I am looking at homelab cheat codes that can give me 10Gb ethernet networking (SFP+ preferred) in mini pcs. I think @wendell mentioned these before and I know the 2.5Gb ethernet m.2 exists but so far the 10Gb network ones there seems to be only one option, the EGPL-T101 which is close to $200.
Does anyone know of other options available, hopefully cheaper?
Keep your eyes peeled on ebay. The aquantia based ones with the red heasinkbwere around $70-90 6 months ago. You could get 15 for $1k from ali express also but I don’t see any good deals right now. If you’ve got room for it though you can break out an m.2 to a pcie x4 slot vis cable and use an Intel x540 or 550 and still get it all for around $100 or less
The EGPL-T101 looks so interesting that I got one.
After an issue, I had to realize that there is basically no support - several asks to seller and manufacturer have gone unanswered.
YMMV.
What did you run into?
The special sauce of the EGPL-T101 is the fine cable that links the m.2 component to the RJ45 component.
Until I found a more permanent way for mounting the RJ45 it was left dangling and I suppose I managed to damage one of the fine cables there.
Trying to find anyone to talk to me or sell me a replacement cable…
Cool, am interested in something like that as well. What mini pc is that? Did the powerdraw change much, does the CPU clock down right and use the lower C-States?
That’s a Lenovo M720Q with an 8th gen i3. I still need to test idle power when connected to my switch.
Heat is a bit of an issue I may still add a 40mm blower or stack 3 high and use a 120mm to pull air through all three.
Looking to do something similar here, is there any reason to not simply use a m.2 to pcie x4 riser and typical riser ribbon to my existing gen3 x8 dual sfp+?
Obviously it will negotiate to x4 speeds but that should not be too limiting even for 2x10Gb bonded
It looks like - as of April 2024 - there’s a couple of lower cost alternatives to the IO Crest 10 GbE:
M.2 B+M AQC107 for $85 USD @ Amazon
and
Weastlinks 10Gb for $130 USD @ NewEgg
Has anyone tried either of these?
I think I’ll give the one on Amazon a whirl - as I need one right now - but unfortunately it’s shipped by the seller, not Amazon, so shipping time is longer, and I’m guessing returns (if needed) will be trickier.
