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I may be wrong but while 15$ single-port NICs are really common, 30$ dual-port ones seem rarer (by that I mean that the usual suppliers charge them 200$+). I may be biased, but I've just bought two single-port NICs for exactly that reason.
I suppose that single-port NICs being much more common, the manufacturing costs are just lower and the quality trade-offs of the most basic ones are not exactly the same as the most basic dual-port ones. I also noticed that the cooling parts generally seemed bigger in the multi-port systems.
But all of these are suppositions.
Is there any reference out there to explain why those multi-port NICs are that expensive? Alternatively, is there any clear hardware difference (PCI emulation for instance) that may explain the price jump?
JohnW
Posted 2016-07-27T19:37:03.277
Reputation: 287
Please read the question asking guidlines. Your question is open ended and looking for personal opinions. http://superuser.com/help/asking
– Cosco Tech – 2016-07-27T19:50:29.233You're getting twice as many ports for exactly twice the price. Why is that "much more expensive"? The manufacturer is not obligated to give a quantity discount. The two-port adapter uses only one expansion slot, and frees up a slot if you had used single-port adapters. If your mobo has only one (free) slot, then you might even to willing to pay a premium for such an adapter. High-density components (that also have low demand) are often priced with a premium. – sawdust – 2016-07-27T20:28:15.393
Which ever category you want to put it in, it doesn't follow the guidelines. – Cosco Tech – 2016-07-27T22:26:11.023
1How exactly please? It's an open question, yes, but people are asking them here without any problem which is expected because it is not forbidden by the guidelines. How exactly does the question asks for personal opinions? If it is not asked correctly, feel free to submit an edit to rephrase it in a more neutral manner. – JohnW – 2016-07-27T22:30:15.683