Framework's 10G Ethernet module exposes USB-C's complexity

Post by californical » Fri, Jun 26, 2026, 5:06 AM UTC

geerlingguy wrote: post #22

Gigachad wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In that case I'd rather just have one of those big usb hubs that has every port on it. Rather than an adapter designed that it only works on one laptop. Sure in theory you could plug them in to any but the design of it is such that you'd snap the connector if you plugged it in to a normal port. While a regular usb-c ethernet adapter has a flexible cable between the laptop and the bulky rigid part.

Thunderbolt hubs are rather amazing now; in the past they'd either get super hot and have reliability issues, or had severe bandwidth limitations (especially if using larger displays). The current crop has been great for my needs — a couple models have 10G Ethernet built in (CalDigit is the one I'm using now), and most now have more than one Thunderbolt port that allows a high speed storage device to be used as well…

Post by Gigachad » Fri, Jun 26, 2026, 5:13 AM UTC

drnick1 wrote: post #39

Gigachad wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I looked in to it and it seemed like 10gbit was much better over fiber. Ended up deciding that 2.5gbit is plenty. The 2.5 gear is significantly cheaper and runs cool.

> I looked in to it and it seemed like 10gbit was much better over fiber. Yes, except that most devices use Ethernet. So, at the end of the day, you still need Ethernet cables unless you want to deal with an additional switch or converter in every room.

Post by DrPhish » Fri, Jun 26, 2026, 5:17 AM UTC

jfb wrote: post #7

RachelF wrote: post #6

Every PCIe 10G ethernet card I've seen has a heatsink on it, sometimes covering the entire card or even have little fans on the heatsink. Expecting it to work full time in a laptop is a bit of a stretch of the heat dissipation budget. Also, the laptop he is working has the AMD FP8 chipset - depending on how the ports are setup, he might only get 10G USB, if the ports are allocated to video instead.

Yeah, 10Gb ethernet runs hot . I just rewired the house with 10Gb (we have 8Gb FTTP) and it's kind of upsetting how hot my Thunderbolt dock gets.

Post by devmor » Fri, Jun 26, 2026, 5:20 AM UTC

timschmidt wrote: post #36

numpad0 wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

4W is TDP for some of Pi-style mini computers. Lots of them have fans.

Pi 4 and 5 both idle around 3W. But a Pi 5 can pull up to 16W with a USB peripheral, full CPU load, and decoding 4k video. The Pi 4 / 5 will run OKish without a heatsink at idle wattages, but thermal throttle quickly if you attempt to do something intensive. These realtek 10gbe chips are more in the range of the Pi Zero class machines (0.5W idle, 2W loaded) which don't often come with heatsinks though they might bene…

Post by eqvinox » Fri, Jun 26, 2026, 5:23 AM UTC

drnick1 wrote: post #39

Gigachad wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I looked in to it and it seemed like 10gbit was much better over fiber. Ended up deciding that 2.5gbit is plenty. The 2.5 gear is significantly cheaper and runs cool.

> I looked in to it and it seemed like 10gbit was much better over fiber. Yes, except that most devices use Ethernet. So, at the end of the day, you still need Ethernet cables unless you want to deal with an additional switch or converter in every room.