Thanks for your answers, W2K8 can make use of the TOE, iSCSI acceleration and interrupt-coalescence offered by the last NIC in your list, of course you may not be using iSCSI so that may not be of consequence to you.
Whilst a PCI-ex1 adapter should have enough grunt to keep up I'd be tempted to go for a x4 adapter to give you the headroom and ensure that you're not hampering any other cards on the same bus.
The other two features will be of use to you, particular interrupt-coalescence in a DB environment. I'd go for either of the 5708's but given the iSCSI-accelerated one is the same price I'd go with that.
Of course you could always try the stock NIC and see how you get on, it might be perfectly adequate.
Intel vPro technology is a set of features built into a PC’s motherboard and other hardware. Intel vPro is not the PC itself, nor is it a single set of management features (such as Intel Active Management Technology (Intel AMT)) for sys-admins. Intel vPro is a combination of processor technologies, hardware enhancements, management features, and security technologies that allow remote access to the PC.
It doesn't matter what network card you are using, as long as the bios on the computer supports the network card directly, and if HP are tell you it's vPro compatible, it will be.
Hardware requirements for desktop PCs with Intel vPro
Desktop PCs with vPro (called “Intel Core 2 with vPro technology”) require:
* For AMT release 5.0:
o Intel Core2 Duo processor E8600, 8500, and E8400 ; 45nm Intel Core2 Quad processor Q9650, Q9550, and Q9400.
o Intel Q45 (Eaglelake-Q) Express Chipset with ICH10DO.
* For AMT release 3.0, 3.1, and 3.2:
o Intel Core2 Duo processor E6550, E6750, and E6850; 45nm Intel Core2 Duo processor E8500, E8400, E8300 and E8200; 45nm Intel Core2 Quad processor Q9550, Q9450 and Q9300.
o Intel Q35 (Bearlake-Q) Express Chipset with ICH9DO.
Note that AMT release 2.5 for wired/wireless laptops and AMT release 3.0 for desktop PCs are concurrent releases.
* For AMT release 2.0, 2.1 and 2.2:
o Intel Core 2 Duo processor E6300, E6400, E6600, and E6700.
o Intel Q9655 (Averill) Express Chipset with ICH8DO.
Taken from [Wikipedia] so you get all the facts.1
Best Answer
Intel is the industry gold standard for NICs. They make a very clear distinction between desktop class and server class NICs, so stick to server-class Intel NICs and you will be fine. The only other brand worth considering is Broadcom, and they are a distant second in my opinion.
Bear in mind it is the chip on the NIC you are concerned with, and there are many re-branded Intel NICs (e.g. most HP NICs are Intel-based), so it doesn't have to be Intel brand.
Here's a very detailed breakdown of all Intel's Ethernet controllers: http://www.intel.com/products/ethernet/index.htm?iid=embed_portal+hdprod_ethernet#s1=all&s2=all&s3=all