Will this gigabit pipeline work (for home)?

[slh]

PCIe NIC vs USB NIC

If board and case allow it (reasonably easily), I would always prefer PCIe over USB 3.0. While good USB 3.0 cards will give you full 1000BASE-T wirespeed (non-good™ ones might not), that is easier to accomplish with just about 'any' PCIe card (albeit not 32 bit (legacy-) PCI). From a mechanical perspective, PCIe tends to win as well, as the card firmly screws into the case and can't get dislodged (the later may not be a problem in a home environment, but imagine a professional setting with clea…

…aside from them typically being a little cheaper as well.

That shouldn't imply that USB wouldn't be up to the job, but if you have the luxury to decide between PCIe and USB, I'd favour PCIe.