Best NICs for pfSense
Tier 1: Intel (Highly Recommended) 
Intel NICs have the best FreeBSD driver support and are the gold standard for pfSense.
| Model | Speed | Driver | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intel i210 | 1 Gbps | igb | Home/Small office |
| Intel i211 | 1 Gbps | igb | Home/Small office |
| Intel i225-V | 2.5 Gbps | igc | Modern high-speed |
| Intel i350 | 1 Gbps (quad) | igb | Servers, multiple VLANs |
| Intel X520 | 10 Gbps (SFP+) | ix | Enterprise/Data center |
| Intel X540 | 10 Gbps (RJ45) | ix | Enterprise |
| Intel X710 | 10 Gbps | ixl | High performance |
Tier 2: Chelsio (Enterprise 10G+)
Excellent for 10Gbps+ with great FreeBSD support and hardware offloading.
Tier 3: Mellanox ConnectX-3/4
Good for 10G/25G/40G, well-supported in FreeBSD.
Avoid These for Production
| Brand | Driver | Issue |
|---|---|---|
| Realtek (your current re0/re1) | re | High CPU usage, less stable under load |
| Broadcom (some models) | bge | Mixed support |
| USB NICs | various | Unreliable, high latency |
Recommended Purchases
For Home/Small Office (1 Gbps):
- Intel i210-T1 or i211-AT (~$30-50 USD)
- Intel i350-T2 or T4 for multiple ports (~$50-80 USD used)
For 2.5 Gbps:
- Intel i225-V (~$30-40 USD)
For 10 Gbps:
- Intel X520-DA2 (SFP+) (~$30-50 USD used on eBay)
- Intel X540-T2 (RJ45) (~$80-100 USD used)
Quick Recommendation for You
Since you’re currently using Realtek (re driver) and experiencing boot issues, upgrading to an Intel i350-T2 (dual port) or two Intel i210-T1 cards would:
- Eliminate your current instability issues
- Provide better performance with lower CPU usage
- Give you rock-solid driver support
- Support hardware VLAN offloading
You can find used Intel server NICs very cheaply on eBay or Taobao in Taiwan. Just make sure to get genuine Intel cards, not counterfeit ones.
Would you like specific purchasing recommendations for Taiwan?