New 10 GbE USB Adapter Is Cooler, Smaller, and Cheaper

I tested an RTL8159-based 10G USB 3.2 adapter on 4 computers. WisdPi's $80 model was smaller and cheaper than existing 10 GbE Thunderbolt adapters, and ran cooler too.

Performance depended heavily on USB port bandwidth.

• On an AMD desktop (USB 3.2 Gen 2x2, 20 Gbps), speeds came close to 10 Gbps.
• Other devices generally stayed around 6-7 Gbps.
• On Mac, it worked without drivers, but the link speed shown in settings incorrectly displayed as 2500Base-T.
• On Windows, the device was recognized, but the network only worked after installing the Realtek driver.

Bidirectional testing also showed big platform differences.

• The two Mac devices had relatively symmetric upload and download speeds.
• The Framework and desktop showed a clear gap between upload and download performance.
• The desktop PC recorded 9.5 Gbps download and about 5 Gbps upload.

Heat was lower than expected. Under USB 2 speed conditions, power consumption was about 0.86W, and even after several minutes of bidirectional iperf3 testing, the temperature only rose to 42.5°C. It didn't overheat the way existing Aquantia-based 10Gb adapters do.

In conclusion, this adapter is appealing for environments that need RJ45-based 10Gbps and have matching USB port conditions. However, since actual efficiency depends heavily on the system and port specs, there are still many cases where a 2.5G/5G adapter offers better value for money.