5GbE and beyond ethernet adapters

[xiaofan]

Shopee pricing.

1..WavLink USB 5Gbe adapter (WL-NWU340G) at S$27.96

Check out WAVLINK USB C to Ethernet Adapter 5Gbps, Driver-free RJ45 Gigabit Ethernet Network Adapter for Laptops, Computers and More, Grey Aluminum Case for Windows 10/11, Mac OS 11 or Later at 1% off! $27.96 only. Get it on Shopee now! https://sg.shp.ee/M72seo8V

2. WavLink USB 5Gbe adapters S$35.16 (WL-NWU340GD) with 95W charging port.

Check out WAVLINK USB C to Ethernet Adapter Aluminum Case with 95W Charging Port RJ45 Ethernet Adapter 5Gbps for Laptops Computers at 1% off! $35.16 only. Get it on Shopee now! https://sg.shp.ee/M4DrsuPu

3. WAVLINK 10Gbe USB4/TB4 adapter at S$223.98 (much higher than Lazada, model number may be different, WL-NWU342G)

Check out WAVLINK 10G Ethernet Adapter for Thunderbolt USB4 Supports 10G/5G/2.5G/1G Adaptive Speed, Compact Aluminum Design, Includes 40Gbps USB-C Cable at 1% off! $223.98 only. Get it on Shopee now! https://sg.shp.ee/UuPqSfNh

 

[xiaofan]

1. Comfast PCI-E 5Gbe adapter at S$16.51.

Check out Comfast PCl-E Interface RJ45 Network Card Ethernet 5G PCI-E Wire Adapter Converter Expansion Adapter Card For Windows 7/10/11/Linux CF-P50 at 40% off! $16.51 only. Get it on Shopee now! https://sg.shp.ee/HmvQdXwo

2. TP-Link Official Shop TX401 10Gbe adapter at S$90.90, other shops are cheaper.

Check out TP-Link 10Gbps PCIe Network Card TX401 10G Ethernet Adapter with CAT6A Cable Low Profile Bracket Included for $90.90. Get it on Shopee now! https://sg.shp.ee/pB43ZisN

Lazada MediaPro has promotion at S$79.16.
TP-LINK TX401 10 Gigabit PCI Express Network Adapter ( 10G / 10Gbps ) - 3 Year Local TP-Link Warranty | https://s.lazada.sg/s.6enez?c=d&t=p-i2bqDQ6-sFJnkIU

3. Asus XG-C100C 10G Base-T PCIe Network Adapter at S$117, from MediaPro.

Check out ASUS XG-C100C 10G Base-T PCIe Network Adapter, Compatibility of 5/2.5/1G & 100Mbps - 3 Year Local Asus Warranty at 18% off! $117.00 only. Get it on Shopee now! https://sg.shp.ee/kWqtKhFV

Lazada MediaPro selling at S$112.71.
ASUS XG-C100C 10GBase-T PCIe Network Adapter with Backward Compatibility of 5/2.5/1G and 100Mbps ; RJ45 Port and Built-in QoS ( 10Gbps ) - Local Distributor Warranty | https://s.lazada.sg/s.6enUz?c=d&t=p-iK2Ta1-sXu7vT

 

[elmariachi]

Just wanted to share my experience with 10G for my PC and my Asus BE-98 + TP-Link TX-401 V1 using MyRepublic ISP 10G plan.

The above setup has been an absolute end game for me. But there is a few things you have to do.

1. TP-Link TX-401 has 2 models. V1 and V2. V1 uses AQC107 while V2 uses AQC117 if I am not wrong. The main difference between both of them is AQC117 runs cooler because it consumes less wattage. I noticed the TX-401 V1 runs pretty warm at idle so I dis-assembled the heatsink and the thermal pad used is so pathetically thin and flimsy. Some pink colored crap. I replaced it with 1mm Gelid Extreme pad and my temperatures reduced drastically. Something you would consider doing if you do heavy 10G downloads on your system because the chip takes a beating.

2. For some weird reason, only the TX401 V1 can be flashed with Marvell's firmware update. I have heard Asus cards and a few others do not allow cross flashing. You can flash the TP-Link TX-401 V1 if you are having issues with disconnects or stability. You can use this guide here and the backup link for the firmware is listed in that link because Marvell appears to have removed it from their website.

https://www.yinfor.com/2022/12/flash-the-new-firmware-to-tp-link-tx401.html#google_vignette

I have had such great results on this combination so far though I have disabled alot of offload options like Interrupt Moderation and Interrupt Moderation rate under device manager as I play online FPS and it has helped me drastically on hit registration especially playing on Australia servers. The only problem with some of the options I have disabled is that when I download big games or huge downloads, my CPU takes quite a big load because of some of those offload options I have disabled. Which is fine because I hardly download big files on my PC and it only happens during downloading big games. Below are my Waveform Bufferbloat results and my jitter has dropped drastically under 1ms as compared to before. Speedtest speeds are around 7500 UP / 7500 DOWN most of the time with this setup with QOS being set to Adaptive in the router. Did not have to do much tinkering in the router but more on my network card options which helped alot.

 

[xiaofan]

Thinking of getting 10gbps NIC after signing up for 10gbps internet. There are many different types of NIC available and as far as i can see, only main 3 chip manufacturers gunning for market share.

Realtek, Intel, Marvell. Arranged from entry level to main stream.

Currently not sure which is more stable and matured , so asking the gurus here for advise.

Realtek 8127
Intel X540
Marvell AQC113

FYI, Tplink TX401 is using Marvell AQC107 for V1 and AQC113 for V2 as their controller.

1. TP-Link TX-401 has 2 models. V1 and V2. V1 uses AQC107 while V2 uses AQC117 if I am not wrong. The main difference between both of them is AQC117 runs cooler because it consumes less wattage

Nice sharing.

Just a minor correction, V2 chipset is Marvell AQC113.

 

[xiaofan]

Nice, a bit better than my result using Wavelink USB Type C 5Gbe adapter, Singtel 5Gbps plan, Acer Swift 14 Go OLED version (Intel Core Ultra 125H).
https://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/threads/5gbe-and-beyond-ethernet-adapters.7068236/page-4

The above was in November 2024, unfortunately I got much worse result with the same laptop and the same adapter. Now the laptop is running Windows 11 26H2 x64.

Latest driver.
https://www.realtek.com/download/List?cate_id=585

Win11 and Windows server 2025 Auto Installation Program (NetAdapterCx)

115X.23.20

2026/08/31

5 MB

Some issues with download speed. Need to troubleshoot. I will probably try Linux first.

Not direct connection though, but through Double NAT. So I kind of expect a bit of speed drop but not so bad.

ONT --> TP-Link Archer BE805 --> 2.5Gbe/10Gbe switch --> 10Gbe switch --> OpenWRT virtual router --> Acer Swift Go 14 laptop with the WavLink adapter.

https://www.speedtest.net/my-result/d/20b41046-c59b-436b-a60a-e96e08977749

Using XikeStor USB4/TB4 10Gbe adapter with AQC107 chipset got better result.

https://www.speedtest.net/result/c/2c2edab3-9e65-4b88-922c-c1073849be69

 

[xiaofan]

Some issues with download speed. Need to troubleshoot. I will probably try Linux first.

Not direct connection though, but through Double NAT. So I kind of expect a bit of speed drop but not so bad.

ONT --> TP-Link Archer BE805 --> 2.5Gbe/10Gbe switch --> 10Gbe switch --> OpenWRT virtual router --> Acer Swift Go 14 laptop with the WavLink adapter.

The laptop has dual boot, I also runs Ubuntu Linux 26.04 on the same laptop. No issues under Linux.

mcuee  …/build/networking/ookla ./speedtest -s 7311

   Speedtest by Ookla

      Server: M1 Limited - Singapore (id: 7311)
         ISP: M1
Idle Latency:     3.90 ms   (jitter: 0.43ms, low: 3.58ms, high: 4.31ms)
    Download:  4660.21 Mbps (data used: 4.7 GB)                                                  
                  2.83 ms   (jitter: 0.72ms, low: 2.07ms, high: 6.72ms)
      Upload:  4594.37 Mbps (data used: 2.1 GB)                                                  
                  2.33 ms   (jitter: 0.29ms, low: 1.98ms, high: 5.03ms)
 Packet Loss: Not available.
  Result URL: https://www.speedtest.net/result/c/6e206007-2dce-48a5-9535-51afd3be9378

 

[xiaofan]

Linux also has good AQC107/AQC113 driver.

M1 10Gbps plan.
M1 ONT --> TP-Link Archer BE805 main router --> 2.5Gbe/10Gbe switch --> 10Gbe switch --> OpenWRT virtual router (Double NAT, no passthrough, just use virtual netowrk adapter) --> Acer Swift Go 14 laptop with XikeStor USB4/TB4/TB3 adapter based on AQC107 (old black model with fan).

mcuee  …/build/networking/ookla ./speedtest -s 7311

   Speedtest by Ookla

      Server: M1 Limited - Singapore (id: 7311)
         ISP: M1
Idle Latency:     2.46 ms   (jitter: 0.12ms, low: 2.43ms, high: 2.78ms)
    Download:  8125.29 Mbps (data used: 4.1 GB)                                                 
                  5.32 ms   (jitter: 5.88ms, low: 2.10ms, high: 218.03ms)
      Upload:  8654.03 Mbps (data used: 5.4 GB)                                                 
                  4.03 ms   (jitter: 0.67ms, low: 2.13ms, high: 8.83ms)
 Packet Loss: Not available.
  Result URL: https://www.speedtest.net/result/c/b2dcfd23-cadc-4ab2-84ed-6b028b00266e

mcuee  …/build/networking/ookla ./speedtest -s 7311

   Speedtest by Ookla

      Server: M1 Limited - Singapore (id: 7311)
         ISP: M1
Idle Latency:     2.43 ms   (jitter: 0.19ms, low: 2.27ms, high: 2.64ms)
    Download:  8074.13 Mbps (data used: 9.5 GB)                                                   
                  4.93 ms   (jitter: 0.84ms, low: 1.52ms, high: 9.37ms)
      Upload:  8866.64 Mbps (data used: 4.3 GB)                                                   
                  3.23 ms   (jitter: 0.43ms, low: 1.87ms, high: 4.56ms)
 Packet Loss: Not available.
  Result URL: https://www.speedtest.net/result/c/b455a9e5-2a6c-4c81-8d35-1e786313b81f

 

[xiaofan]

Similar setup but using a Debian 13 Linux LxC container.

M1 10Gbps plan.
M1 ONT --> TP-Link Archer BE805 main router --> 2.5Gbe/10Gbe switch --> 10Gbe switch --> OpenWRT virtual router (Double NAT, Intel N100 mini PC with Intel 82599ES chipset based dual 10G SFP+ adapters, no passthrough, just use virtual netowrk adapter) --> Debian 13 LxC container

root@debian13ct13r1:~/ookla# ./speedtest -s 7311

   Speedtest by Ookla

      Server: M1 Limited - Singapore (id: 7311)
         ISP: M1
Idle Latency:     2.40 ms   (jitter: 0.12ms, low: 2.03ms, high: 2.49ms)
    Download:  8117.66 Mbps (data used: 3.7 GB)                                                   
                  5.18 ms   (jitter: 0.68ms, low: 2.19ms, high: 6.84ms)
      Upload:  8814.03 Mbps (data used: 10.1 GB)                                                   
                  3.57 ms   (jitter: 0.77ms, low: 1.78ms, high: 5.88ms)
 Packet Loss: Not available.
  Result URL: https://www.speedtest.net/result/c/18b0bfa4-8b3f-427b-86d0-598eb2bf34b7

 

[elmariachi]

Nice sharing.

Just a minor correction, V2 chipset is Marvell AQC113.

Thank you for the correction. Must have misread the model number.

 

[xiaofan]

For my Acer Aspire 14 AI 2025 model laptop running Windows 11 ARM64, unfortunately there is no ARM64 driver for Marvell AQC107/AQC113/AQC113C.

Wavlink 5Gbe adapter works fine once I install the latest Windows 11 driver from Realtek.
https://www.realtek.com/download/List?cate_id=585

Win11 and Windows server 2025 Auto Installation Program (NetAdapterCx)

115X.23.20

2026/08/31

5 MB

 ookla-speedtest-1.2.0-win64   .\speedtest.exe -s 7311

   Speedtest by Ookla

      Server: M1 Limited - Singapore (id: 7311)
         ISP: M1
Idle Latency:     2.32 ms   (jitter: 0.13ms, low: 2.01ms, high: 2.42ms)
    Download:  4705.27 Mbps (data used: 5.3 GB)
                  2.89 ms   (jitter: 3.51ms, low: 1.73ms, high: 211.45ms)
      Upload:  4740.06 Mbps (data used: 4.4 GB)
                  8.65 ms   (jitter: 0.89ms, low: 2.84ms, high: 18.22ms)
 Packet Loss: Not available.
  Result URL: https://www.speedtest.net/result/c/1a61211e-3a76-478d-995a-b08bae9d078b

2.5Gbe adapter built-in my XikeStor multifunction USB Type C Hub is also working fine after the driver installation.

ookla-speedtest-1.2.0-win64   .\speedtest.exe -s 7311

   Speedtest by Ookla

      Server: M1 Limited - Singapore (id: 7311)
         ISP: M1
Idle Latency:     2.53 ms   (jitter: 0.47ms, low: 2.13ms, high: 2.89ms)
    Download:  2364.18 Mbps (data used: 1.7 GB)
                  2.72 ms   (jitter: 0.43ms, low: 2.29ms, high: 4.01ms)
      Upload:  2365.03 Mbps (data used: 1.2 GB)
                 22.06 ms   (jitter: 3.21ms, low: 4.23ms, high: 35.02ms)
 Packet Loss: Not available.
  Result URL: https://www.speedtest.net/result/c/1c81e5d3-0830-4c98-ad9d-e8e10d7b3bee