Question :

I have 2 home-brew Gaming PCs both based on the Asus TUF B450 Plus Gaming motherboard, and for some reason the onboard Ethernet LAN-port is getting 1000mbps Gigabit Ethernet and the other one is only getting 100mbps Fast Ethernet. I’ve tested and reset the router and tested the Ethernet-cables with other computers and the problem is not in there.

The weird thing is that Windows 10 Settings lists LAN-port on the troublesome motherboard as 100/100 (Mbps), names the adapter “Realtek PCIe GbE Family Controller” and list a 10.31.828.2018 driver version, which is even newer than the 10.10.714.2016 driver version on the other, identical motherboard which is listed as 1000/1000 (Mbps) and named “Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller” (spot the one letter uppercase difference “GbE” vs. “GBE”).

And when Windows 10 checks for new LAN-driver updates, it tells me none are available and the latest one are already installed. So Windows 10 itself can’t find a newer driver than the one from 2018, which is at least 2 years old…

I’ve also tried finding som settings to toggle in the TUF’s BIOS Setup Program, but neither in EZ Mode, nor in Advanced Mode, there is any option to set, reset or alter anything for the LAN. Neither is anything regarding this issue listed in the Support FAQs on the Asus-website.

What can I do ?

Answer :

We’ve managed to track down the solution for you. (Even though we’re usually doing Macs only.) Here’s how :

• goto this webpage : https://www.asus.com/supportonly/TUF%20B450-PLUS%20GAMING/HelpDesk_download/
• first, select “Windows 10 64-bit” as your OS
• after the content has loaded, scroll down to the LAN chapter
• click on the blue download button there to download the latest Realtek LAN driver for Windows 10 64-bit (currently a 2020-version listed as 10.42.526.2020)
• when the file is downloaded, find it’s location in on your PC and run the Setup-application
• when the installer screen opens, do not use the pre-selected “Update” option, but select the “Delete”-option and run it
• when done, click the “Finish”-button
  • note that your PC will not have an internet connection now (at least over the on-board LAN-port, you may still have an internet connection over USB-LAN or WiFi is you have that set up)
• now, again, find the LAN-driver’s location on your PC and run the Setup-application
• when you get a warning screen (usually in red) saying there is no option to verify the installer application before you run it, since there is no internet connection, just proceed
• now, when the installer screen opens, it will immediately (re)install the LAN-driver (this time there is no screen where you can choose between different types of installs)
• when done, click the “Finish”-button

That’s it !

Note : if you want to check your internet speed, you can choose any speedtest you like. If you don’t know which one to choose, do the one from Ookla that you can do online at https://www.speedtest.net (there, you could also get a speedtest-app for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, etc.)

enjoy 😉