On Sat, Feb 26, 2011 at 10:28 AM, compdoc compdoc@hotrodpc.com wrote:
I see that there are many Realtek RTL8169S gigabit cards going for a song on eBay.
I've always liked and used Realtek cards, and I use the RTL8169S in my servers. However, the RTL8169S has one problem: overheating. If you buy any, make sure they include a heatsink. Those without a heatsink are prone to locking up if the temperatures inside your case get too high.
That just confirms my experiences. I've had issues with onboard Realtek cards and linux. On one desktop the Realtek card would work until the box was restarted. You would have to hard power it off and back on for it to work again. That same box worked fine with Windows.
I stick with Intel for reliability and ease of use. You will find higher end motherboards mostly use Intel NICs. I've also had good experiences with onboard Broadcom NICs. For the price the Intel aren't much more. If you don't need gigabit, like in the original poster's case, then you can grab Intel 10/100 cards for cheap.
Ryan