10Gtek 10Gb NIC Network Card, Dual SFP+ Port, with Intel 82599ES Controller, Compare to Intel X520-DA2, Refurbished

As a solutions architect who has recently started working from home, I needed a reliable and high-speed network card to handle my upgraded home internet connection, which is now a fiber connection at 5Gbps+. I also required higher throughput to my work's datacenter. The 10Gtek 10Gb Dual RJ45 Port Network Card with X540 Controller has proven to be an excellent choice.First and foremost, this network card delivers outstanding performance. With dual RJ45 ports and the X540 controller, it supports 10Gbps speeds, ensuring that my connection remains fast and stable. This has been crucial for my workflow, as I often need to transfer large files and access remote servers without any lag.Upgrading my home internet to a fiber connection at 5Gbps+ meant I needed a network card that could handle such speeds efficiently. The 10Gtek network card has met these demands perfectly, providing the necessary throughput to my work's datacenter. This has significantly improved my productivity, allowing me to access and manage data quickly and efficiently.The installation process was straightforward, and the card works seamlessly with my Windows systems and Hyper-V servers. The packaging was fantastic, and the install was as simple as expected. However, the only negative experience I had was finding compatible drivers. Windows Update didn’t recognize the hardware, and the manufacturer’s website didn’t have any readily available drivers. I ended up going to the chip manufacturer’s website and found the appropriate driver, which I successfully installed. No driver disks or instructions were provided.The build quality of this network card is on par with what I expected, providing a solid and functional product. It feels robust enough for long-term use without being overly impressive. Additionally, the card's design ensures efficient heat dissipation, preventing overheating even during prolonged use. One feature I particularly appreciate is the network activity lights, which, while almost standard, provide clear indicators of network status and activity. The device is also void of any additional noise, making it ideal for a quiet home office environment.Additionally, the value for the money is exceptional. This network card offers high-end performance and features at a reasonable price point, making it a great investment for anyone needing reliable network connectivity.In summary, the 10Gtek 10Gb Dual RJ45 Port Network Card with X540 Controller is an excellent investment for anyone needing high-speed and reliable network connectivity. It has significantly enhanced my home office setup, providing seamless and efficient access to my work's datacenter. If you're looking for a network card that offers great value for the money, exceptional performance, and broad compatibility, I highly recommend this product. Despite the minor inconvenience with the drivers, it has been a game-changer for my workflow and connectivity needs.

10GTek is now my go-to brand for high speed networking. I had previously purchased their SAS and Fibre channel cables for other projects and was always satisfied with the quality. I recently upgraded many of my security cameras to 4k, You'd be surprised how quickly several 4k cameras recording 24x7 fill a Terabyte and how slowly that data moves off-system even at 2.5gb Ethernet. In order to reach my retention goals I bought these cards and SFP+ transceivers to build a point-to-point high speed link to dump footage from my NAS to a second system which uses OpenCV to take a frame from the video stream of each camera every hour to create an index so I can quickly narrow down a block of time to retrieve for review should the need arise then off-loads it all to an LTO Tape Library.I Installed these cards in two Ubuntu 25.04 systems and the native drivers immediately recognized them. I established IPs and routing and the speed I could move large blocks of data is incredible. With large file transfers the card gets warm but not incredibly hot which people had indicated should be the case with optical vs copper SFP+ modules. While SAS and Fibre Channel are incredible connectivity options in their own rights there is something satisfying about moving a similar volume of data using normal protocols like tar and rsync. I briefly brought one of these card connected to my NAS up under Windows 11 and although it is completely unnecessary the speed is addicting, now I'm looking for a good inexpensive 10gbe switch so I can put a couple more hosts on my 10gb subnet.

This card is easy and powerful. It comes with a PC case bracket and a server-style bracket which fit my HYTE case perfectly. One hurdle is the Win11 driver install, and since I have 2 ports, I had to install the driver for both of them. Use the Device Manager "update driver" process. I assume if you are buying this level of hardware, you have some idea of what you are doing... Download the Intel Win10 family drivers, I'd go for the complete set option. After extraction, find the PROXGB>Winx64>NDI565 folder, hit enter. Yes, the NDI565 folder (completely non-intuitive, I know...). Viola NIC recognized, do this for all ports in the DM. Happy networking.

I built a NAS from old computer parts. The built-in ethernet on MB is only 1 gb, but I need faster speed. This 10 gb card has good reviews and good price. So, I bought two. Installation on the NAS was simple, and no additional driver was needed. A driver download was needed for it to work in Win 11. This was the only minor hurdle installing the card. Excellent transfer speed.

Works great in Opesense.

No automatic driver installation for Windows 10/11. Download the intel network adapter for Windows 10 driver package from intel's website. Go to Device Manager and find the unrecognized device (listed as Ethernet Controller), and manually install the drivers in this path:Wired_driver_x64\PROXGB\Winx64\NDIS65Otherwise it seems to work well so far.