https://www.cnx-software.com/2025/05/22/realtek-rtl8127-rtl8...
From a physical pov it’s not rated for anywhere near as many mating cycles and requires user care to protect against environmental damage.
From a connectivity pov you’re limited to short runs for DAC or extra cost to add a transceiver on each side.
It's more expensive but hardly an impossible fit. My router comes with an SFP+ port on the fiber side, it's just not labeled as such.
Combining SFP+ with fiber in consumer spaces is going to be more of a challenge (although I'll gladly accept it if it somehow makes it to market somehow).
I don't think many will exercise that option, and it adds complexity and costs that most people won't need. It would be useful for some, so it would make sense to make some boards with sfp+ rather than an integrated transceiver, but not as the default.
If you want 10G sfp+, Intel x520 cards are cheap on ebay.
pcpartpicker shows ~89 such boards, with mid-high level pricing: https://pcpartpicker.com/products/motherboard/#c0=2x10000-2x...
It may be a bit longer before random PCs at Walmart have 10G more often than not but it won't be long at all for "mid range" motherboards you're talking about.
If that's retail price, it's not much more than a 1G add-in nic. That gives it potential for mass adoption.
Realtek also makes some low cost 10g and 2.5g/10g switch chips that are reasonable cost if you shop on aliexpress.
Having another vendor should help drive down retail pricing as well.
Generally editors write headlines while the journalist writes the text, so when they conflict, the headline is usually wrong.
A $10 retail price for a board would be a big deal.
A $10 wholesale price for a chip is not news.
But Intel I225 (2.5GbE) chipsets were causing a lot of grief, 2022-2024. Realtek was same as ever and that made them a potentially better choice.
I think the 225/226 are better now. I have a 4 port arriving today and we'll see.
ref: https://www.cnx-software.com/2025/05/22/realtek-rtl8127-rtl8...
https://www.cnx-software.com/2025/05/22/realtek-rtl8127-rtl8...
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LZRSQM9
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DCZCA3O
An old PC I built in 2013 is able to saturate one of those with room to spare.
$30/card out the door isn't bad, although I wonder what the power draw is like. I've noticed my SFP+ 10gbit cards and transceivers get quite warm (different models from what you linked).
For me, using sfp+ means paying for a transceiver or a DAC, vs using my existing stash of rj45 terminated cables. Some of the ebay cards come with fiber transceivers at no extra cost though. So from that perspective, total cost is about the same either way. And I can use the cabling that's already in my walls.
However, switch pricing is still way in favor of sfp+, and my two 'core' switches have only 2x sfp+ and 2x 10g-base-T, so I use the ports I have.
I have an x540-T2 in my firewall and it's performant if hot. I keep a fan on it.
I have a year of heavy use on this switch: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CKP5648P 10Gb from the firewall. 4x 2.5Gb to NAS rest to VMs.
diggan•8mo ago
Not sure what a 10GbE motherboard would cost today, but in 2022 I bought ASUS ProArt X570 (1x 10GbE + 1x 2.5GbE) for ~400 EUR, and just the other day I got the Asus XG-C100C (1x 10GbE) network adapter for another machine for ~80 EUR. Would the price difference between a motherboard today with the only difference being with/without a 10GbE NIC be more than say 100 EUR? I feel like they'd use the 10GbE NIC to raise the prices more when it's integrated into the motherboard, than what you can get when purchasing it as a separate addon. But maybe it's just me being overly cynical.
th3typh00n•8mo ago
CobaltFire•8mo ago
I redid the thermal paste on my cards and haven't had any issues since.
zamadatix•8mo ago