Intel is experiencing network issues: The I226-V controller is prone to connection loss
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Astyanax
This seems to involve switch/router configuration and the auto negotiation feature.
TheDigitalJedi
I'm dealing with this right now. My connection speeds are not as fast on my Z790-F. To increase the speeds I changed my Speed and Duplex from Automatic to 2.5gbps Full Duplex. Before changing the settings my download speeds were lacking. I've seen Speedtest runs as low as 133mbps. I now average 780mbps to over 800mbps on Ookla Speedtest which is better but not perfect. Steam download speeds peak at 75-80mbps. The 1226-V definitely needs an update. (I hope it's not a hardware issue.)
My older Alienware system has the Killer E-3000 and that gives me over 1000 - 1200mbps on Ookla Speedtest test runs. My download speeds on Steam average 125mbps to 144mbps depending on the time of day.
In regards to disconnects, it's possible I may have them. I'm not gaming online very much. My test runs and findings are in the thread below.
https://forums.guru3d.com/threads/download-speed-fluctuations-under-weird-circumstances.445933/
Crisidelm
I think I have the I-225V third generation (there is a (3) before its name) and I have in fact never experienced such problems.
Mpampis
I have a Gigabyte board with an Intel and a Killer 2500 network adapter. Killer was perfect, its app was really useful.
Then, Intel buys Killer, kills the app, destroys drivers and compatibility, to a point it's now more or less useless.
cucaulay malkin
needs a recall if can't be fixed with a bios update.
Astyanax
Killer is garbage, it isn't even a hardware vendor, just a software stack that plugs into an existing vendors driver.
aufkrawall2
Have seen the exact same behavior with ANY previous Intel LAN on Windows. Looks like their garbage Windows driver is over-challenged with parallel download connections. Intel Linux driver provides constant 118MB/s in Steam, without any tweaks...
Thus I think chances are it will never be fixed. Just buy some cheap Realtek card instead. Got it on my cheap 80€ board, constant 118MB/s in Steam after installing latest Realtek drivers...
Astyanax
except steam doesn't use parallel connections, and these controllers hit 240MB/s easily when attached right to another intel port.
aufkrawall2
Then why does it spawn lots of connections, similar to download managers with parallel connections?
https://abload.de/thumb/steamrccav.jpg
And yes. Download speed goes down in such download managers with Intel LAN on Windows vs. single connection, whereas it does not with Realtek.
Probably same dumb logic the Intel engineers had in mind.
Astyanax
From what i can see (testing here), download is serialized, with frequent fetch requests.
All connections are made to the same CDN.
Archvile82
I had this problem for a while on the i225-v on my Z690 board under windows 11. Turned out the original driver Asus hosted was for windows 10 (even though it stated Win10/11, now after some searching there was a dedicated windows 11 driver, after installing that one this issue went away. Asus now have the correct driver on their site for ROG STRIX Z690-A GAMING WIFI D4.
version scheme:
=|STORM|=Masta
My Asus ROG Maximus Z790 Hero mainboard also has the I226-V and it made similar problems after installing Window 11 together with the recent drivers.
I tempered a lot with device settings and found a temporary workaround.
In the device manager I disabled both "energy efficient ethernet" and "flow control", after that the connection problems went away.
So I think that must be a driver or firmware bug.
Hope that also helps someone else.
sykozis
There is no 3rd generation of the I-225V network chip. Intel doesn't create multiple generations of the same network chip.
"Killer" hasn't actually existed for more than a decade. Killer did include hardware under BigFoot Networks, then the buyouts started. At least 4 different companies have owned the "Killer" branding. BigFoot Networks, Qualcomm, Rivet and now Intel. "Killer" became nothing but a software stack when Qualcomm bought out BigFoot Networks.
I still remember all the hype surrounding the Killer K1 network card and BigFoot Networks' claims....
Astyanax
It had 3 revisions in order to solve a packet issue in the controller itself that prevented Hardware offload from working correctly (and rev 3 still has the same issue with certain ONT TCP/IP 6 packets)
Bigfoot bought up Realtek 8188CE's and rebranded them as Killer-N, it has never been a hardware spec, its just a software stack not unlike the nvidia NAM software (which was also terrible and a source of BSODS) - Though the nvidia ethernet was an actual nvidia product in their MCH's)
Asus never has up to date drivers for chipset / network, etc, and at some point they just stop posting new drivers entirely.
The latest i225 driver is not even in Intels Network Connections / Wired Driver packages, you can find it on Stationdrivers (and its a better driver then whats in the intel supplied packs)
TheDigitalJedi
Changing the Speed and Duplex settings only provided temporary relief. I regretfully report that my latest Ookla Speedtest were below abysmal.
The Ethernet woes of my board are just not worth the hassle. Unless the 1226-V is replaced, swapping motherboards will not fix the issue unless it's a board with a completely different well working NIC.
I said to myself the heck with it. I grabbed Network Adapter and we're now moving at full speeds. With the adapter I achieved 1176mbps down. Awesome stuff.
sykozis
When the "Killer" branding first came about IN 2006, it was attached to physical network cards. It was literally a PIECE OF F@CKING HARDWARE with crappy drivers that never delivered on any of it's promises.
Astyanax
It seems i was totally unaware of the K1 and M1 designs.
Astyanax
as I surmised elsewhere, the issue with these i226's is the Energy Efficient Ethernet feature which does not function correctly when paired with many of the switches on the market, the 2.5Gb spec mandated it be available and enabled by default for some ungodly reason.
In some cases the feature is automatically disabled when forced to 1Gbit pairing on many switches but some of them misreport or have a bad implementation on even 1Gbit mode.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/395665775077359626/1080592914889048064/DhBAxrZD98PyfBq4Pr7E44-1200-80.jpg-1.webp
