think that has more to do with the quality of the FreeBSD Realtek ethernet chipset drivers than any inherently inferior design of Realtek ethernet chipsets. Considering how popular Realtek ethernet chips are even in higher end computers, I do not see any reason to avoid them unless you are 1. going to run FreeBSD or 2. have extremely specific needs as another poster already said above.

Now, Realtek WiFi is a different matter, especially on Linux. I would really recommend going with Intel or Mediatek (formerly Ralink) instead.

 

[Bill_Bright]

Ive never hand as issue with Realtek. It was Atheros always dropping drivers, and then my 2019 asus notebook dropping wifi inspite of using intgrated intel wifi adapter with drivers.

If you have problems check the router settings then transceiver settings/drivers.

I think the above alludes to the bigger point here. No brand is immune from issues. And certainly, different models within the same brand may perform differently - despite the exact same protocols and standards they must follow.

Also, network performance (including continuity) depends on much more than just the NIC in our computers. For Ethernet, the router/switch on the other end must be equally robust and stable. And then there are those cheap, flimsy, fragile, often poorly made (and why I make my own), but absolutely critical network devices, the Ethernet cables (and their connectors) that play a major, but often overlooked role in network performance.

Similarly for wireless, there is the wireless NIC in our computers, but also the WAP (wireless access point) - typically integrated with the router or "residential gateway". But there is so much more. The antennas are critical. And not just the antennas themselves, but their placement and orientations.

And then, of course, there is what's in between, blocking, attenuating, interfering with the two-way "RF" signals.

The point is, network connections and performance is an end-to-end, two-way "system", where any part within can be the weakest link.

 

[dirtyferret]

Hi, could you tell me which ethernet is better between "Intel 2.5 Gb Ethernet" and "Realtek 2.5 Gb Ethernet"? (Windows 11, Wi-Fi 5Ghz goes to max 150 Mbps)

So what kind of broadband do you have if wi-fi only hits 150Mbps because it may be a non-issue if you don't approach speeds anywhere close to 2.5 Gbps.