** Official ASUS Poll & Discussion - LAN Controllers **

[Mason@ASUS]

Hello again, Legit Reviews community!

I have another poll and discussion that I'd like to get your feedback on to help us make some decisions related to motherboard network controllers (NICs). As always, we come to the forums first to try to get the widest reach of customer input and feedback.

I'm sure many of you have noticed that the integration of Intel NICs on our motherboards has become more and more prevalent of late on our motherboards (mainly Intel chipset motherboards) and there are many reasons for this which I will explain in this post. However, the point of this thread is to get your feedback on this and see if this is something that is important enough if your eyes for us to continue doing.

We included Intel Gigabit LAN on many of our Z68 boards, Z77 boards, and on all of our X79 boards. One reason this decision was made is the robustness of the driverset and the various options included in the Intel LAN chipset allowing power users as well as the average user to customize his/her online experience. Some of these options are Advanced Networking Services Teaming, VLANs, fine-grained control of link speed and duplex, Identify Adapter option, different packet options for specifying preferred frame size of certain data transfer scenarios, offloading of certain tasks to the NIC hardware because the NIC hardware can process certain things faster than the OS can and thus free up CPU cycles, etc.

Another reason we often use Intel LAN controllers is because of its higher degree of interoperability and compatibility with different types of software and operating system environments.

The third advantage that the Intel controller offers is its high level of performance. With all of the new software titles and applications coming out everyday that involve sending more and more data over a network, we feel the performance factor advantage to be a very important one to the majority of computer users out there. In our testing, as well as Intel's, we've noticed a higher level of performance with Intel LAN controllers, especially with larger packet sizes.

Of course the reason why we started this thread is to get your feedback on these items and find out whether you're experiencing these same advantages with Intel LAN controllers as well as how much of an impact the choice of NIC vendor makes when you consider purchasing a motherboard. For the poll, the information we would like to get is whether or not the manufacturer's choice of LAN controller makes a difference to you, if more often than not, you purchase an add-on LAN card, or if you do use the on-board LAN and do think the choice of vendor makes a difference, then which vendor you prefer. Along with your selection of LAN controller preference, please also post why you chose what you chose and your experiences good and/or bad regarding LAN controllers.

Thanks again for your valuable feedback which will help us to put out products catered more to your needs and wants.

[Apoptosis]

I prefer Intel LAN controllers as well and it is something I look for on desktop and server boards!

[kenc51]

+1 Intel

[Sparky]

I prefer Intel but the board in my signature has a Realtek controller so I'm making due with what I've got. I've noticed when it comes out of sleep it takes a while for the device to start working. Never had that problem with my Intel controllers.

[Velo:Sity]

If you look at motherboard reviews, LAN, SATA and USB controller performance is the biggest performance differentiator between different models and manufacturers. Other performance numbers are very much chipset-dependent, so results are mostly the same. Bottom line, for me LAN controller choice would be one of the key points when choosing a motherboard. After that it is robustness and manufacturer customer support (warranty length, reimbursement policy...)