Top affordable gigabit card under $20
Top affordable gigabit card under $20
Focusing on buffer options is interesting. I've identified a few in the $10-12 area, and I'm open to aiming nearer $20 if it offers reduced buffer costs.
I assume you're referring to physical network cards rather than wireless ones. You'll notice variations in the network chips used. The most affordable options typically use the classic Realtek 8111 and similar models. A few slightly improved versions might employ older Intel chips. Latest models utilize the Intel chips found on modern motherboards for built-in LAN. Broadcom falls in between Realtek and Intel. Overall, differences are minimal; variations mainly stem from CPU handling (especially under heavy bandwidth or many simultaneous connections, such as 300-500 BitTorrent streams) due to hardware offloading and interrupt management. Intel and Broadcom generally perform slightly better.
You'll need to believe me if you spend a bit more on an Intel network card like the EXPI9301CT. Right now it's $25 at Newegg in the U.S. I'm not familiar with Broadcom chipsets beyond old Linksys routers, but Realtek parts are really bad—they slow things down and only deliver about half to three-quarters of the promised speed. Over the last five years I've made several homemade firewalls, and I stick to Intel NICs because they perform best.