Question 1

Will this work with a Windows 7 desktop computer?

Accepted Answer

Paul-

We use these quite often.  Yes, it will work with a Windows 7 desktop computer.  My IT department states it is a very good card.

Question 2

Does this come with driver CD?

Accepted Answer

No, this did not come with a driver CD.  I swapped the long bracket for a low profile bracket, plugged it in a computer running Win7 Pro 64-bit, and the card was properly recognized and installed.

Question 3

will this work on a 64bit bus system?

Accepted Answer

If you are referring to the 64-bit PCI-X bus, no. This works on any PCI-Express slot. So if you have a 1x, 4x, or even 16x slot, it will work just fine.

Question 4

2.4 ghz frequency only? or 5.0 ghz too?

Accepted Answer

Neither.  This is a hard-line ethernet card for installation in a PCI-Express slot in a PC and connecting directly via ethernet cable to a switch - not a WiFi card.  As such, there is no frequency since it does not broadcast or receive wirelessly.

Question 5

Does it come with the low-prifile backplate?

Accepted Answer

Yes low profile plate included and easy to install.

Question 6

is this item wireless capable?

Accepted Answer

No, it's Ethernet (wired) only. It's a great product, but you will want to choose something else for wireless capability. Another Intel product would be good. Personally, I've always had good performance from Netgear hardware. Cisco/Linksys or D-Link are also good brands. Belkin is also putting out good products these days.

Question 7

Is this the correct adapter I can use to extend the range of a unidirectional parabolic antenna via a coaxial connector?  Thank you.

Accepted Answer

No - this has no coaxial (Type F, BNC, TNC/RP-TNC, SMA etc.) connectors on it. This is for an Ethernet network utilizing 8P8C (RJ45) connectors on twisted pair wire.

Question 8

Are there drivers for Windows 2012 Server R2?

Accepted Answer

The built-in drivers for Windows 8.1 and Server 2012 R2 boxes seem to work perfectly out of the box, but it's a good  idea to visit the Intel web site for the newest drivers. Just search for Intel Driver Update Utility.

The newest driver form Intel had more features than the stock drivers under the "Advanced" tab of the driver properties window. Works great with my Hyper-V virtual switches as well.

Question 9

i have a compaq preasrio model cq5210f  windows 7 64 bit my 
card is built into the mother board once installed will windows figure out the install and disable the one on the mother board ?

Accepted Answer

No. At least it shouldn't. I don't have any particular knowledge of the hardware described in your question, but computers are supposed to be able to use multiple network adapters at once. You can really mess with a network if you use two adapters incorrectly on the same network, but there are legitimate applications for doing so. In any event if you just plug a network cable into the card you want to use and not into the one you don't everything should be fine.

Question 10

I would like to install this in hopes for better network performance than my onboard Realtek NIC.

Do you guys do any tweaks after installing these or is it a basic "Set and forget? kind of thing?

Accepted Answer

You can tune it. However, you don't need to. I still bother with jumboframes, but CPU utilization and throughput on these cards is excellent without. I bought this for the same reason and I'm very happy. Some onboard NICs only give me 450-600Mbps. You should expect this card to perform perfectly. I test all of mine and expect 850+Mbps. I can't recall exactly what I saw with this NIC, but it was what I consider top-shelf. I buy these for any box I build.

Questions & Answers