ASUS XG-C100C 10Gbe Card

The ASUS XG-C100C PCIe 3.0 x4 card may not be a new release, but it has seen multiple revisions, with versions 1, 2, and the latest being version 3, each improving the hardware components. This card supports a range of Ethernet standards, including 10GbE, 5GbE and 2.5GbE, with the 2.5Gbps standard becoming increasingly common in home-focused switches and the latest routers. Additionally, you can achieve 10GbE speeds over legacy CAT5e cabling for distances up to 45 meters, allowing you to avoid the cost of rewiring your home. The card is equipped with a large red heatsink, which effectively cools it down and prevents overheating during operation.

n the back of the circuit board, a few components can be spotted.

Below is a list of compatible cables that support 10Gbps speeds:

1. CAT6a: Supports 10Gbps speeds up to 100 meters.
2. CAT7: Supports 10Gbps speeds up to 100 meters with improved shielding.
3. CAT8: Supports 10Gbps and even higher speeds, up to 40Gbps, over shorter distances.
4. CAT5e: Supports 10Gbps speeds, but only up to 45 meters.

The card uses a standard RJ45 port, which ensures high compatibility and makes it much easier to connect compared to SFP+ type networks. The actual speed you achieve will depend on the quality of the cable used, the switches and router it is connected to, and the performance of the sending and receiving systems.

The NIC requires four PCI Express 3.0/2.0 x 4 lanes, as specified by the Aquantia AQtion Client Controller. The two key specifications set this product apart from other 10GbE NICs currently on the market.

After dismantling the large heatsink, you can see a number of components underneath.

The Marvell AQC113-B1-C is designed using 14nm multi-gate FinFET process technology and features a high-performance, scalable multi-Gig Ethernet MAC+PHY controller. This controller supports a wide range of network rates, including 10GBASE-T, 5GBASE-T, 2.5GBASE-T, 1000BASE-T and 100BASE-TX. When paired with PCI Express Gen 3 x4, this family of scalable multi-Gig Ethernet MAC+PHY controllers can easily manage 10 GbE line-rate performance.

Benchmark Test

We’ve set up two DIY systems connected to a TP-Link TL-SX105 switch, with the ASUS GT-BE98 WIFI 7 Router serving as our main router. Our entire network is wired with high-quality CAT 7 cable, ensuring a 10GbE connection.

The system below is configured to share a folder using the latest SMB 3.1.1 and is running the most up-to-date drivers and firmware.

Information of the connection

We transferred a Steam backup of the game “Forspoken,” which is 103GB in size, over the network.

During the initial burst mode, the transfer speed easily reaches over 1GB/s and remains in burst mode for a few seconds before slowing down. It’s very common for the speed to slow down after the burst rate is over, typically due to the storage cache reach limitation..

We ran iPerf 3 on both the client and server sides and managed to achieve nearly 10Gbps speed.

Why should you buy ASUS XG-C100C 10Gbe Card?

We regularly transfer large amounts of data over our home network for backups, moving terabytes of data each week, and we’re fed up with the slow transfer speeds. Initially, we were using an ASUSTOR 2.5GbE switch, which took 4 to 5 hours to transfer data from server to server. However, since upgrading to a TP-Link 10GbE switch and adding ASUS XG-C100C 10GbE network cards, we can now complete our backups within 1 to 2 hours. The ASUS XG-C100C is priced at a very affordable price tag $169.

ASUS XG-C100C

169

9.4

Quality

9.5/10

Value

9.5/10

Design

9.0/10

Performance

9.5/10

Pros

• Affordable
• RJ45 LAN Port
• 10Gbe Link speed

Cons

• Cost can be lower would be better