When did Dell start shipping OptiPlexes with Realtek NICs?

Hello all, this is my first post, so if I am doing anything in error, please let me know. I would like to be as professional and communicative as possible. I am not here to rant, but if this starts to become one, just tell me and I will refrain from doing it again.

Quick background: I've been a network admin/tech for about 15 years now. I am, by no means, a guru, but I think I am safe to say I know my way around networks, hardware, OSI model, building machines and servers, etc. In other words, I feel it's safe to say that the issues I and my team are experiencing are not user error, but I may be wrong, of course.

I have always loved Optiplexes, always. My company recently purchased a new Optiplex 3040 SFF Desktop (not USFF).

When our engineers started to complain that the unit's NIC (Onboard) begin dropping packets, and giving them an overall unstable intranet/Internet experience, I was surprised! OptiPlexes have always been my recommendation for any business, even if they are a bit out of the price range.

I always worked hard to convince businesses to spend the extra premium to go Optiplex, over Inspiron, or Vostro. My reasoning was always because of the presence of better interface hardware and reliability (even if paying the premium did not give them a better CPU/RAM/Video, etc).

After taking a look at the unit, I was surprised to see it had a Realtek NIC chip onboard. It made me uneasy. I don't have a problem with Realtek, but I am pretty religious about not using them in any sort of mission-critical environment.

I don't want Realtek in my team's research machines. I paid the premium for an Optiplex because I thought that meant Intel Pro/Broadcom chips for networking.

TL;dr: My question is simple: when did Dell start putting Realtek in Optiplexes? Are they now going to put them in Precisions and Poweredges now too? (I am not asking about onboard audio, I am sure many OptiPlexes have Realtek Audio, which is fine, I don't need a good sound card in a business environment anyway).

Can we expect to see Realtek in Optiplexes from now on? If this is the case, I will no longer be buying Dell products.

Sorry, Dell still makes some good kit, but I do not trust Realtek, and will switch to another manufacturer (even at an additional cost) to keep them out of the computers I support.

I will also be attempting to return the new OptiPlex as well.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, let me know if I can provide any additional information.

Jess