H!Fiber Gigabit 2 Port NIC with Intel I350 Chip, 1Gb Network Card Compare to Intel I350-T2 NIC, Dual RJ45 Ports, PCI Express 2.1 X4, Ethernet Card with Low Profile for Windows/Windows Server/Linux

This is a review of four related products purchased here on Amazon. 1. Klein Tools VDV826-703 Pass-Thru™ Modular Data Plug, CAT6, 50-Pack (ASIN B076PRM7W8) 2. Klein Tools VDV226-005 Compact Pass-Thru™ Modular Crimper (ASIN B07R3GK9FQ) 3. Soft Plastic Ethernet RJ45 Cable Connector Boots by Copapa (ASIN B07219KGC4) 4. H!Fiber 1Gbe Ethernet Network Adapter (ASIN B074PPRQQK) I’m using CAT 6 UTP (23 AWG) that I bought from a local home center. 1. I found the Klein Tools VDV826-703 Pass-Thru™ Modular Data Plug, (CAT6, 50-Pack) to be easy to use. This is my first-time using pass-thru connectors, and I have mixed feelings, but that’s not what this is about. The 23 AWG wires fit in snuggly but did require a bit of convincing to pass thru. They are more expensive than some others that are available, but I know these will work perfectly, especially with a same brand crimper. 2. The Klein Tools VDV226-005 Compact Pass-Thru™ Modular Crimper did its job flawlessly. The insulation is held tightly in place, the crimp felt secure, and the pass-thru wires were cut perfectly flush. I still need to try this with cheap plugs, to see if they are cut just as flush, but these work great with their own. 3. While I don’t usually use boots, I decided to give them a shot as they make the wires look more “finished”. I purchased the blue Soft Plastic Ethernet RJ45 Cable Connector Boots by Copapa. While they didn’t cost much, they were very soft and fit okay. I wish they were a little tighter around the wire, but that can vary from brand to brand. Overall, I’m happy with them. 4. Once the cables were completed, I plugged them into a H!Fiber NIC (Intel I350-T4 chipset). They all fit nicely together, even with the boots. That network card is not the V2, and that was expected. The V2s are harder to find and there are no performance differences. The revision was made to fix a slight power surge during power-on. The network card performed flawlessly with pfSense and I was able to configure two LAGGs with LACP support. One to a Cisco managed switch, and the other to my cable modem (SB8200) but I’ll save those for a different review. This card is working perfectly.

I've had no issues; works great. The low-profile bracket attaches easily, and fits low-profile cases, and i do get close to the full 1 Gbps speed during a large file copy. Not bad for $60. The last one got fried in a lightning strike that happened nearby; even behind a UPS. I guess the EMP on the network cables was too much for it.

great nic, exactly what i needed for my opnsense server.

Sure it's not a fake. Using it in a PC for a two port LAGG network connection where it works well. The computer identifies it as an i350-T2 NIC and the Intel drivers run it.

bought one when in a bind, worked for around 6 months then started port flapping... new on lasted a few hours and now is port flapping. do not recommend. I could be pushing it to hard too though... it is for my opnsense router that i do a bunch of custom dev work.

Taking out the used server gear market, this card is very powerful and offers full gigabit performance. In terms of more prosumer use, this card will feel the same as those $300 quad port, current gen NICs. If you have to get new, this can't be beat That said, I would STRONGLY urge ANYONE to check out used server gear. You can get a similar quad port NIC for less than $20, and, again, be very hard pressed to find any differences in performance. I've built a full tower out of used components (both reusing my old computers and buying used server gear). I can't tell the difference between this card and any of the used ones I haver purchased...and used server gear tends to stay pristine and clean, as they tend to be installed and never touched again

This NIC has been running rock solid 24/7 in our pfSense CE router for over a month now.

Machine goes into power cycling and will not post with this card installed. Motherboard is a Gigabyte X299 Aorus Master. Without this card it operates properly. Sad that there is such a short return window for a non-working product.

Works great in my ESX 8.0.3 server