Hi,
I recently bought a (second hand) Intel X540-T2 network adapter for my DIY-NAS (my workstation already has one).
Unfortunately, it seems to have problems booting on my ASUS Maximus 6 Gene board (Post code 55). I've narrowed down the problem to Dell's memory mapping of the firmware. It is a known problem with Dell X540-T2's and the Intel Z87/Z97 chipset when using 4 DIMMs. It can be fixed by removing on DIMM from the board, after which the board POSTs and boots without any problems. The Dell X540 does boots without any issues on the H110 and Z370 chipsets, even with all four DIMM slots populated.
The card I intended to use for my workstation is a passive one (Intel OEM) and this one boots just fine of my ASUS M6G board. Considering both NICs have an identical board (aside from the fan header on the Dell one), I suspect that the Dell card will still work when I flash it with the unmodified Intel firmware, correct? This should solve the EFI memory mapping problem that I encounter on my NAS.
Is what I'm trying to achieve possible? Or should I just get rid of the Dell X540 and buy a new OEM Intel card? I got the dell really cheap - and genuine X540's often go for over $300 used (not counting the potentially compromised chinese knock-offs)
I've done a bit of Google-Fu, but couldn't find the native Intel firmware anywhere.