Best Ethernet Network Cards: Recommendations and Features

Frequently asked questions when buying a network card

When we buy an Ethernet network card, we must look at several parameters to know if we are buying the right one, both in terms of speed and compatibility, noise it makes and even how many ports it should have. Next, we are going to explain in detail the main characteristics that we can find in an Ethernet card, so that later you can see which one interests you the most.

 

What top speed do I need?

Nowadays we can buy Ethernet network cards that are of different speeds, for example, we can buy them at 1Gbps (Gigabit Ethernet), at 2.5G and 5G Multigigabit speeds, and finally we can buy 10G models that can be Multigigabit or not. Depending on the router and switch you have at home or in the office, you will have to buy one according to the speed you have in those devices.

For example, if you have a switch with 2.5G Multigigabit ports, don’t buy Gigabit Ethernet because you won’t be taking full advantage of these high-speed switch ports. In this case, you will have to buy a 2.5G Multigigabit at least, and you can choose to buy a 10G Multigigabit to have a higher speed the day you change the switch for a faster one. Taking into account the price difference between 2.5G or 5G cards against 10G, we believe that it is a very good decision to buy the fastest ones directly, because otherwise, it is possible that in a few years you will also have to change that network card. .

 

Does it support Multigigabit speeds?

All cards that have a maximum speed of 2.5G or 5G are Multigigabit, this means that it can be synchronized at speeds of 2.5G and 5G without any problem. When we are about to buy a 10GBASE-T (with 10G ports), it is very important that it supports Multigigabit speeds, in case we connect it to a switch that is 5G or 2.5G Multigigabit, otherwise, it will synchronize at a speed of 1Gbps, with consequent loss of speed.

Because the 10GBASE-T standard has been with us for many years, there are 10G models that are not compatible with Multigigabit speeds, even if we install the latest drivers, in this case, the 2.5G and 5G speeds do not exist, but rather synchronize at speeds of 100Mbps, 1Gbps or 10Gbps. It is very important that you buy it with Multigigabit capabilities to perfectly adapt to the maximum speed of the router or switch, without losing speed.

 

Type of PCI-Express port you are using

All network cards that are installed in the computer have a PCI-Express interface, however, there are also some models that use USB 3.0 ports, either type A or USB type C, however, these types of devices are more like Ethernet adapters , and are geared specifically for use with a laptop or ultrabook that doesn’t have an Ethernet port.

It is very important to look at the version of the PCI-E port both on the motherboard where we are going to connect it, as well as on the card itself that we are going to buy. Today the most common is to find PCIe 2.0 and PCIe 3.0 ports, generally the fastest ones use the latter standard because it will provide us with greater bandwidth per lane. You must take into account that if your motherboard only supports PCIe 2.0, you will not be able to connect a PCIe 3.0 because it will not boot the computer correctly. On the contrary, it would be compatible without problems, that is, if your computer supports PCIe 3.0 and you insert a PCIe 2.0 it will boot without any problem.

Another aspect that you should look at is the lanes, generally the fastest ones are x4 (PCIe 2.0 x4 or PCIe 3.0 x4), however, this will depend on the number of 10G ports you have, and if you have more than one 10G port, surely be x8 (PCIe 2.0 x8). You should look at this directly in the technical specifications, to later know if it will enter the computer’s motherboard or not.

 

Ethernet port type and how many it should have

There are two types of Ethernet cards, those with a typical RJ-45 connector and those with an SFP+ port to connect a transceiver or DAC cable to make the connection. In general, the vast majority of users will buy one with the RJ-45 connector because they will use the typical Ethernet network cable, however, you could also buy devices for SFP+ ports and use fiber optics for cabling.

It is also very important how many ports it has, generally it will have a single port but there are models that have more ports, we can even buy card models that have up to 4 Ethernet ports available to use, however, generally these types of devices are oriented to servers and not for a normal computer, but you could buy them without any problem.

 

Active cooling with fan or passive

When we are talking about Multigigabit devices, the chipsets barely heat up and will not need additional cooling to keep the components at a temperature under control. However, when we have 10GBASE-T devices, whether they are Multigigabit or not, the temperature will skyrocket and almost all models have a large heatsink with a small fan to adequately cool the chipset, so you should take this into account.

In a home or office environment, we will always want the maximum possible silence, so you should check if the model you want to buy has a fan for active cooling, or if it has a large heatsink with totally passive cooling. Generally, the models that have 2 10G ports do have a fan, however, the devices that only have 1 10G port do not usually have the fan.

Now that you know everything you have to take into account, we are going to recommend different cards depending on the maximum speed of your Ethernet ports.

 

10G network cards

These types of cards are the fastest for a domestic and even professional environment, however, you should know that there are also models with speeds of 25Gbps and even 40Gbps, but for the vast majority of users it will be perfectly worth it with these speeds in their network local. The models that we will recommend below will provide you with great wired performance in all scenarios, and they are high-end models that work really well.

 

ASUS XG-C100C

This ASUS model is the one we currently use for all wired performance tests, and also as the main device in our PC. This model has a really competitive price and its operation is simply perfect, in addition, it supports Multigigabit speeds, so it is capable of synchronizing at speeds of 5Gbps and 2.5Gbps without any problem. Here are the main features:

• Ethernet port speed : 10Gbps.
• Supports Multigigabit speeds : Yes, it supports 10Gbps, 5Gbps, 2.5Gbps, 1Gbps and 100Mbps speeds.
• Ethernet port type : RJ-45.
• PCIe Port Type : PCIe 2.0 x4.
• Number of Ethernet ports : 1.
• Cooling : passive with a heatsink.
• Other features : supports Auto MDI/MDIX, Jumbo Frames up to 16K, VLAN Tagging and priority queues.

The price of this model is around €100 approximately, a really competitive price if we take into account that it is a 10G Multigigabit model.

As you can see, this model is one of the most recommended for home, office and even business environments.

 

D-Link DXE-820T

This D-Link DXE-820T model is one of the models that we have used for several years, it has 2 10G ports but it is not Multigigabit, it is an aspect that we must take into account. If your entire network runs at 10G, then you can buy it and you won’t have any problems, but if you have switches or routers with 2.5G or 5G Multigigabit ports, you’re better off buying another model because it won’t be able to sync at these speeds. Next, you have all the characteristics of this model.

• Ethernet port speed : 10Gbps.
• Supports Multigigabit speeds : No.
• Ethernet port type : RJ-45.
• PCIe Port Type : PCIe 2.0 x8.
• Number of Ethernet ports : 2.
• Cooling : active with heatsink and fan.
• Other features : supports Auto MDI/MDIX, Jumbo Frames up to 9K, VLAN Tagging and priority queues.

This model is aimed at companies and to install it on servers, for this reason, the price is around €350 approximately. We must remember that it has a second 10G port.

This model is ideal if you have a PCIe 2.0 x8 compatible server or NAS and want great wired performance.

 

QNAP QXG-10G2T-107

This QNAP model is ideal for home, office, and professional environments. It has 2 10G Multigigabit ports to provide the best possible wired performance, in addition, it has active cooling to avoid problems with temperatures. This model is PCIe 3.0 x4, so we must take it into account and check compatibility.

• Ethernet port speed : 10Gbps.
• Supports Multigigabit speeds : Yes, it supports 10Gbps, 5Gbps, 2.5Gbps, 1Gbps and 100Mbps speeds.
• Ethernet port type : RJ-45.
• PCIe Port Type : PCIe 3.0 x4.
• Number of Ethernet ports : 2.
• Cooling : active with heatsink and fan.
• Other features : supports Auto MDI/MDIX, Jumbo Frames up to 9K, VLAN Tagging and priority queues.

The price of this card is around €120, a very good price because we have an additional 10G Multigigabit port compared to ASUS.

You must bear in mind that its fan makes noise, so if you are going to put it in a rack server it is perfect, but if you are going to use it in your PC, the noise will surely bother you.

 

QNAP QXG-10G2T-X710

This model has the same features as the previous one, 2 10G Multigigabit ports, but uses a different chipset.

• Ethernet port speed : 10Gbps.
• Supports Multigigabit speeds : Yes, it supports 10Gbps, 5Gbps, 2.5Gbps, 1Gbps and 100Mbps speeds.
• Ethernet port type : RJ-45.
• PCIe Port Type : PCIe 3.0 x4.
• Number of Ethernet ports : 2.
• Cooling : active with heatsink and fan.
• Other features : supports Auto MDI/MDIX, Jumbo Frames up to 9K, VLAN Tagging and priority queues.

This model is around €350, justified by having a high-performance Intel Ethernet X710 chipset and very good compatibility.

You should buy this model if the operating system you use does not have good compatibility with the previous ones, generally Intel chipsets are very well supported by operating systems.

 

QNAP QXG-10G1T

If you want a model that only has 1 fanless 10G Multigigabit port, this model is the one for you. It has a very similar price to the ASUS, although it is PCIe 3.0 in this case.

• Ethernet port speed : 10Gbps.
• Supports Multigigabit speeds : Yes, it supports 10Gbps, 5Gbps, 2.5Gbps, 1Gbps and 100Mbps speeds.
• Ethernet port type : RJ-45.
• PCIe Port Type : PCIe 3.0 x4.
• Number of Ethernet ports : 1.
• Cooling : passive with a heatsink.
• Other features : supports Auto MDI/MDIX, Jumbo Frames up to 9K, VLAN Tagging and priority queues.

The price of approximately €110 will allow us to buy it without many problems for our home computer, although it can also be installed on servers.

This model is very interesting thanks to its design without active cooling, in this way, it will not make any noise.

 

Edimax EN-9320TX-E

Another alternative for domestic environments to ASUS and QNAP is this Edimax model, it has exactly the same characteristics as the ASUS. The PCIe port type is 2.0 x4.

• Ethernet port speed : 10Gbps.
• Supports Multigigabit speeds : Yes, it supports 10Gbps, 5Gbps, 2.5Gbps, 1Gbps and 100Mbps speeds.
• Ethernet port type : RJ-45.
• PCIe Port Type : PCIe 2.0 x4.
• Number of Ethernet ports : 1.
• Cooling : passive with a heatsink.
• Other features : supports Auto MDI/MDIX, Jumbo Frames up to 16K, VLAN Tagging and priority queues.

This device is somewhat more expensive than the ASUS and QNAP that we have seen before:

In principle, there are no appreciable differences in terms of performance to justify the more than €50 additional it costs.

 

ASUS XG-C100F

This model is exactly the same as the ASUS XG-C100C, but in this case the connector is not RJ-45 Multigigabit, but rather SFP+ at 10Gbps. This model allows you to synchronize at speeds of 10Gbps with SFP+ or at speeds of 1Gbps with SFP.

• Ethernet port speed : 10Gbps.
• Supports Multigigabit speeds : No.
• Ethernet port type : SFP+.
• PCIe Port Type : PCIe 2.0 x4.
• Number of Ethernet ports : 1.
• Cooling : passive with a heatsink.
• Other features : Jumbo Frames up to 16K, VLAN Tagging and priority queues.

The price of this model is similar to the RJ-45 version:

If you are going to use DAC or fiber optic cables, you will not have to make an extra outlay.

 

Edimax EN-9320SFP+

This model is exactly the same as the ASUS before, this device has a 10Gbps SFP+ port and also allows you to insert DAC cables or 1Gbps SFP transceivers.

• Ethernet port speed : 10Gbps.
• Supports Multigigabit speeds : No.
• Ethernet port type : SFP+.
• PCIe Port Type : PCIe 2.0 x4.
• Number of Ethernet ports : 1.
• Cooling : passive with a heatsink.
• Other features : Jumbo Frames up to 16K, VLAN Tagging and priority queues.

The price difference compared to the ASUS is not justified, since we have a price difference of an additional €50.

If you need an SFP+ card, it may be worth buying one that is RJ-45 Multigigabit and then buying an SFP+ to RJ-45 transceiver for the switch or router, in this way, you can use conventional network cable.

 

5G Multigigabit network cards

These types of cards are 5 times faster than the usual Gigabit Ethernet, although they will be half as fast as the 10G cards that we have seen previously. If you want to buy cheap and even pocket models to use with your laptop or ultrabook, pay close attention to the following recommendations that we are going to make, because they will be very useful for speeding up your wired network.

 

QNAP QXG-5G1T-111C

This model has a 5G Multigigabit port and a passive heatsink, this device is ideal for connecting very quickly to the local network, but without going to 10G models that are clearly more expensive.

• Ethernet port speed : 5Gbps.
• Supports Multigigabit speeds : Yes.
• Ethernet port type : RJ-45.
• PCIe Port Type : PCIe 3.0 x1.
• Number of Ethernet ports : 1.
• Cooling : passive with a heatsink.
• Other features : Jumbo Frames up to 9K, VLAN Tagging and priority queues.

This device is priced at around €70, very competitive if we take into account the technical specifications.

If you want to have a really fast Ethernet network card in your computer and not spend more than €100 on a model with 10G ports, this device is ideal for you.

 

QNAP QXG-5G2T-111C

This model is exactly the same as the previous one, but it has 2 5G Multigigabit ports instead of just one. Also, the PCIe 3.0 data interface is x2 instead of x1 due to the need for more available bandwidth.

• Ethernet port speed : 5Gbps.
• Supports Multigigabit speeds : Yes.
• Ethernet port type : RJ-45.
• PCIe Port Type : PCIe 3.0 x2.
• Number of Ethernet ports : 2.
• Cooling : passive with a heatsink.
• Other features : Jumbo Frames up to 9K, VLAN Tagging and priority queues.

This device is priced at around €130, an expected price because it is worth almost twice as much as the previous one with a single port.

If you are going to use this device to connect to different networks at high speed, it is ideal for you, if you do it to do a Link Aggregation or similar, then you better buy a 10G model directly.

 

2.5G Multigigabit network cards

If you are interested in buying the cheapest models but that have 2.5G Multigigabit speeds to take advantage of the new routers and switches with this standard, these models that we are going to recommend below are ideal for you, both for price

 

QNAP QXG-2G1T-I225

This model is one of the simplest that we can buy, but it is a very interesting model because it has an Intel controller, so we ensure great performance and very good compatibility with all operating systems.

• Ethernet port speed : 2.5Gbps.
• Supports Multigigabit speeds : Yes.
• Ethernet port type : RJ-45.
• PCIe Port Type : PCIe 2.0 x1.
• Number of Ethernet ports : 1.
• Cooling : passive with a heatsink.
• Other features : Jumbo Frames up to 9K, VLAN Tagging and priority queues.

The price of this model is less than €50, it is well worth updating our computer with this type of card because we will have more than double the speed of the typical Gigabit Ethernet that we all have.

If you don’t need more speed than 5G or 10G, this model is ideal for you.

 

QNAP QXG-2G2T-I225

If you need a model that incorporates 2 2.5G Multigigabit ports, this device is exactly the same as the previous one, but with an additional port. Logically we will also have a different interface (PCIe x2 instead of x1).

• Ethernet port speed : 2.5Gbps.
• Supports Multigigabit speeds : Yes.
• Ethernet port type : RJ-45.
• PCIe Port Type : PCIe 2.0 x2.
• Number of Ethernet ports : 2.
• Cooling : passive with a heatsink.
• Other features : Jumbo Frames up to 9K, VLAN Tagging and priority queues.

The price of this model is around €150, a very high price considering what it offers. For this price, it is better to buy other models such as the ASUS with a single port, or go directly to models with 2 ports and 5G speed.

QNAP itself has cheaper and faster models than this one, we believe that the price does not correspond to what is expected, which would be around 80 or 90 euros.

If you have any questions before buying any of these models, you can leave us a comment and we will respond to help you.