In line with a report from TechPowerUp (opens in new tab), Intel’s newest I226-V 2.5GbE Ethernet controller, which debuted on 700-series motherboards, could have a design flaw. Person stories from the Intel (opens in new tab), Microsoft (opens in new tab), Asus (opens in new tab), and Reddit (opens in new tab) communities allege that the I226-V controller causes frequent connection drops at random instances, suggesting a possible design flaw.
The I226-V controller, codenamed Foxville, is the successor to the I225-V controller launched in 2019. Sadly, the I225-V wasn’t good and was tormented by many community connection issues that led to connectivity loss and efficiency deterioration. For the reason that points might solely be fastened on the {hardware} stage, Intel finally launched the I225-V2 controller. Sadly, motherboards manufactured earlier than the brand new revision proceed to undergo from the problems, resulting in workarounds comparable to gimping the controller to 1GbE mode as an alternative of two.5GbE.
Many Intel 700-series motherboards for thirteenth Technology Raptor Lake processors leverage the I226-V Ethernet controller. Fortunately, the connection drops are temporary; you in all probability would not understand them in day by day utilization. Nonetheless, you’d discover the drops in different workloads, comparable to downloading a giant file, on-line gaming, or in a video name by way of Zoom. It is simple to see whether or not connection drops are occurring in your system if you happen to look inside Home windows Occasion Viewer below the “Home windows Logs” part and, subsequently, “System.” As well as, TechPowerUp recommends looking for “e2fnexpress” and scouring for Occasion 27 or Occasion 32 errors.
Sadly, neither the newest Ethernet drivers from Intel nor the most recent firmware for the motherboards resolve the intermittent connection drops. TechPowerUp tried forcing the I226-V controller to function at 1 Gbps, however that did not fully resolve the issue.
House owners of premium 700-series motherboards haven’t got to worry over the I226-V points because the dearer choices include twin Ethernet controllers. These customers can swap to a third-party controller from Marvell or Realtek and overlook concerning the I226-V. Alternatively, some 700-series motherboards supply built-in Wi-Fi, which can also be a very good possibility. In the event you personal a lower-tier motherboard, you may possible need to fork out money for a PCIe community adapter or wi-fi adapter (or be taught to stay with the connection drops).
One would assume that Intel would have discovered from its previous errors on the I225-V controller. Nonetheless, it does not seem so. Hopefully, the chipmaker can resolve the problems with a firmware replace quite than a {hardware} revision just like the I225-V controller.