pci-e gbit nic

[crasheren]

im wondering if a pci-e 1gbit nic will perform better than a 32bit pci 1gbit nic? im about to build a small file server, i got a p4 for that purpose, buying the following motherboard http://www.asus.com/products4.aspx?modelmenu=2&model=771&l1=3&l2=12&l3=230

pci-e nics are a bit more expensive, but are they worth it? ive been looking on the Broadcom 5751 pci-e nic

 

[Matthias99]

In theory, if you have *nothing* else on your (32-bit) PCI bus, it shouldn't bottleneck a (single) GBE connection (however, note that some motherboards put some of their 'onboard' peripherals on the PCI bus). If you have a PCI-based drive array, or you need multiple GBE links, you should shell out for a PCIe NIC (or a motherboard that has onboard GigE that's directly connected to the NB/SB).

 

[ribbon13]

if it is only a file server, the sound and other onboard PCI devices will have little impact on the PCI performance since they will be idle most of the time. Especially if you stick with ther onboard video and use the x16 PCIe for the SATA RAID HBA.