Lekuo 10Gbps PCIe Network Card - AQC113 RJ45 Ethernet Adapter for Desktop & NAS

✅ Yes. Windows requires driver installation for optimal performance.

✅ Cat6e or Cat7. Use Cat6e or Cat7 Ethernet cables for best 10G performance.

✅ It supports PXE and WOL network wake-up. Both features are fully supported.

✅ Check the following:

1. Check if the Ethernet cable is Cat6/7.
2. Ensure that the driver is up to date (you can download the latest driver from here).
3. Verify whether the network settings have enabled Jumbo Frames.
4. Check if the switch/gateway device can reach 10G speeds.
5. Test whether the hard drive uses the NVMe protocol (the hard drive read speed should be higher than the network transfer speed).
6. When using iperf3 for testing after enabling Jumbo Frames, use multi-threaded mode.
7. In Windows, check if the network card setting is 10G. Method to set the network card speed: Right-click on "This PC" -- Manage -- Device Manager -- Network Adapters, find the corresponding device, then right-click on Properties -- Advanced -- Speed and Duplex -- Value.

✅ The speed is around 7 - 8Gbps. It requires a PCIe 4.0 bandwidth to achieve full 10G speed.

✅ Troubleshooting steps:

1. Confirm that the negotiated rate at both ends is 10Gbps full-duplex.
2. Use iperf3 to test network throughput to rule out storage impact.
3. Check the storage write speed, especially the NAS write performance. You can transfer a large file from another device to the NAS to observe the speed. If the NAS write speed itself is insufficient (e.g., a mechanical hard drive in RAID5), it may be the bottleneck.
4. Check the SMB protocol version and encryption settings.
5. Update the driver.
6. Adjust TCP/IP parameters and Jumbo Frame settings.
7. Disable software or services that may affect performance, such as antivirus software and firewalls.

💡 Tip: If iperf3 tests show that both directions can reach close to 10Gbps, then the issue may lie in the storage write speed. Conversely, if iperf3 shows asymmetric network speeds, you need to check the network configuration.

✅ Yes, fully compatible. This network card features a PCIe x1 interface design for maximum compatibility. It can be installed and will work perfectly in any PCIe x1, x4, x8, or x16 slot on your motherboard.

⚠️ PCIe 3.0 x1 bandwidth limitation. The Marvell AQC113 chip over a PCIe 3.0 x1 lane has a theoretical one-way bandwidth of about 8Gbps (actual real-world speed around 7–8Gbps after overhead). To achieve the full 10Gbps line rate, it is recommended to connect it to a PCIe 4.0 x1 or higher slot.

✅ Full multi-rate support. This card is fully compatible with 10M / 100M / 1000M (1G) / 2.5G / 5G / 10G network speeds, and will automatically negotiate the optimal speed with your switch or router.

✅ Yes, broadly compatible. In addition to native Windows 10/11 and Linux system support, the Marvell AQC113 chipset is widely supported in modern Linux kernels, making it excellent for DIY NAS, soft routers (e.g., OpenWrt), and virtualization environments like PVE or ESXi.

✅ Cat6A / Cat7 or above recommended. To ensure stable 10G data transmission and prevent packet loss, it is highly recommended to use high-quality Cat6 (for short distances) or Cat6A / Cat7 and above Ethernet cables.

✅ Excellent thermal design. This network card is equipped with a large, highly efficient heatsink and supports a wide operating temperature range from 0°C to 85°C. With standard PC case airflow, it manages heat exceptionally well during prolonged high-load file transfers.

✅ Yes, fully supported. It fully supports both WOL (Wake-on-LAN) for remote wake-up and PXE diskless boot, which is convenient for corporate IT deployment and remote device management.

✅ Yes, Low Profile bracket included. In addition to the pre-installed standard-height bracket, the package includes a Low Profile bracket for small form factor cases, making it perfectly compatible with ITX builds, SFF PCs, and 2U servers.

✅ Optimization tips:

1. Enable Jumbo Frames (e.g., 9000 bytes) in the card's Advanced Properties via Device Manager.
2. Ensure your storage write speeds are sufficient (NVMe SSD recommended).
3. Use multi-threaded mode in your iperf3 test (e.g., add parameter -P 4).

⚠️ Driver installation required. Windows 11 requires driver installation. It is recommended to download the latest driver from the product detail page (or from the official Marvell website) to ensure optimal performance and stable jumbo frame operation.