lti wrote on 2024-09-25, 02:22:

It seems like Realtek learned to make decent Ethernet NICs after the RTL8139, but Intel is generally still better for more deman […]
Show full quote

It seems like Realtek learned to make decent Ethernet NICs after the RTL8139, but Intel is generally still better for more demanding stuff (as long as you didn't get the 2.5Gb chip). Their audio codecs have been decent (better than Conexant) for a while, but the actual limit of your PC's audio quality is the computer or motherboard pack-in audio "enhancement" software that randomly enables effects and can't be removed (if it isn't bundled with the driver, there's some kind of flag where Windows will reinstall it automatically).

I've never heard good things about Realtek WiFi, but they aren't the worst around. You could have that Atheros USB dongle I mentioned earlier.

eton975 wrote on 2022-11-11, 03:25:

Not OP but I do know that on the Intel Gigabit CT (82574L-based) ones, typically the faked Delta isolation transformer has printed rather than embossed text with the Delta logo. On the I210-T1 and i350s, etc the Intel logo itself on the card PCB may be missing or look wonky, but from my understanding fakes do exist with the proper or very well faked logo, so this is no guarantee of a genuine card.

I didn't know that anyone would make counterfeit 1Gb NICs. My idea of a counterfeit NIC for all this time was an old card relabeled as a much faster one. I've seen mini-PCIe WiFi cards labeled "Intel AX200" on Amazon (real AX200 cards are M.2 only), and they cost the same as a real AX200.

In 1997, the first Ethernet adapter that I used was Realtek RTL8029 based. It wasn't anything special, but it worked and was reliable. I used it for about 2 1/2 years . It worked for me under Windows 95, Windows NT4, DOS (packet driver) and probably Linux at some point (memory is sketchy on that one).

AFAICR, the Realtek RTL8129 was the one which was really not that great . The RTL8139, while not great either, was already an improvement and, in machines with fast-ish CPUs, it was not really problematic as a client NIC.