2.5-gigabit LAN on a PCI Express card
Buying a network card is in some cases a more elegant option than replacing the entire motherboard. For such situations, Axagon has an on-PCI Express card 2.5-gigabit one in the form of the PCEE-G25, for example, for home users. We’ve subjected it to a great deal of comparison with integrated adapters. And before you get into it, one question: Can you estimate how much power such a simpler network card might consume?
To start with, a little bit about the segmentation of the PCEE-G25 network card. Axagon sees it mainly as an upgrade to slower gigabit solutions or as a replacement for a damaged, typically integrated network adapter on a motherboard. It also does not exclude specific use in smaller (mostly hobby) servers or NAS, although it should still be kept in mind that the PCEE-G25 does not come with such ambitions, as it is a simple piece of hardware without advanced management options.
Axagon is a small, single-slot, 70 mm short 2.5-gigabit card with a single RJ-45 connector. Interface support ranges from PCI Express 1.0a to 5.0. It is pluggable into a PCIe ×1 slot. Its physically smaller connector size allows it to be installed in slots that are usually unused on motherboards. That is, if they have them at all. But even if they don’t, the longer PCIe ×16/×8/×4 slots can still be used.
What is quite remarkable here is the presence of a cooler (an aluminum, well-articulated heatsink weighing 10 g). This is not present on comparable and often even faster chips on motherboards. In fact, even this card doesn’t need it and it only serves as a prevention from overheating in adverse conditions with worse cooling (or generally higher ambient air temperature). Axagon took inspiration here from “professional” network cards, which usually already have a cooler. Its attachment to the Axagon card is via push-pins with a spring, and it is in contact with the chip via a thermal pad.
In addition to the standard PCIe cover that comes pre-installed on the card, a shorter, low-profile one is also included. With it, use in 2U height cases is possible. But again, primarily within desktop setups, typically in an office or multimedia environment.
The foundation of the network card is the Realtek RTL8125GB chip, which you also know from many motherboards. It is equivalent to the Intel I225-V.
Detailed specifications of the PCEE-G25 network card can be found in a chart on axagon.eu.
Metodika
We test speed by copying a 10 GB file between a Samsung 980 Pro SSD (1 TB) and a Patriot Hellfire SSD (480 GB). This is done within a local network, with the Sonnet Solo10G on one side (and the network adapter under test on the other). The reported speed in megabytes per second of download or upload is based on the ratio of the total file size to the time it took to transfer it. The results recorded in the graphs are the arithmetic average of three passes.
Using a PCIe shunt (from our graphics card test methodology), we also measured power consumption on the Axagon network card. This was done on a local network, with the Sonnet network card connected, and then also with a connection to the Asus RT-AC53 router. With the exception of one mode, the drivers are always in default settings. We also measure online with EEE (Green Ethernet).
The network card is tested on a Asus ROG Z790-A Gaming WiFi II motherboard in a PCIe 3.0 ×1 slot.
Buying a network card is in some cases a more elegant option than replacing the entire motherboard. For such situations, Axagon has an on-PCI Express card 2.5-gigabit one in the form of the PCEE-G25, for example, for home users. We’ve subjected it to a great deal of comparison with integrated adapters. And before you get into it, one question: Can you estimate how much power such a simpler network card might consume?
Speed…
… and power consumption
Buying a network card is in some cases a more elegant option than replacing the entire motherboard. For such situations, Axagon has an on-PCI Express card 2.5-gigabit one in the form of the PCEE-G25, for example, for home users. We’ve subjected it to a great deal of comparison with integrated adapters. And before you get into it, one question: Can you estimate how much power such a simpler network card might consume?
Conclusion
Evaluation of a network card is very specific. Unlike the other components that we deal with, the key measurements are “only” confirmatory. It probably won’t surprise anyone that the Axagon PCEE-G25’s speeds fit in with other network adapters that have comparable specified network bandwidth (2.5 Gb/s). The difference between slowest and fastest is 6%, and Axagon’s network card is somewhere in the middle of that spread.
We measured the average download speed at maximum performance using our methodology at approximately 287 MB/s and upload speed at 283 MB/s. The transfer speeds are high for the standards of the 2.5-gigabit class and we cannot have any complaints about them. The Axagon PCEE-G25 card can thus be recommended with a clear conscience, whether the intention is to speed up a slower network connection, replace a damaged adapter or expand with a second network card (this is also an option).
Use in network storage is at your “own risk”. It is not certain whether manufacturers, such as Qnap or Synology, have drivers in the operating system that will work with the network card. Nothing is guaranteed in this regard, and there is no official support from Axagon. Otherwise, support is very broad, whether it’s Windows (from XP to 11), DOS, Linux and drivers are available even for MacOS.
And what about the power consumption? Did you guess correctly that it would be less than one watt? Of course, the exact power consumption also depends on the device to which the card is connected. In our tests, you may notice that it’s a hair more on the local network than online, but this may not always be the case. It depends on the settings of the other side. These measurements also illustrate well what share of the total consumption the network adapter probably has on motherboards as well. In general I guess it can be said that at least with adapters with Realtek RTL8125BG, which the Axagon network card also has, the power consumption is practically constant regardless of the load.
A significant change (reduction in power consumption) occurs only after the Ethernet cable is disconnected, which ends the activity of the signal transmitters and receivers, which makes up the overwhelming part of the power consumption. But this is nothing to worry about, the differences as well as their absolute values are always negligible.
To briefly summarize, the Axagon PCEE-G25 embodies an inexpensive, fast, efficient network card, with which we did not encounter any complications while testing.
English translation and edit by Jozef Dudáš
| Axagon PCEE-G5 |
| + High speeds in both directions |
| + Low price |
| + Attractive price/performance ratio |
| + Oversized cooling |
| + Wide compatibility |
| - ... |
| Approximate retail price: 19 EUR |