10GbE Network Card Test on New & Legacy Platforms: RTL8127 vs AQC113

Here’s a performance comparison of the latest 10GbE adapters, tested across both modern PCIe 4.0 platforms and older PCIe 3.0 systems.

💰 More cost-effective option

PCIe 4.0 Performance: Consistently reaches full 10Gbps speed.

Thermal Performance: Compared with older high-power 10GbE cards, the PR27R11 runs at significantly lower power and maintains good thermal control. The compact heatsink and small board size make it suitable for ITX cases. However, for PCIe 3.0 systems, performance is limited to around 6.6Gbps.

LEKUO PR27R12 — RTL8127 PCIe x4 Version

Thermal Performance: Thermals remain stable and well-controlled during extended full-load operation.

PCIe 4.0 Performance: Reaches full 10Gbps bandwidth with stable performance.

Legacy Platform (PCIe 3.0) Performance: Maximum speed around 6.24Gbps.

Thermal Performance: Thermals are generally similar to the RTL8127-based cards, with no major differences observed.

Across PCIe 4.0 platforms, both RTL8127 and AQC113 10GbE network cards deliver similar, full-speed performance. On legacy PCIe 3.0 systems, throughput typically lands around 6–7Gbps. For older platforms, choosing a PCIe x4 version is recommended to achieve higher and more stable performance.

If you’d like to learn more or test these cards in your setup, feel free to reach out:

Bella 🌐 www.lekuo.shop ✉️ bella.jin@lekuo.com