VMXNET3 vs E1000E on ESXi Choose the Network Adapter When You Create the VM
Two adapters, two very different behaviours. Picking the wrong one does not break anything today - it quietly taxes the VM forever, or stops your install at the network screen. Here is how to choose with open eyes.
Technical AnshuVMware ESXiVMXNET 3
Watch the full video - the complete Windows install on ESXi, live and step by step
Every ESXi admin meets this menu and most click past it. But VMXNET 3 and E1000E behave so differently - one invisible until VMware Tools, the other capped at gigabit forever - that the choice deserves thirty seconds of thought at creation time. This page gives you the full honest picture and the clean way to change your mind later.
Edit Settings - Network Adapter 1
VMXNET 310 Gbps - needs ToolsFAST
E1000E1 Gbps - works at onceEASY
Adapter change laternew MAC addressNOTE
The adapter menu looks like a detail. It decides your VM's network ceiling and whether Setup has internet at all.
1
What the two adapters really are
E1000E is an emulation of a real Intel 82574L gigabit card. Because it pretends to be common physical hardware, Windows already owns a driver for it - networking works during Setup, before anything is installed. VMXNET 3 pretends to be nothing physical; it is a purpose-built virtual adapter that talks to ESXi directly, supports up to 10 Gbps, and offloads work so the host CPU does less per packet. The price of that speed: Windows has no built-in VMXNET 3 driver. It arrives with VMware Tools.
2
The honest comparison
Speed: E1000E caps at 1 Gbps even between two VMs on the same host. VMXNET 3 can move far faster VM-to-VM and matters on 10 GbE networks
Host CPU: E1000E emulation costs more host CPU per packet - invisible on a lab, real on a busy host
Setup behaviour: E1000E works instantly; VMXNET 3 shows as no network until Tools is installed
Decide when you create the VM, because swapping the adapter gives the guest a new MAC address and a new network card - static IPs, DHCP reservations and licensed software tied to the MAC all notice. The clean patterns:
Smooth install path: create with E1000E, install Windows and Tools, shut down, change the adapter to VMXNET 3, boot, set the IP again on the new card
Direct path: create with VMXNET 3, accept no network during Setup (choose 'I don't have internet' where offered), install Tools from the console as the very first job, network appears
For a Windows Server that will move real traffic, VMXNET 3 is the right end state. For a quick throwaway test VM, E1000E's zero-friction start is a fair trade. What is not a fair trade is leaving a production server on E1000E for years because nobody got around to it - the 1 Gbps ceiling and extra host CPU are a permanent tax.
Rule of thumb: production Windows VMs end on VMXNET 3; E1000E is a starting convenience, not a destination.
Watch the Complete Installation in the Video
Every click shown live - creating the VM, loading the driver and installing VMware Tools.
Windows ships no VMXNET 3 driver. The adapter only comes alive when VMware Tools installs its driver. Install Tools from the console (Guest OS - Install/Upgrade VMware Tools) and the network appears after the Tools reboot.
Is E1000E bad? My VM works fine on it.
It is not bad, it is limited: a hard 1 Gbps ceiling and higher host CPU use. For a light VM on a gigabit network you may never feel it. For a file server, backup target or anything on 10 GbE, VMXNET 3 is the correct choice.
Can I switch the adapter type on an existing VM?
Yes - power off, edit settings, change the adapter type, power on. Treat the guest side as a new network card: re-apply any static IP, and expect DHCP reservations or MAC-based licensing to need updating.
This guide is based on the Technical Anshu video on installing Windows on VMware ESXi. Stuck on a step? Ask in the video comments - that is where answers come fastest.