Rosewill RC-20001 2.5GBASE-T PCIe Network Adapter 2.5Gbps PCI-Express x1 1 x RJ45 $15.99 AP ($4) @ Newegg

[VirtualLarry]

Rosewill RC-20001 2.5GBASE-T PCIe Network Adapter 2.5Gbps PCI-Express x1 1 x RJ45 $19.99
+ $4 off w/ promo code 3BDMDSL236, limited offer

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Now $18.99
Edit: 2021-01-01 now up to $24.99 (DEAD).

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Rosewill RC-20001 2.5GBASE-T PCIe Network Adapter 2.5Gbps PCI-Express x1 1 x RJ45 $19.99

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Rosewill RHUB-20002 USB-C 3.1 to RJ-45 2.5 Gigabit LAN Ethernet for MacBook, Chromebook, Windows 10, 8.1, Mac OS $26.99

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Rosewill RC-20001 2.5GBASE-T PCIe Network Adapter 2.5Gbps PCI-Express x1 1 x RJ45 $22.99
+ 30% off w/ promo code NVLTDQSL88, limited offer

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Rosewill RC-20001 2.5GBASE-T PCIe Network Adapter 2.5Gbps PCI-Express x1 1 x RJ45 $29.99

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Yep, "cheap" RealTek 2.5GbE-T chipset PCI-E x1 card. I would, of course, prefer it to be more inexpensive, but at least, it's sort-of a brand name card. Cheapest other brand-name RealTek 8125-based card was a TrendNet on Amazon for $50.

Along with scores of no-name sellers with $29.99 RealTek 8125 cards, but with questionable pedigrees and warranties.

So, this one isn't cheaper than the "cheap Chinese cards", in fact, it sort-of is one, but at least it's branded, with I presume, a warranty, and hopefully the implementation is good.

I have purchased 5 of the Chinese generic cards straight from China off of ebay for $20 ea., and those particular cards have been working pretty great. I gave two of them (or sold, I forget which) to a member here, and they reported success with them as well. So if the Rosewill implementation is as good as the Chinese generics or better, then I think that they have a decent product here.

Edit: They claim that this is on sale until Monday, but I suspect that $29.99 is going to be their MSRP. I would probably jump on multiples if they hit $24.99 or less, better with a qty. discount offered. (Do you hear me, @Newegg ?)

At $21.99 or cheaper ($19.99 would be sweet, for qty.), I would likely include one of these in EVERY for-pay "Gaming PC Build" that I do, just to future-proof.

Also, I don't know if there are any actual technical differences with the NICs, but there is a "Dragon 8125BG" chipset mention on some mobos, with some bundled "Gaming NIC / Prioritization" software, and AFAIK, those "Dragon 8125" varieties are NOT yet available in standalone NICs.

If Rosewill wanted to, they could offer that "Gaming version" of this NIC, for $39.99 MSRP, and include the software (downloadable from their site, forget including a CD, no-one in their right minds still builds gaming PCs with CD/DVD drives anymore).

Just a suggestion for an up-market version of this product.

Edit: Also, low-profile bracket appears to be included. Good job Rosewill!

Oh, also, @DAPUNISHER . LMK what you think of these.

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Edit: But wait, there's more!

Rosewill RHUB-20002 USB-C 3.1 to RJ-45 2.5 Gigabit LAN Ethernet for MacBook, Chromebook, Windows 10, 8.1, Mac OS $35.99

USB-C 3.1 to 2.5GbE-T, courtesy of Rosewill.

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[SamirD]

Cool they're coming down! And that thing is tiny too. If there's a native realtek driver in my ss4200-e, it seems small enough to add it to the pci slot in the thing.

 

[killster1]

interesting find, i guess id bite if i was in the market. the last motherboard i bought had 10gbe already and most likely all the future boards will have these as well, but if you are into budget boards and needing to upgrade to 2.5gbe and dont want to try used 10gbe nic's it could work well. 20$ would be a no brainer to try it out but at 30 maybe id get a used dell 10gbe

DELL INTEL I350/X540 RNDC 2x 10GBE+ 2x 1GBE = 33$ :O fun to try it out to bad im stuck on 100mbit internet cough cough ewww

 

[VirtualLarry]

@killster1 Always in the lap of luxury, I see.

10GbE-T is nice, but you need specific (Cat6A, or above) cabling for it (well, "officially"), and while I use some 10GbE-T links in my LAN, not everything NEEDS 10GbE-T. 2.5GbE-T could work well for a lot of people, that aren't willing to drop $500 on a switch. (Or drop $100 on some huge rack-mount thing with screaming fans on it, that doesn't have much WAF to it.)

See my other Hot Deal on the QNAP 5-port 2.5GbE-T switch for $99.00 @ QNAPworks.com, to complement these cards, and the newer (B550 and Z490 boards, above $150 or thereabouts) mobos with 2.5GbE-T built-in.

I actually bought 3x ASRock X370 Professional boards, with the AQuantia 5GbE-T, which I may or may not add 2.5GbE-T cards to as well. I've been hearing mixed opinions on the AQuantia chipsets (Some people call them "garbage".) The RealTek 8125 chipset on these Rosewill cards, if it's a proper implementation (and it should be), is quite trouble-free for me. I think that they even work in Linux these days too.)

I was going to get 2-3x of those 5-port 2.5GbE-T switches, because they're small and passive, and low-power, but now that I've got boards with 5GbE-T.

I might do a split-LAN arrangement, and put my NAS units on a physically-separate LAN, isolated from the internet-at-large.

Heard FIOS is going to up their game, at least for SMB customers, soon, within a year, they're testing NG2-GPON (?). Supposed to allow up to 10Gbit customer connections. Of course, they'll have to replace my ONT, I've had it forever, but it only has 1Gbit/sec ethernet ports on it. (I'd be happy with 2-2.5Gbit/sec connection speeds for now. Just for bragging rights, generally.)

 

[SamirD]

I've been hearing mixed opinions on the AQuantia chipsets (Some people call them "garbage".)

The aquantia chipsets where the first nbase-T chipsets that were used in the enterprise so they're far from garbage. Probably some people that aren't used to having to hunt for drivers or install them manually imo.

 

[funboy6942]

My whole house is done with Cat 6 cables, done it many years ago, when mono price had a hecka deal on 100 feet of it, so I went nuts and did it in every room, some rooms got 2 or 3 cables depending on what was in it, for I despise wifi with a passion trying to get it working right, or not choking when everyone and everything is on it. That said, I need to find a cheap 10GB switch, and lan cards, so I hope they come down soon to really take advantage of these cables. Larry you know any low cost options for this?

 

[SamirD]

Smart smart man! wifi sucks!!!

In my parents house we put in 400Mhz rate utp back in the mid 1990s--this was even before the 5e spec I believe. Today we have full gigabit in all the ports that were terminated correctly. I have to reterminate the the other ones and I'm sure they'll work fine. But at over 50 runs and only about 10-20 running 100Mbps it's not bad considering the installers back then didn't even know what we were talking about.

I'd check your terminations before you think too hard on 10Gbps. While the wire can probably handle it, the terminations might not.

As far as cheap 10GB, you won't find it in utp, but sfp+. The enterprise guys have been picking these up cheap for years now and using dacs between servers without a switch or a sfp+ switch. The power usage on 10Gb is something to consider though, especially with utp.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I'm using a 4+1 port Microtik 4x 10GbE SPF+ switch (+1x 1GbE-T) with 4x 'ipolex' 10GbE-T/NBASE-T copper transceivers.

The switch is like $137-140 @ Amazon, and the transceivers are like $40 ea. That's still 4x $40 + $140 = $300 (+tax).

There's a new 12W passively-cooled QNAP switch that's a 5-port 2.5GbE-T, that I detailed in another deal thread, QNAPworks.com seems to be the only place in the USA to have it in-stock yet. That one is $99.00.

2.5GbE-T will run over Cat5E, and is probably more forgiving about the cabling and terminations. 10GbE, well, even some of my Cat6A cables, one of them got stretched or something, runs 2.5GbE-T over it, won't run 10GbE-T over it.

Do you REALLY need 10GbE-T, @funboy6942 , or just jonesing for some ethernet e-peen? It draws a lot of power driving 10GbE-T over copper cables too.

Maybe you could do with NBASE-T instead? (2.5GbE-T / 5GbE-T)

 

[funboy6942]

No I dont "need" it, but it would be nice to know that just like new plumbing, that Ill still have hot water in my shower, even if someone flushes the toilet
But that said, I am running a 24 port gb switch right now, with my 1k up n down fiber, so if a 4 port is that much, I cannot afford it right now, so maybe I should look into this 2.5 stuff

 

[SamirD]

2.5Gbps will be the next logical step from 1Gbps imo. It runs on the same wire and runs much faster. The switches are starting to come down too which is what will drive the industry moving to it.

 

[BenJeremy]

I'd upgrade my network wiring in my house, if I could find a good contractor who could do the work at a reasonable price. I could use ethernet run to various places around the outside of my house for PoE security cameras, as well as from my basement (Managed switch) to my second floor (currently serviced by an ancient CAT4 cable only managing 100mpbs up there). Who do I call, and how much can I expect to have to pay? If I can wire CAT6 from my basement to the second floor, I can add an Mesh unit. I guess I'd go with 2.5gbs, is it that much of a bump to go to 5gbs in switches?

 

[SamirD]

The only wiring contractors for ethernet that are good are 'structured wiring' contractors who specialize in commercial environments. These guys will do the job right. Downside is that the cost will be high since they will price it like a commercial job--4 figures minimum.

The other way to do it is to have cable monkeys just run the wire and leave a service loop hanging where you want them, and then you can properly terminate them yourself or hire someone that does IT work 'on the side' as they will know how to properly do it. Downside here is that they will probably not be insured in case they fall off your roof, etc, so make sure you're ready for that lawsuit in case it happens.

As far as wire, get the best wire you can get short of cat6a which is tougher to terminate and can't use the previous generation termination ends. If you absolutely want to guarantee 10Gbps over copper, you can go this route, but frankly if 10Gb is a requirement, just run preterminated fibre and be done with it for a long time.

At my parents house we ran 400Mhz rated utp wire back in the mid-1990s before cat5e was even a standard I believe (I know it was before wifi was a standard), and today that same wire runs gigabit because it was good wire. It cost 2x as much as the second cheapest stuff, but was well worth getting better wire as we would have been stuck at 100Mbps. Pre-terminated fibre didn't exist back then or I would have run that too.

 

[VirtualLarry]

bump, added Rosewill USB-C 3.1 2.5GbE-T dongle, selling for $35.99.

 

[VirtualLarry]

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bump, PCI-E x1 2.5GbE-T card is $26.99, but lists MSRP as $49.99.

 

[Shmee]

Cool! Any recommended switches and cables to go with it?

 

[VirtualLarry]

Well, as far as cables, it will run 2.5GbE-T over Cate5e or Cat6(A). Might as well get Cat6 (550Mhz) or Cat6A (certified 10GbE-T capable), just in case you upgrade to Cat6A in the future. Unless your wiring is already in the walls, then if it's Cat5e or better, just go with it.

Switches, well, the QNAP 5-port 2.5GbE-T switch is $99.00, but it's still hardly available in the USA. QNAPworks.com shows it in-stock, but QNAP's own store does not, nor does Amazon US even have a listing for it.

 

[Shmee]

Hmm, yeah I was looking at some of that stuff, I heard about the QNAP, but couldn't find it anywhere. I did see this though. https://www.newegg.com/netgear-gs11...er-ports/p/2WG-002S-00065?Item=2WG-002S-00065

Has 2 10Gb ethernet ports, and I think 8 standard Gb ports.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Amazon.com: Zyxel 12-Port Gigabit Smart Managed Multi-Gig Switch. 2 x Copper 2.5G Ports, 2 x 1/10G SFP+ Ports [XGS1210-12]: Industrial & Scientific

Buy Zyxel 12-Port Gigabit Smart Managed Multi-Gig Switch. 2 x Copper 2.5G Ports, 2 x 1/10G SFP+ Ports [XGS1210-12]: Switches - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

Amazon.com: Zyxel 12-Port Gigabit UnManaged Multi-Gig Switch. 2 x Copper 2.5G Ports, 2 x 1/10G SFP+ Ports [XGS1010-12-ZZ0101F]: Computers & Accessories

Buy Zyxel 12-Port Gigabit UnManaged Multi-Gig Switch. 2 x Copper 2.5G Ports, 2 x 1/10G SFP+ Ports [XGS1010-12-ZZ0101F]: Switches - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

 

[Shmee]

Those aren't bad, what is the difference in the two?

 

[VirtualLarry]

One is managed.

 

[Shmee]

Ok gotcha. I may just get the managed one and use it with NIC teaming on some desktops. My Freenas has a GA-X58-UD5 with the dual Gb ports so I figure the rosewill card is not even needed really. My X570 already has a 2.5Gb port(as well as a 1Gb Intel), and my X99 also has dual Intel Gb ports.

 

[Shmee]

Well, I just went ahead and ordered this. https://www.amazon.com/12-Port-Gigabit-Managed-Multi-Gig-XGS1210-12/dp/B084MH9P8Q

 

[Jeomite]

Waiting for 2.5G to become more mainstream/consumer level so the prices go down... 1Gig is good enough for now...
Plus I will hold out for all ports to be 2.5G or higher vs a few.

Early adopters always have to pay the premium price to be ahead of the curve

 

[aigomorla]

That said, I need to find a cheap 10GB switch,

mikrotik CRS-309 (much better as its passive with large as heck heat sink compared to the 305) + intel or cisco 10Gbaset trancievers.
The transcievers will run you about 40-50 each, so you only need them for the ports you intend to 10gbe on.

But by far the most logical and cost effective route which will save your hearing before you turn old and senile.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Buffalo Releases LXW-10G2/2G4 Switch: Two 10 GbE + Four 2.5 GbE Ports

www.anandtech.com

These are available on ebay from Jpn shops, but they're not cheap. Buffalo also apparently also offers a 5-port 2.5 gbe switch much the same as QNAP does, even with the same "loop detection" feature, but at nearly twice the price as QNAP.