Old ASRock Z97 Extreme 4 Network card question.

RD Mercer · Jul 2, 2025

I have a ASRock Z97 Extreme 4 with 4790K and 32 Gigs of ram "yes it's old but so am I" also it works great for surfing, which is all I do, It has a 1000 Mbps onboard ethernet port. My question is, the internet speed that I'm paying for is 1200 Mbps, right now I get really close to 1000 Mbps. if I were to buy a 2500Mbps card and use it in a PCIe slot, would it make any difference? This board has a M.2 onboard, but I use a card in a PCIe slot for my M.2 because the performance is 5-6 times as faster. So, I was wondering if using a 2500Mbps network card in a PCIe slot would make any difference in the performance?
Thanks!

antspants · Jul 2, 2025

What you pay for isn’t always what you get. They sell a speed then give average connection speeds somewhere on the ISP’s site, I am sure.
If the card is cheap enough, it may be worth a try. So many contributing factors when it comes to connection speeds.

RD Mercer · Jul 2, 2025

I understand it’s a gamble, and it’s really not a big issue, I’m very happy with the internet speed I get now. It was just a question out of my curiosity.

antspants · Jul 2, 2025

What’s the card worth? Is the test worth the cost?

neemobeer · Jul 2, 2025

You're going to be limited by the slowest device is in your network. Router, NIC on device and ISP speed. You may also want to read the contract language for your ISP, typically the language reads something like "You're paying for X speed, but we won't guarantee that speed". That language can change if you're on a business plan.

RD Mercer · Jul 2, 2025

antspants said:
What’s the card worth? Is the test worth the cost?

Card is $17.99 on Scamazon.

antspants · Jul 2, 2025

RD Mercer said:
Card is $17.99 on Scamazon.

Go for it

suatcini54 · Jul 2, 2025

What is the speed of your modem/router and does it have an ethernet port on it that will give you 1200Mbps speed ?

What your router gives you is what you may get. If you are confident that your router is capable of giving you that speed, then it is worth buying an add-on ethernet card.

If you do not download large files over the internet, you do not feel the difference, though.

May I suggest you should not take the risk of fitting an add-on card. You may break a well-running machine.

Hope this helps.

RD Mercer · Jul 2, 2025

suatcini54 said:
What is the speed of your modem/router and does it have an ethernet port on it that will give you 1200Mbps speed ?

What your router gives you is what you may get. If you are confident that your router is capable of giving you that speed, then it is worth buying an add-on ethernet card.

If you do not download large files over the internet, you do not feel the difference, though.

May I suggest you should not take the risk of fitting an add-on card. You may break a well-running machine.

Hope this helps.

With the Comcast modem/router I have it's capable of 2500Mbps, I only get 1200 Mbps because that's what I pay for. I did look into upgrading my service to 2500Mbps from Comcast, it was around $30.00 more a month, not really that much more. I guess I was just trying to see if I could get to the 1200Mbps by installing a card.

suatcini54 · Jul 2, 2025

RD Mercer said:
With the Comcast modem/router I have it's capable of 2500Mbps, I only get 1200 Mbps because that's what I pay for. I did look into upgrading my service to 2500Mbps from Comcast, it was around $30.00 more a month, not really that much more. I guess I was just trying to see if I could get to the 1200Mbps by installing a card.

I have H97 Pro with Intel i7-4790 CPU. My internet speed is 200Mbps fiber optic. I do not have any problems downloading 2.5 GB MS Windows 11 patches under 2 - 3 minutes depending on load on MS servers.

A 4K Netflix movie streaming service requires something like 20 - 35 Mbps internet speed.

Please be advised.

RD Mercer · Jul 2, 2025

suatcini54 said:
I have H97 Pro with Intel i7-4790 CPU. My internet speed is 200Mbps fiber optic. I do not have any problems downloading 2.5 GB MS Windows 11 patches.

A 4K Netflix movie streaming service requires something like 20 - 35 Mbps internet speed.

Please be advised.

Thanks! I understand, I guess some of us get bored, even though we are totally happy with what we have, so it appears I'm doing great with what I have.
Thanks!

suatcini54 · Jul 2, 2025

RD Mercer said:
Thanks! I understand, I guess some of us get bored, even though we are totally happy with what we have, so it appears I'm doing great with what I have.
Thanks!

You are welcome. I am trying to share my knowledge with members in this reputable forum. The following screenshots show 1) Netflix movie streaming requirement 2) Apple TV movie streaming requirements.

I couldn't find Amazon Prime streaming requirements. But it must be similar to Netflix and Apple TV. The choice is of course yours.

Happy browsing.

antspants · Jul 2, 2025

suatcini54 said:
You are welcome. I am trying to share my knowledge with members in this reputable forum. The following screenshots show 1) Netflix movie streaming requirement 2) Apple TV movie streaming requirements.

I couldn't find Amazon Prime streaming requirements. But it must be similar to Netflix and Apple TV. The choice is of course yours.

Happy browsing.

View attachment 138298

View attachment 138299

Not sure what Netflix, Apple or Amazon streaming requirements have to do with anything. The point of the question is ‘can RD get the 1200Mbps that he is paying for, by buying a new network card?’

RD Mercer · Jul 2, 2025

antspants said:
Not sure what Netflix, Apple or Amazon streaming requirements have to do with anything. The point of the question is ‘can RD get the 1200Mbps that he is paying for, by buying a new network card?’

Yes, I was just trying to see if using a PCIe slot with the network card, would help me get what I'm paying for.

Crit · Aug 15, 2025

RD Mercer said:
I have a ASRock Z97 Extreme 4 with 4790K and 32 Gigs of ram "yes it's old but so am I" also it works great for surfing, which is all I do, It has a 1000 Mbps onboard ethernet port. My question is, the internet speed that I'm paying for is 1200 Mbps, right now I get really close to 1000 Mbps. if I were to buy a 2500Mbps card and use it in a PCIe slot, would it make any difference? This board has a M.2 onboard, but I use a card in a PCIe slot for my M.2 because the performance is 5-6 times as faster. So, I was wondering if using a 2500Mbps network card in a PCIe slot would make any difference in the performance?
Thanks

impossible to answer too many ifs ands or buts and what is the rate,...forget it
You start out with a computer description and ask what is cheapest...common
Try a tin cup and a string

Crit · Aug 15, 2025

It all depends on how many PCIe lanes your M.2 slot uses. I have a ASUS Z97-A and an NVME card (capable of full M2 Speed 4 lane) but it will only work on 2 lanes because the motherboard only supports 2 lanes instead of 4 on M2 slot.
So in my case that means no faster than SSD. Like it depends.

Ghot · Aug 15, 2025

@Crit

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Crit · Aug 15, 2025

RD Mercer said:
I have a ASRock Z97 Extreme 4 with 4790K and 32 Gigs of ram "yes it's old but so am I" also it works great for surfing, which is all I do, It has a 1000 Mbps onboard ethernet port. My question is, the internet speed that I'm paying for is 1200 Mbps, right now I get really close to 1000 Mbps. if I were to buy a 2500Mbps card and use it in a PCIe slot, would it make any difference? This board has a M.2 onboard, but I use a card in a PCIe slot for my M.2 because the performance is 5-6 times as faster. So, I was wondering if using a 2500Mbps network card in a PCIe slot would make any difference in the performance?
Thanks!

I have a ASUS Z97-A MotherBoard with i7-4790K. I run it at 4.6 GHz all cores all time. It still rocks. Your M2 depends on how many PCIe lanes leadinggg into it. My problem is even NVME will accept 4 lanes my MB can only deliver 2 hence no better than a SSD.

Old ASRock Z97 Extreme 4 Network card question.

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