For a very long time, PCs were stuck at gigabit Ethernet. Only recently did we move toward so-called multigigabit (2.5Gb/s and 5Gb/s) NICs. Now, the era of truly accessible 10Gb/s NICs might be about to start. Realtek is launching a 10Gb/s adapter that could enable the production of affordable cards and even integration onto motherboards – just as its earlier chips helped mainstream the 2.5Gb/s and the 5Gb/s standards.
That success was largely due to the RTL8125 and RTL8126 chips. Now, at Computex 2025, the company unveiled their successor: the RTL8127, which steps up the to full 10 gigabit per second speeds. This isn’t something that was previously unavailable, but 10Gb/s networking has long been prohibitively expensive and unsuitable for mainstream home use. Adapters from Aquantia brought 10Gb/s to desktops and motherboards a few years ago, but their pricing remained a barrier. Realtek now aims to drive costs down into a more accessible range, enabling broader adoption.
The Realtek RTL8127 will, like its predecessors, be a standard Ethernet adapter for copper UTP cabling networks using an RJ-45 port. Alongside a maximum speed of 10 Gb/s, it will also support all older Ethernet standards, all the way down to the legacy 10Mb/s. Power consumption is rated at 1.95 W during operation, which is important from an implementation cost perspective. The chip has a compact 9 × 9 mm package. According to Realtek, the RTL8127 supports hardware CRC and ECC, as well as the Modern Standby mode.
For servers, a more advanced version will be available – the RTL8127AP, which adds DASH 1.2 management support. One potential drawback of both chips is that they essentially require platforms that provide PCI Express 4.0 lanes. They connect to systems via a PCIe 4.0 ×1 (single-lane) interface. On systems where the SoC or chipset only provide PCIe 3.0 lanes, bandwidth will be limited (PCIe 3.0 offers just 8 Gb/s minus some overhead).
However, the 10Gb/s adapter line will also include chips that support not just PCI Express 4.0 ×1, but also a PCI Express 3.0 ×2 interface. These include the RTL8127AT for use on copper networks and the RTL8127ATF for fiber optic connections. Sample cards shown by Realtek using these chips featured physical PCIe ×2 interfaces, which means they won’t fit in ×1 slots on motherboards. This will likely be addressed by manufacturers offering multiple versions – cards meant for ×1 slots will most likely be based on the standard RTL8127. The RTL8127ATF for optical networks will have even lower power consumption, just over 1 W. These two adapters, however, will not retain compatibility with 10Mb/s and 100Mb/s Ethernet.
Realtek also showcased a sample 10Gb/s USB network adapter powered by the RTL8159 chip. It’s built for the USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 interface (USB 20Gbps), though we assume it will work – with some performance drop – over the more commonly available USB 10Gbps ports (USB 3.2 Gen 2).
Another upcoming Realtek product includes 10Gb/s Ethernet PHY chips, which could be used in routers and switches, potentially bringing down their prices slightly as well – an important factor, since the proliferation of faster networks is often held back more by the cost of central networking hardware or for example NAS devices than by the price of network cards themselves. These PHYs will also be used in adapters that convert from SFP+ fiber 10Gb/s Ethernet to copper RJ-45 interface.
10Gb/s Ethernet to be integrated on motherboards this year
These new chips won’t be quite as cheap as the older ones. According to Realtek, they’ll be more expensive – the company reportedly gave guidance of being slightly less than twice the cost of the current 5.0Gb/s Ethernet RTL8126 chips (which themselves cost less than double the cost of the 2.5Gb/s RTL8125 series). Standalone PCI Express cards with the RTL8127 should hopefully be available at prices below 50 USD.
In previous generations, Realtek’s arrival on the scene often marked the point when a particular Ethernet standard started to gain traction (as seen with 2.5Gb/s and 5.0Gb/s Ethernet). While not the only or first supplier, Realtek’s chips tend to be cheaper and their are the most popular solution among motherboard manufacturers – so their availability helps new standards go mainstream. This new 10Gb/s adapter is also slated for motherboard integration. According to the company, several models featuring the RTL8127 should launch later this year. Initially, these will likely be high-end boards, and only gradually will 10Gb/s Ethernet make its way into more affordable segments.
Sources: CNX Software, techPowerUp, Realtek
English translation and edit by Jozef Dudáš
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