For Proxmox/ESXi yes, absolutely. Realtek on Proxmox means compiling drivers or using deprecated kernels. For a Windows box or basic Linux desktop, Realtek is fine. I paid the premium for i226 specifically because I wanted SR-IOV and proper VLAN handling without hacks. Also the i226 has better small packet performance if you run WireGuard or OpenVPN at speed.
I went the other direction. Sold my N100, bought a used Dell R230 with E3-1240v5, 64GB DDR4, $200 local. Idles 40W but I get IPMI, dual PSU, hot swap bays, and actual PCIe for a 10Gbe card. Sometimes efficiency isn't the only metric.
This. I have R230 in Casablanca, ambient 35C, the thing just lives. N100 would throttle to 800MHz in that heat. Enterprise cooling design matters more than people think. I pay 18c/kWh but reliability > efficiency for me.
Ex-abuse desk perspective: the number of compromised N100 boxes I'm seeing in reports is climbing. People put them on the internet with default creds, no fail2ban, thinking "it's just my little home server." It's a full Linux box. Patch it. Firewall it. Don't be my Tuesday 3am alert.
What about the N305? Double the cores, 15W TDP vs 6W. Anyone running one? The boards are $50 more but for a primary Proxmox node the extra threads seem worth it.
