While not as common anymore, dual-Ethernet port motherboards can still be found on the market. Some gaming motherboards have Gigabit and 2.5Gb Ethernet ports, with one being a Realtek NIC and the other being Intel. Most PC users might never have used a motherboard with two Ethernet ports, as a single port has become standard on consumer motherboards.
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Although dual Ethernet may have some advantages over a single one, for the majority of users, the use cases are virtually non-existent. If a motherboard manufacturer is marketing dual Ethernet ports as the reason behind some hardware or gaming competitive advantage, it's nothing more than a gimmick. Let's get into the reasons why nobody really needs dual-Ethernet port motherboards.
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5 Most people only ever need one Ethernet port
Have you ever felt you needed a second one?
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Many users use wired internet on their desktop PCs, requiring an Ethernet port on their motherboards. Most PCs will have at least a Gigabit Ethernet port, which is enough for a 1,000 Mbps connection. Considering the internet bandwidth available to the average user, even a Gigabit Ethernet port is more than they'll ever need.
Even if you are one of the lucky few enjoying connections faster than 1Gbps, your motherboard probably has a 2.5Gb Ethernet port to support your high-speed plan. 10Gb Ethernet ports are also becoming increasingly popular on high-end motherboards, so situations where you will need more than one Ethernet port are extremely rare.
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Moreover, many desktop users rely solely on high-speed Wi-Fi, not utilizing even the one Ethernet port they have on their motherboards. If most of your online activity is reserved for your personal desktop, mobile phone, laptop, or iPad, the last thing you would ever think about is a second Ethernet port on your desktop PC.
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4 2.5Gb or 10Gb Ethernet is better than two ports
Even picky users will struggle to justify dual Ethernet
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If you are someone who can't do without the fastest internet possible on your PC, and are considering link aggregation to combine the bandwidth of two Ethernet ports into a single super-fast connection, you would probably be better served by just a single 2.5Gb or 10Gb Ethernet port. The chances of someone dealing with internet speeds faster than 10Gb are, again, extremely rare, further making dual-Ethernet port motherboards just a gimmick.
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Combining the power of two Ethernet ports is useful not just to gain access to higher bandwidth, but also to introduce redundancy to the network, or separate traffic between a private and public network. However, the number of users who rely on two Ethernet ports on a single motherboard to achieve this is extremely low, making it a niche within a niche.
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3 Networking enthusiasts opt for specialized hardware anyway
No enthusiast is hunting for dual-Ethernet port motherboards
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Users who spend a lot of time and effort on networking projects such as NAS, home servers, and home surveillance & automation systems probably opt for dedicated hardware such as high-performance routers, switches, access points, and more instead of dual-Ethernet port motherboards. When you are investing tons of time and money in a serious DIY project, you're probably not dreaming about having an extra Ethernet port on your motherboard to fashion a makeshift router.
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Even if you are not contemplating an elaborate networking project, and only need a home server to stream your media collection to your TV, you still will not need two Ethernet ports. You'll probably be using the one port on your motherboard to establish a wired connection or create a media server using your existing home router. Even your 100Mbps connection will be enough to stream your 4K movies from your PC to your TV. And the Gigabit Ethernet port on your motherboard will still be overkill for a connection like that.
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2 Even virtual machines don't need dual Ethernet
Your VM project is fine without a separate connection
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Virtual machines aren't limited to enterprise applications anymore. There are plenty of users trying them out to run multiple operating systems, run programs unsupported on their host systems, or test software and diagnose issues. If you are such a user thinking of using a dual-Ethernet port motherboard for your virtual machines, you can probably do without it.
Using the connection of the host machine across any of the virtual machines works without issues for 99% of users. Separating the traffic between the host machine and the VM might make sense for a small fraction of users, but as we discussed, there are far better ways of doing that than relying on two Ethernet ports on one motherboard.
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1 Dual Ethernet is mostly an enterprise use case
It's probably not their first choice either
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Dual-Ethernet port motherboards are probably only needed for enterprise scenarios, where, as part of their server setups, they need multiple connections separated via different Ethernet ports. One port is used for regular network access for the organization, while the other is reserved for backups over a different connection.
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This can provide unburdened access for everyone on the regular network, while the backups take place on a separate connection, not using any bandwidth on the other network. While technically possible, even this might not be a go-to setup for organizations. Keeping critical data separated from general web browsing within an organization can be better achieved through other dedicated networking hardware instead of dual-Ethernet motherboards. Organizations that require such network bifurcation are probably investing in more advanced and elaborate backups and networking security, making multiple Ethernet ports a needless feature.
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Dual-Ethernet port motherboards have rightfully disappeared
Whether you think dual-Ethernet port motherboards are a gimmick or not, you can't dispute the fact that they have mostly vanished from the market. For the average user, a single Gigabit or 2.5Gb Ethernet port is more than enough, and for enthusiasts or professionals, there's much more advanced hardware that is better suited for DIY projects and server use.
If you happen to have two Ethernet ports on your motherboard, you can try to make it useful, either for separating your home and work traffic, or for keeping your gaming traffic unaffected by your media server. These will still be niche and mostly unnecessary use cases, so if you haven't felt the need for two Ethernet ports before now, you probably never will.
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