Best SFP+ 10 Gbps Card?

[Shonk]

For reasons beyond me i just have to use te SFP+ port on my AmpCom 8+1 Switch
swapping out 2 x RTL8125B's in my server for 1 x AQC113C in my server & a SFP+ RJ45 10 Gbps Module for the Switch

and i dont seem to be having much luck

The first SFP+ RJ45 Module Link's at 10 Gbps for around 60 seconds
then downlinks to 5Gbps which causes me to not get the full 5Gbps in one direction (Returning to Aliexpress)

Its stone cold so suspect they forgot to put any heat transfer material from the chip to the module

The Second SFP+ RJ45 Module Link's at 10 Gbps but flaps after a few hours and runs super hot
it also disconnects if you even touch the module (Returning to amazon)

The Third SFP+ RJ45 Module is on its way from aliexpress (Same as the first one)

If the third module is bad im going to call it a day
and replace the AQC113C in the server and go optical


But have a few requirements

The card has to be PCIE 3.0 as i only have 2 lanes free in my 4x slot (the other two are being used by an m.2 slot)
I Would like the power use to be as low as poss on the card (lower the better pref 14nm or better)
I Would like the card to still be getting driver updates for windows 10/11
I Would like it to be cheap...

Whats my best bet?

 

[MountainBofh]

used Mellanox 4x (often sold under the "HP 640sfp28" name) on Ebay. Will run you $30-35. Unlike the Intel's, the Mellanox's will run 10gb no problem on only 2 pci-e lanes. Driver support is excellent.

If you get one that is a HP oem card, follow the instructions here to cross flash it. Pretty easy to do. https://forums.servethehome.com/index.php?threads/crossflash-hpe-640sfp28-to-mcx4121a-acat.28809/

 

[TRACKER]

i have DELL 57810 SFP+ card which runs on PCIe 2.0 x2 lanes
Max speed i am able to get is around 700-750 MB/s.

 

[sko]

I Would like the power use to be as low as poss on the card

Then don't use copper? This will also very likely solve your thermal problems and definitely your link speed problems.

As for transceivers: given that 10Gbit is dirt-cheap nowadays I wouldn't gamble with noname modules. FS.com sells SFP+ transceivers from ~20$ and they just work, have a proper warranty (only had to replace 1 out of ~100 I bought over the years) and ship extremely fast.

 

[Shonk]

i have DELL 57810 SFP+ card which runs on PCIe 2.0 x2 lanes
Max speed i am able to get is around 700-750 MB/s.

That would be enough for me as the fastest link in the house is 2 x 283 MB/s SMB multipath
but want to make sure its covered for the full 10 Gbps for future upgrades

Also the power use on older cards will be higher

 

[finno]

Have been using X520-DA2 for all machines at home, dirt cheap and had zero issue to be recognized and drived.

 

[sko]

Have been using X520-DA2 for all machines at home, dirt cheap and had zero issue to be recognized and drived.

same here - they 'just work'™

Although one could argue the 710 chipset is more energy-efficient, so if there's a good deal for one of those I'd prefer them over the 520.

 

[MountainBofh]

My only gripes with the Intel cards is that they try to play games with supporting transceivers (though its not too hard to fix that), and from my own testing they don't give great performance if your slot is 2x pci-e lanes.

That's why I'm biased towards the Mellanox 4x cards. All of the strengths of the Intel cards, and none of the vendor locking BS or slot performance issues.

 

[sko]

they don't give great performance if your slot is 2x pci-e lanes.

The X520 are PCIe 2.0; so of course they need 4 lanes for full bandwidth. X710 is PCIe 3.0 but the specs clearly say it's an x4 card, so again: of course you'll get lower bandwidth.
However, usually you get at least 4 lanes to a PCIe slot; 2 lanes are usually more a thing for crippled M.2 slots...

 

[Shonk]

The X520 are PCIe 2.0; so of course they need 4 lanes for full bandwidth. X710 is PCIe 3.0 but the specs clearly say it's an x4 card, so again: of course you'll get lower bandwidth.
However, usually you get at least 4 lanes to a PCIe slot; 2 lanes are usually more a thing for crippled M.2 slots...

I only have 2 Free lanes in my 4x slot

 

[MountainBofh]

I only have 2 Free lanes in my 4x slot

Heck, I only have 2 lanes in my 16x slot

 

[Shonk]

Heck, I only have 2 lanes in my 16x slot

Well it's a 16X Physical Slot 4x Electrical slot

But one M.2 Slot takes 2 lanes away from it if its used (which it is)

I can Run
4x - 0x
0x - 4x
2x - 2x

 

[MountainBofh]

Well it's a 16X Physical Slot 4x Electrical slot

But one M.2 Slot takes 2 lanes away from it if its used (which it is)

I can Run
4x - 0x
0x - 4x
2x - 2x

Gotta love lane starved consumer gear I can't even imagine having to run a real gpu plus a card that needs a full 25gb connection unless you have a workstation grade box.

 

[nabsltd]

My only gripes with the Intel cards is that they try to play games with supporting transceivers (though its not too hard to fix that)

There are a lot of X520 cards that aren't Intel branded, so they don't have the transceiver lock, but otherwise have the exact same feature set as the Intel branded cards. I buy the HP version (560SFP+) from eBay for $20 or so.

Also, I can't imagine using a transceiver in a NIC...any system that requires 10Gbps is close enough to a switch to be able to use a DAC.

 

[prdtabim]

Well it's a 16X Physical Slot 4x Electrical slot

But one M.2 Slot takes 2 lanes away from it if its used (which it is)

I can Run
4x - 0x
0x - 4x
2x - 2x

Try Solarflare SFN7122F. It's dual port gen3 x4. If one port is enough x2 must work. Just 5.9W of power consumption..

SolarFlare SFN7122F SFP+ Dual-Port 10GbE Flareon Ultra PCIe I/O Adapter | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for SolarFlare SFN7122F SFP+ Dual-Port 10GbE Flareon Ultra PCIe I/O Adapter at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

Another option is based on BCM57840 pcie gen3 x4 but using much more power ( like 10W ). Stable with good support .

QLOGIC QLE3442-CU BC0110402-03 EX32000E-SEC DUAL PORT NETWORK ADAPTER CARD | eBay

※ All faulty due to improper installation or improper use will NOT be covered by the warranty. We will do our best and help you provide the solution. ETA 3 to 6 Weeks.

www.ebay.com

 

[MountainBofh]

There are a lot of X520 cards that aren't Intel branded, so they don't have the transceiver lock, but otherwise have the exact same feature set as the Intel branded cards. I buy the HP version (560SFP+) from eBay for $20 or so.

Also, I can't imagine using a transceiver in a NIC...any system that requires 10Gbps is close enough to a switch to be able to use a DAC.

I'll agree on the non Intel branded cards as an option. I've actually got a bunch of those in some servers work and they have been hassle free.

Regarding the transceiver in a NIC - there's PLENTY of use cases where a transceiver and fiber cabling is preferred or the only solution. In my home network, my router/gateway box is about 30-40 feet away from the rest of my basement setup. So I use a pair of cheap transceivers and some OM3 cabling to link the router box to my switch. Since I use Mellanox cards at home I'm not concerned about vendor locking, but with true Intel's it becomes an (solvable at least) issue.

At work, one of the rows in my server room only has old 1gb switches. I won't have the budget to drop in a 10gb switch until next year. One of the servers in this row really needs a 10gb link. Nearest 10gb switch is about 25-30 feet away (once you account for going up, over, down, and down a few cabinets). I ran some OM3 cabling, bought a pair of cheap transceivers, installed a non Intel branded X520 in the server, and had 10gb connectively for under $100.

 

[sko]

I only have 2 Free lanes in my 4x slot

Heck, I only have 2 lanes in my 16x slot

just to be clear: are we talking about server hardware or desktop/gaming crap here?

 

[MountainBofh]

My box that only has 2 lanes in the 2nd 16x slot is desktop "crap". From what I'm seeing in modern desktop hardware, this is not unusual at all due to the limited # of pci-e lanes in these class of systems.

 

[Shonk]

just to be clear: are we talking about server hardware or desktop/gaming crap here?

I said i have two free lanes not that i only have two lanes

LSI 9207 8i = Using 8 Lanes PCIEX16
LSI 9207 8i 2 = Using 8 Lanes PCIEX8
Marvell ACQ113 = Using 2 Lanes PCIEX4
Intel Optane 1600X 118GB = Using 4 Lanes M2M
Intel Optane 1600X 118GB = Using 4 Lanes M2A
Intel Optane 800P 118GB = Using 2 Lanes M2P
Intel Optane 800P 118GB = Using 1 Lane PCIE1_2
Intel Optane 800P 118GB = Using 1 Lane PCIE1_3
Intel Wifi 7 BE200 = Using 1 Lane PCIE1_1

Yes it is a desktop but certainly not crap

How's your 15 year old server crap?

 

[nexox]

The obvious solution here is to replace those old HBAs with one 12G SAS controller and a 12G expander, then you have an entire x16 slot free for a 100G NIC. The expander can sit in the x2 slot for power, or mount it somewhere else and get another 800p in there.