Intel EXPI9301CTBLK PRO1000 Network Card CT PCIex

My onboard ethernet connection on my Windows 8.1 PC died due to a power surge, I think. January lightning...So the cheap and easy way to solve this seemed to be a CSL PCIe (PCI-E / PCI Express) Gigabit network card from Amazon, which I ordered for about £5.I have spent a week messing about with a connection lasting max. 90 mins, verifying Windows power management etc. to the Network Adaptor, trying different drivers, and seemingly exhaustive internet searches, and have got nowhere. If I unplugged my ethernet inside the 90 minute window, it would disappear, too, until a complete Shut Down and restart (not just a restart).Bought one of these, also from Amazon. Now I can unplug my ethernet connection, configure a router as an access point (fallout from the power surge), plug my ethernet back in to my network, and it WORKS!If I have any problems, I have the Intel dashboard to go to for help. So fingers crossed!It's not cheap, but Intel do seem to give value for money in the quality of this product.

This is a very high quality, fast, gigabit ethernet card. It's very good value for money, has a lifetime warranty and is backed by the best support in the business.But! Almist every computer made these days already has a Gigabit Ethernet adapter built into the motherboard, why would you need one of these?Well, first of all, not everyone needs one of these, for a great many people the built in network adapter will be sufficient. There are however some tasks that will really benefit:GamingVideo StreamingLarge Data TransferIf you perform the tasks above a lot, then you can benefit from a dedicated network adapter.For gamers, you can experience lower latency and better pings, also the card here has it's own processor which will reduce the CPU load of you computer for better frame rates.For video streaming, the Intel card provides highly optimised packet prioritisation which can help keep your video streams fast and jitter free.*Large data transfers, particularly if your home sever also has a high quality network adapter are *lightning* fast with these cards, For me, this is the biggest improvement I saw over the built in adapter (about 60% faster throughput over the onboard Realtek).In summary then, not everyone needs these cards, but they offer some nice gains over onboard adapters for very little outlay. While it won't change your world, it can be the cherry on top of an already powerful computer.*Note: good packet prioritisation benefits all kinds of data transfer tasks from downloading a webpage to sending email.

This NIC gets awesome reviews everywhere. Whether you are buying it to replace on-board Ethernet due to a rubbish controller or a faulty port etc you cannot go wrong.Mine came with two brackets so it is easily adapted from a server or htpc etc and was a doddle to fit.I can't offer much in the way of hard performance figures but it performs flawlessly.The major plus point for me was being Intel there is terrific driver support and the drivers are picked up automatically by windows update.Great card, performance and driver support.

Since my router has Gbit ethernet ports I wanted to upgrade my Linux desktop system from 100Mb. Just plugged it in and it worked fine straight away, no reconfiguration needed. Fair price, quick delivery.

Bought this to replace my (intermittent) on-board Ethernet.It came with the tall plate backing and short one (seller was Amazon). Was initially worried as some said Windows 10 was not supported (even though Intel's website states it is!). However, installed it easily enough, booted up Windows 10 64Bit and it worked right away. Drivers automatically installed, no problems at all. Hopefully this one doesn't keep disconnecting like the on-board one!

I bought this PCI Express card hoping that my read/write transfer rates would improve. I had 6Mb/s download and 0.1Mb/s upload which was causing me headaches with Windows 7 Pro, having had a much better upload speed (4-6Mb/s) with XP Pro. I tried all the blog fixes and there were marginal improvements in performance.I had an external 1Gb Network adaptor fitted on the PCI connector to the motherboard and that didn't improve matters.I read the blurb on the ASUS motherboard which generally referred to the PCI Express connections as being good for heavy duty gamer graphics, but buried in the text it also mentioned it might be good for Networks.I bought the card based on very positive reviews with my fingers crossed.I installed it in minutes and the BIOS instantly recognised it and the system booted up normally while I held my breath hoping no crash would occur.I then ran several large 100Mb transfers to my Synology NAS server via a Netgear ADSL+ router and couldn't record the upload/ download rate as it was near instant. I then went for a 2Gb file transfer and could find a transfer rate of between 50-80Mb/s..Outstanding.This is the best and least expensive upgrade I have ever had.Highly recommended and gets 5 stars...The only downside was that there was no installation CD..or anything other than the plastic packaging of the adapter and a short plate.

Works well in server